Early intervention programme (EIP) are a range of different programmes included different types of therapy and education that aimed to help and support children with developmental delays or other specific health conditions. The programmes are helpful to improve children development and adaptability, enhance family capability in handling the special needs children and increase family and children participation in society. This research aims to discover the effectiveness and importance of the early special education in Malaysia. To meet the objectives of this study, a qualitative research using phenomenological approach has conducted on five special needs teachers who work in a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) early intervention centre in Johor, Malaysia by using purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. This research found that improvement in attention and behaviours, self-care skills, social interaction skills of special needs children are the effectiveness of early intervention services. Besides that, providing knowledge and happiness to the parents and preparing for integration into kindergarten and future schooling are also some of the effectiveness. The implications of this study consist of contributing significantly to the community by making people understand the effectiveness and importance of sending special needs children to the EIP. It is important for the parents to realise the importance of sending their special needs children to the EIP as earlier as possible as learning occur effective before six years old and behavior more likely to be trained.

The aim of this paper is to give survey of previous experiences of early intervention system worldwide and in the Republic of Macedonia. The experiences show that good early intervention systems function in many countries; others, started much later in realization of this process. But there are some countries where the organization of services for early intervention is in initial stage. The Republic of Macedonia possesses modest experiences considering the way of organization of early intervention of children with disabilities. In the context, we locate the problem in lack of established mechanisms for coordination between relevant institutions, based on legislation. The condition in the Republic of Macedonia points out to the necessity to animate all considered sides in organizing the process of early intervention, which will enable creating a model based on positive worldwide experiences, modified in Macedonian context, as a prerequisite for successful social integration.

In the last two decades, the global community has made significant progress in saving the lives of children <5 y of age. However, these advances are failing to help all children to thrive, especially children with disabilities. Most early child development research has focussed on the impact of biological and psychosocial factors on the developing brain and the effect of early intervention on child development. Yet studies typically exclude children with disabilities, so relatively little is known about which interventions are effective for this high-risk group. In this article we provide an overview of child development and developmental disabilities. We describe family-centred care interventions that aim to provide optimal stimulation for development in a safe, stable and nurturing environment. We make the case for improving opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to achieve their full potential and thrive, including through inclusive early childhood developm...

Objectives: To establish the socio-demographic and clinical profile of children attending Early Intervention Program (EIP).Methods: Retrospective analysis of case records of 100 consecutive children examined from July 2002 to June 2004. Data regarding socio-demographic variables, clinical profile, locomotor, speech and audiology functions were recorded. Data is described in terms of frequency and mean (with SD).Results: Mean age of these children was 4.0±1.4 years. 70% were male and a similar percentage hailed from urban areas. 88% were mentally retarded with mean IQ of 50±24.3. Cerebral Palsy was seen in 50% of the children, learning disorder in 24%, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 12% and autism in 4%. 25% of children suffered from epilepsy and 66% were unable to communicate verbally. 21% of children had strong evidence of genetic disorders. An etiological diagnosis could not be made in 31% of children.Conclusions: Awareness of developmental delay as well as of possible interventions is low in India. Speech delay is the only delay which is considered important by parents. Active involvement and early referrals from pediatricians, obstetricians and other specialists is suggested.

In Malaysia, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play important roles in establishing community-based early intervention programmes for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, there are limited understanding of how the intervention programmes may be used in community-based settings. This paper aims to explore the practices and challenges faced by the community-based intervention centres in Malaysia. A principal, 6 teachers, and a therapist from IDEAS Autism Centre were selected as participants in this study through purposive sampling. Five main themes were identified through thematic analysis: [1] Admission Requirement, [2] Teacher’s Role, [3] Current Intervention Program, [4] Objectives and [5] Challenges. The results reveal that their curricula were self-designed through adaptation. This study provides a base to improve the community-based early intervention programmes.