What is Early Intervention?

Early intervention describes the service and support given to infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. If your child is lagging in meeting developmental milestones, you should consider providing early intervention. It is needless to say; timing is everything. If time lapses, things get harder to manage and often impossible to achieve desired results.

The same goes when dealing with children born with special needs. If you find signs of developmental delays in your child, timely intervention can considerably mitigate its effects. Sooner the intervention, the better the results. You can make a big difference by introducing them to early intervention products. Early intervention helps children improve their abilities and learn new skills. Early intervention may include speech therapy, physical therapy, developmental pre-school, and other services based on the child's needs.

HPFY provides various early intervention toys to help your child develop audio, visual, gross, and fine motor skills and interactive and social skills. Try Jack-In-The-Box Switch Toy, Sound Activated Switch, Bump and Go Airplane Toy, and many more from top manufacturers and designers of childcare products.

How do you know your child needs Early Intervention?

For a parent, it is a beautiful and magical experience to watch their child growing. Every new behavior or action of their child brings much excitement. Parents eagerly wait to see if the child is meeting the milestones at the right time. These moments build relationships and bonds with their children. The love and affection help their children feel safe and secure. This bonding is essential for a child's social and cognitive development.

Developmental milestones are behaviors or a set of physical skills like rolling over, walking, and talking that most infants can do at a certain age range. Normally, the pediatrician relies on these milestones to check how your child is developing. The milestones differ for each age range, and each milestone has a specific age level. Every child is unique, and the age when a normally developing child reaches the milestone may vary. Sometimes If the child starts doing a particular task a little bit late can also be considered normal.

Watch for different milestones of your child and if you notice that your child is lagging in meeting milestones, then talk to your child care provider at your child's well-child visit and ask for a developmental screening. Screening involves observation of a child's behavior and the ability to perform age-appropriate tasks. The milestones help as a guide to identifying children who may be at risk for developmental delay. If the doctor finds anything that may concern, they will refer to a specialist who can help the child further with early intervention programs. The moment you find your child is eligible for early intervention, act promptly, don't delay. Act early to help your child to make the best possible progress.

Why is early intervention important?

Research findings show that the first three years of a child's life are crucial for development and later health. This phase of life builds a foundation for future learning, health, and success. The child learns quickly and responds to therapy very well during this period—the neural circuits of a child's brain impact learning, behavior, and health. Over time, these neural circuits become harder to change. A child's mind is adaptable, and we can nurture it by providing the right kind of care and support. We can encourage children by understanding their needs, strengths, weaknesses, and responding sensitively can help to protect children's brains from stress. Children whose developmental delays are identified and addressed during this period have a greater chance of reaching their full potential to progress. Early learning can have a significant impact on a child's ability to communicate, play and grasp.

How do toys help a special child?

Play materials play a vital role in early intervention for infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Early intervention toys are specially made for children to be more active and develop responses to various stimuli. These toys provide visual and auditory inputs to the child through playful activities that help them learn as they play. The children must play with these toys under adult supervision as some toys can cause choking hazards. One should keep in mind the following points while selecting toys:

1. Select traditional toys over electronic toys

Children are often attracted by lights and noises. Smart toys provide visual and audio stimuli to help children learn and grow. But it would be best to let the child engage in social activities with other children through traditional toys, as they communicate less when engaged with electronic toys, to improve their language and communication skills. Excessive play with electronic toys can also hinder parent-child interaction as parents may speak less when the child is busy with the toy. The sounds that these toys create can take the meaningful conversation between the parent and child. There should be a balance of activity to the toy, i.e., a toy should be 90 percent child's input and 10 percent toy's response, while in the case of electronic toys, it is the inverse of it.

2. Choose toys that suit the child's current skill level

Children are not interested in toys in some cases. It may be because the toy that you offer can be too complicated or confusing for the child. Always choose a toy that suits the current level of your child. Observe what type of toys your child wants to play with.

3. Find an everyday object that can be a great toy

It is not always necessary to buy toys to play with. There are so many objects around our house that can be utilized as play material. We need to be creative with these objects to bring out the best possible potential from the child.

4. Fewer, the better

If children have many toys, they won't spend much time on each toy, and ultimately after a while, they will lose interest in those toys. Research shows that if the child has access to fewer toys, it provides ample scope for the child to be innovative and creative. The child tries to find a thousand ways to play with the same toy. It inculcates creative thinking. So pack away those piles of toys from the child's play area into the storage and rotate them every month or so.

Therapeutic Learning Toy and Go Go School Bus Remote Control Toys not only provide fun and excitement, but they will also assist in improving the visual tracking of your child.

Where to buy early intervention toys online?

We at HPFY offer the toys that will meet your child's special education requirement, keeping in mind the child's safety. All these products are from a leading manufacturer Enabling Devices.