Early Intervention

When you think of your child and how he or she is growing, you notice things like how soon he or she smiles, sits up, rolls over, or how well he or she walks, talks, holds a spoon, and feeds him or herself. Children learn naturally during this time, by doing, by watching you and/or other children, and by being taught how to do different things. Because you know your child so well, you might notice that he or she is growing or developing differently than a cousin, brother or sister at that age. What you are noticing are changes in different developmental areas. The five primary developmental areas are:

• Physical development-child’s ability to move, use finger skills, see and hear
• Language and speech development - child’s ability to understand language and ability to talk or express need
• Social and emotional development - child’s ability to relate to others
• Self-help (adaptive) - child’s ability to eat, dress, and take care of themselves
• Cognitive development - child’s ability to think and learn

While all children grow and change at their own rate, some children can experience delays in their development which can be cause for concern.

Centre County Early Intervention (EI) provides services to children ages birth to 3 years old who exhibit a developmental delay of 25% or greater (-1.5 standard deviations), a medical or mental health diagnosis, or the need for informed clinical opinion . Qualifying children may be eligible to receive physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, hearing therapy, vision therapy, and special instruction. In addition, each child is provided with a Service Coordinator who can be a resource and support for the child and family. All services are provided in families’ homes or the community, are voluntary and provided at no cost, regardless of family income. 

If you have any concerns about your child’s development, please call (814) 355-6786 and tell the operator that you would like to discuss a developmental evaluation.

For children within 45 days of turning 3 years old, please contact the Central Intermediate Unit 10 at  Central Intermediate Unit Website   or  1-800-982-3375.