Early Intervention Program

The White Earth Early Intervention Program offers comprehensive child and family centered intervention services for children between the ages of birth and 6 years old. Services are provided by the State through this program based on the needs and preferences outlined by the individualized goals and objectives of children with special needs and their families. These individualized plans are developed by a special team including the child’s family.

For children under three years of age and their families, these plans are called Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Children of this age are most often seen in their home.

For children three to six years of age, these plans are called Individualized Education Plan (IEP). These children are most often seen in the Head Start setting.

The White Earth Early Intervention Program provides many services for children between the ages of birth and six:

Developmental Screening
Helps your monitor the physical, social, and mental development of your child.

Assessment
Provides professional diagnostic services in the areas of speech, language, hearing, motor skills, personal-social skills, functional vision, adaptive skills and intellectual development.

Intervention
Provides teachers, speech/language pathologists, physical and occupational therapists, assistive technology and service coordinators for children with diagnosed disabilities.

Vision
All individuals and their families with developmental disabilities are receiving culturally appropriate and quality services that will enable them to become integrative and productive members of their community.

Mission
The mission of the White Earth Early Intervention Program is to be the primary voice in the Reservation community on disability related matters. The program will:

• Provide identification and intervention for children with special needs at a critical age to maximize growth and development.
• Educate and train parents in methods to facilitate their development.
• Meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families.

"I believe in me and my people.
I believe in our language and culture.
I believe in our land and our way of life,
I believe in the teaching of the elders."
-Dr. Frank Dukepoo

What is Early Intervention?
Broadly speaking, early intervention services are specialized health, educational, and therapeutic services designed to meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from birth through age five, who have a developmental delay or disability. Services can also be provided to children birth through age two who are considered to be at-risk of developing substantial delays if services are not provided.

The process begins when someone (parent, family member, childcare provider, doctor) makes a referral for an initial evaluation. Parents, family members, doctors, hospitals, public health nurses, or childcare providers—all can refer a child to early intervention programs.

Next, someone from the early intervention program makes contact to discuss concerns. Based on the information provided, a decision will be made to either do a full evaluation or begin with a screening. Parents must give permission in writing before the team can proceed with an evaluation. The initial evaluation of a child is required by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) before any special education and related services can be provided to that child.

An evaluation team uses a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional, developmental, and academic information about the child, including information provided by the parent. Evaluations examine all areas of a child’s functioning to determine not only if the child is a child with a disability, but also determine the child’s educational needs and guide decision-making about appropriate educational programming for the child. This full and individual evaluation includes evaluating the child’s:

• Health
• Vision and hearing
• Social and emotional skills
• General intelligence
• Academic Performance
• Communicative skills
• Motor abilities
• Self-help skills

Who is Eligible for Services?

PART-C Services: Birth-2
Under the IDEA, “infants and toddlers with disabilities” are defined as children from birth through age two who need early intervention services because they are experiencing developmental delays, as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas:

• Cognitive Development
• Physical development, including vision and hearing
• Communication development
• Social or emotional development
• Adaptive development (self-help skills); or
• Have a diagnosed physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay.

PART-B Services: Children 3-21
Children ages 3 through 5 that have been identified by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures to have a disability as defined by one of the categories listed below are eligible for preschool services.

• Autism
• Emotional Disturbance
• Deaf
• Multiple Disabilities
• Other Health Impairment
• Speech/Language Impairment
• Visual Impairment
• Deaf-Blindness
• Hearing Impairment
• Mental Retardation
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Developmental delay

Babies & children develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when yours will learn a given skill. The Developmental Milestone Checklist will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don't be alarmed if your child takes a slightly different course. Click here for referral information!

Developmental Milestones for Age 3 Months

• Becomes more expressive and communicates more with face and body.
• Begins to develop a social smile.
• Enjoys playing with others, may cry when playing stops.
• Imitates some movement and facial expressions.
• Brings hands to mouth.
• Grasps and shakes hand toys.
• Opens and shuts hands.
• Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface.
• Raises head and chest when lying on stomach.
• Stretches legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back.
• Supports upper body with arms when lying on stomach.
• Takes swipes at dangling objects with hands.
• Begins to babble.
• Begins to imitate some sounds.
• Turns head toward direction of sound.
• Smiles at the sound of your voice.

Developmental Milestones for Age 7 Months

• Enjoys social play.
• Interested in mirror images.
• Respond's to other people's expressions of emotion and appears joyful often.
• Reaches with one hand.
• Rolls both ways (front to back, back to front).
• Sits with, and then without, the support of hands.
• Supports whole weight on legs.
• Transfers object from hand to hand.
• Uses hand to rake object.
• Ability to track moving objects improves.
• Develops full color vision.
• Distance vision matures.
• Explores with hands and mouth.
• Finds partially hidden objects.
• Struggles to get objects out of reach.
• Babbles chains of sounds.
• Begins to respond to "No".
• Can tell emotions by tone of voice.
• Responds to own name.
• Responds to sounds by making sounds.
• Uses voice to express joy and displeasure.

Developmental Milestones for Age 1 Year (12 Months)

• Crawls on hands and knees.
• Pulls to standing position.
• Walks around furniture or crib while holding on.
• Drinks from a cup.
• Waves bye-bye and play peek-a-boo and patty-cake.
• Picks up small objects with thumb and index finger.
• Holds out arms and legs while being dressed.
• Puts objects into container.
• Stacks two blocks.
• Uses five to six words.

Developmental Milestones for Age 2 Years (24 Months)

• Uses two to three word sentences.
• Recognizes familiar pictures.
• Carries an object while walking.
• Plays independently.
• Enjoys imitating parents.
• Identifies hair, eyes, ears, and nose by pointing.
• Builds a tower of four blocks.
• Shows affection.
• Sometimes says “no” when interfered with.
• Kicks a ball forward.
• Shows sympathy to other children.
• Runs well.
• Responds to correction.
• Takes off open coat or shirt without help.
• Walks up and down stairs alone.
• Turns pages of picture book one at a time.
• Follows two-part instructions.

Developmental Milestones for Age 3 Years (36 Months)

• Rides a tricycle.
• Repeats common rhymes.
• Names at least one color correctly.
• Uses toilet.
• Helps with simple household tasks.
• Opens door by turning knob.
• Climbs on play equipment, ladders, slide.
• Scribbles with circular motion.
• Plays with other children.
• Stands on one foot without support.
• Draws or copies vertical lines.
• Speaks and is understood most of the time.
• Plays a role in pretend games.
• Dresses self with help.
• Walks up and down stairs alternating feet.

Developmental Milestones for Age 4 Years (48 Months)

• Interested in new experiences.
• Cooperates with other children.
• Plays “Mom” or “Dad”.
• Increasingly inventive in fantasy play.
• Dresses and undresses.
• Negotiates solutions to conflicts.
• Imagines that many unfamiliar images may be “monsters”.
• Often cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
• Correctly names some colors.
• Understands the concept of counting and may know a few numbers.
• Begins to have a clearer sense of time.
• Follows three-part commands.
• Recalls parts of a story.
• Understands the concepts of “same” and “different”.
• Engages in fantasy play.
• Has mastered some basic rules of grammar.
• Speaks in sentences of five to six words.
• Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand.
• Tells stories.
• Hops and stands on one foot up to five seconds.
• Goes upstairs and downstairs without support.
• Throws ball overhand.
• Catches bounced ball most of the time.
• Moves forward and backward with agility.
• Copies square shapes.
• Draws a person with two to four body parts.
• Uses scissors.
• Draws circles and squares.
• Begins to copy some capital letters.

Developmental Milestones for Age 5 Years (60 Months)

• Wants to please friends.
• Wants to be like her friends.
• More likely to agree to rules.
• Likes to sing, dance, and act.
• Shows more independence and may even visit a next-door neighbor by herself.
• Aware of gender.
• Able to distinguish fantasy from reality.
• Can count 10 or more objects.
• Correctly names at least four colors.
• Better understands the concept of time.
• Knows about things used every day in the home (money, food, appliances).
• Recalls part of a story.
• Speaks sentences of more than five words.
• Uses future tense.
• Tells longer stories.
• Says name and address.
• Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer.
• Hops, somersaults.
• Swings, climbs.
• May be able to skip.
• Copies triangle and other shapes.
• Draws person with body.
• Prints some letters.
• Dresses and undresses without help.
• Uses fork, spoon, and (sometimes) a table knife.
• Usually cares for own toilet needs.

Parents are reminded the lists above are just a guideline.