Advocating for Student Needs

Answer

Reducing the cost of Education through Early Interventions

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law whose intention is to take into consideration the special needs that are to be provided to support learners with disabilities. This paper explores the components that make up Part C of IDEA which is devoted to the Early Intervention Programs for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities. It looks at the agencies that implement this program, the role of IDEA as it was created, how it is beneficial to early childhood development and ultimately, how this information would impact my future practice. A coordinated and comprehensive early intervention program enhances development for learners with disability, greatly reducing educational costs in the long run.

The idea behind IDEA was for it to serve a number of educational and developmental needs for the disabled infant. The federal government, through the grant program that it provides to different states, expect those states in return to develop comprehensive state-wide programs that deliver early intervention services for toddlers and infants with disabilities. According to Klingner et al. (2016), when IDEA is implemented fully and efficiently, it minimizes the likelihood that the infant will later be institutionalized, increasing their chances of independence later in education (p. 102). The early interventions also reduce educational costs by reducing the need for special education. By paying for the infants’ early intervention services provided at federal, state, local and private sources, Part C of IDEA makes it easier for families to meet the needs of their children. This is in line with enhancing the capacity of families to meet the needs of the children who live with disabilities. Through the grants, the States are encouraged to expand possibilities for infants under three who face the prospect of significant developmental delay without early intervention services.

Lead Agencies across the states are mandated to receive funds and administer the responsibilities that they are assigned in line with provision of early interventions. Although various states disagree on which should be the lead agency to run this program, the law mandates the Governor to appoint a lead agency that implements the early interventions program. Because the lead agency not only has the funds but also the design for ensuring this program benefits all that deserve it within the state, it is important that it is assisted and supported. This support comes in the form of Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) that brings together the parents of the targeted children to advise and assist the lead agency in its mandate. However, as Hebbeler and Spiker (2016) note, the state discretion on which body is designated “lead agency”, causes the early intervention programs to greatly vary from state to state (p. 191).

Early childhood development is greatly influenced by the provision of early interventions. The interventions that cover a wide range of developmental issue areas like speech and language skills, hearing, vision and physical abilities help the children to attain developmental milestones that are prerequisite for successful learning. Woiak and Lang (2016) assert that “many children with disabilities require special care and interventions even later in life” (p. 102). Early interventions minimize these later interventions by increasing the chances of the child being more independent in future.

In my future professional practise, I will use the Part C of IDEA Early Interventions to enhance the early development in children with disabilities. First, I would encourage parents with such children to register them for the program and fully coordinate with lead agencies to make sure that their children maximally benefit from the initiative. I will also assess the difference that children who receive early interventions have over those who don’t and need it, so that I may know how to treat them differently.

Early intervention programs make it easy for children under the age of three who live with various disabilities to integrate into the mainstream education system without the need for extra care. When this happens, the cost of caring for them while learning is reduced, and they stand a better chance at succeeding like their normal counterparts[] ]