Is early intervention a free program?

Question

My son is 21 months and only says/uses 7 words. Would it be free to me to have him screened by an early intervention program in Wisconsin?

Answer 1

I would advise you to take your child to your medical doctor and have a medical exam to find out if his ears are OK.

Ask your doctor of any programs to help you out. Its the doctors job to know these things...Good luck

Answer 2

I would say no.  It might be free if you are on welfare.

Answer 3

Yes, early intervention (EI) is free.  Federal law requires that states serve children 3-5 with special needs.  States can choose if they serve kids birth to 3 with special needs, but nearly every state does.  They get more money from the feds by serving these children.  If you have ANY concerns, it is wise to get an evaluation sooner than later.  It cannot hurt and if your child qualifies, it can only help.  Again, it is absolutely free to children who qualifies.  

Most programs will first screen a child and then, if the screening shows delays, they will do a full assessment.

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edit:

Every state delivers these services differently.  In Oregon, the same agency serves these kids from birth to age five.  They do not go into the public schools and onto IEP's until that time.  Birth to three services are NOT in every state.  3 to 5 services are.

Answer 4

I know in Vermont the will bill your insurance company. Talk to your doctor they can probably set it up. Two of my three boys had speech delays.

Answer 5

First of all, don't worry too much. Although your child only uses 7 words, that doesn't neccessarily mean that there is a problem. By all means, contact the early intervention program and have your child tested for a speech delay. It is free. The following will explain more about it all.

A few years back, the government installed the "No Child Left Behind" act. This act requires that more be done to help youth who are delayed in one area or another and etc. This includes delays in speech which is one of the most common delays seen now-a-days. This particular delay can cause the child to experience significant problems in school when they are older due to the fact that the teacher cannot understand what the child is saying and etc. Because of these reasons, there is much help available for children with speech delays, irregardless of income or location.

Contact the early intervention program. They will set it up for a free screening to determine the severity of the delay. If your child meets a set severity level, he will automatically have the right to free educational services through a whole host of available programs..these particular programs may differ depending on where you live.

For both of my sons, who were significantly delayed in speech, a speech therapist came to my house several times a week to work with my boys. Another person would come out as well with free educational toys, books, and games for them. This free in-home service can take place until your child is old enough for a in-school program.

If you have any questions or want to know more about this topic, feel free to contact me.

Answer 6

All states have a free early intervention program but it's from ages birth to age 3. My two children both were diagnosed through our state's early intervention program at around age 2 (my son had speech delay also at 18 months and my pediatrician made us wait until 24 months which didn't help at all btw). We received some services under the program (therapies like occupational therapy and speech therapy) and all of these were free, for both children from the program in our state. I would highly recommend it. We received a referral to the program in both cases from our pediatrician.

The only problem is once your children are 3 years old, then they age out of the program and are then supposed to receive the public school special education services which are really awful  (at least in our state). The public school system either denied therapy saying he didn't need OT so we had to have private insurance pay for OT (when tested he had 2 years delay fine motor/visual motor skills) or didn't provide the therapy that they were supposed to provide according to my son's IEP.

I would recommend you try to get into the program asap so you can get at least a full year of really good speech therapy before your son ages out of the program! Good luck!

Answer 7

I can't speak to Wisconsin, but in our area they DO have a free screening program.  I believe then that depending on the services required, there is a range of services provided as part of the public school system for infants and toddlers at no cost.  

So the answer to your question is probably there is some type of free early intervention - especially if you are in a more suburban or urban area.

Look up your county's or city's government - social services website or call your local public elementary school and ask for a number to contact the right people.  Your Pediatrician may know who to call as well.

You are being a great mom to catch this and want to get help!

Answer 8

I found a program called Wisconsin First Step, here's the site:  http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/bdds/birthto3/

I live in Illinois and we have a couple programs.  One is Right Steps, which is through the local school district, and anyone qualifies and it's free.  They come to your house once a month and do small evaluations of your child.  They also bring information on what your child "should" be doing, ideas to improve their learning, and just fun ideas of things to do.  I love the program!  It gives me someone to voice my concerns to and ask, "Is this normal?"

The other program, Child and Family Connections, is through the state.  I was directed to them because my 14 month old is not saying any words.  They did a FREE evaluation for development and speech.  She qualified for services and the nice part was that they left the decision up to us.  We chose to wait 4-6 months in hopes that she will begin to "talk" on her own.  We were informed that the services would be covered if we fell below an income cutoff (which is above welfare cutoff), and if we didn't then they would bill our insurance first.  If your son does qualify make sure that your insurance will cover it, some don't.  

Talk to your pediatrician, they should know who to contact and possibly give you a brochure.  They also may check your sons hearing-which if there is a problem the insurance may cover.  I really think that it's better to catch the problem and take steps to "fix" it now, before he starts school and is even further behind.  Don't worry too much and good luck!!

Answer 9

In my state there is a program called Child Development Services which will screen children under age 5 for free, and if the child needs services, will then provide those as well.

Your pediatrician should be able to direct you to a service such as this in your state. If your pediatrician is not able to help you, contact your local school superintendent's office, and ask them for a referral.

If a program exists, which I am fairly certain it does, keep hunting until you find it.

Another route would be to call your state's Health and Human Services or Family Services bureau and ask them for info.

In the meantime, try teaching your son some basic sign language to help him communicate with you. www.signwithme.com is a wonderful resource for this. You can teach him to sign 'finished' when he is done eating, 'more' when he wants more to eat or wants to do some activity again, 'cup' for when he is thirsty, etc.

This form of communication will certainly help your and your son's frustration level...I recommend it for all children 7 months and older, I believe it increase language development too.

Best wishes for you and your son.