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Early Intervention
An Early Intervention Program (EIP) is designed for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. First created by Congress in 1986 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the EIP is administered by each State’s Department of Health through the Bureau of Early Intervention. To be eligible for services, children must be under 3 years old and have a confirmed disability or established developmental delay as defined by the State in one or more of the following areas of development: physical development, cognitive development, communication, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. For deaf and hard of hearing newborn children, early intervention services primarily focus on communication skills learned through sign language, spoken language, or both. Family members are the most important people in each child’s life, so early intervention services may include support such as specialists, therapists, and parents of Deaf children, for family members too as well as a motivated EI Specialist. These Early Intervention Programs can be found at the two sites, listed by state.
 * EIP
 * Clerc Center: Information and Resources

Early Intervention Specialist
A person who is in charge of Early Intervention Programs is an Early Intervention Specialist. They may work in in-home settings, local day care settings, general education classrooms or classrooms specially designed for students’ with more significant disabilities. Work settings in public schools vary according to the individual needs of the student. These Specialists are in charge of creating a child’s Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). Each child’s IFSP is different, depending on the each individual and the family’s needs. These services may include an evaluation of child’s needs, home visits to get acquainted with the family and child, sign language instruction for the family members, audiology services, speech-language services, special instruction, assistive technology devices and services, and social work services. In certain cases, the EI Specialist can even be in charge of helping the family receive services such as occupational therapy or physical therapy. That means these Professionals must work as a team member in providing for the needs of the infants or toddlers, and be able to work together on the planning, delivering, and evaluating these young children. EI Specialist within the Deaf community’s main concern is to give parents and family member’s unbiased information about communication options. That means to provide families with information they need about sign language, oral options, cochlear implants, hearing aids, and opposing views on all topics. They supply resources, books, pamphlets, phone numbers, support groups, and anything that would be helpful for them to understand their child’s hearing loss and where to find help. These EI Specialist are the parents’ primary source to the Deaf World, and are their resource on how to raise their children.

How do Deaf babies learn how to communicate? Early Intervention Specialists

Specifications and Qualifications
To be eligible for this Profession, a person must obtain at least a Bachelors Degree for teaching Early Childhood Special Education. Coursework would include developmental milestones, assessment of infants and very young children, and a wide array of disabling conditions in children birth to 5 years of age. Also, depending on the state, there are different licensures that need to be met. Besides the exact schooling needed, a person must also be outgoing, high energy level, friendly, and sincere, as they are entering a family’s life after a child is born, and helping them throughout their young lives. To prepare for a career in this field, a person should have experience of working with children, especially early childhood settings or day care centers that specify in children with disabilities. Besides, being good at working with children of all types, one should discuss this job with other professionals in the field to get a better sense of what it entails.

Salary and Benefits
The salary for an Early Intervention Specialist can vary from about $30,000-$50,000 a year, with the average being $45,000 a year in income. In this profession, it is common to obtain a bonus from anywhere from $250.25 to $1,500. The most common benefits for this career are primarily medical, dental, and vision, in which 69% obtain medical, 57% have dental, and 40% get vision.