About our early intervention services
This section provides further details about the charity's early intervention services for pre-school
children with Down syndrome from birth to 4 years.
Developing and sharing models of good practice
Sharing techniques to maximise impact
We are committed to sharing the research-based activities that have been proven to work in our early
intervention services, in order to benefit as many children with Down syndrome as possible.
Evidence-based resources
We have published books, videos and
teaching resources based on the techniques we have developed. We aim to share this information
as widely as possible to promote the development of children with Down syndrome worldwide.
Improving statutory provision of early years support
Through our intervention service we aim to inform, assist and complement all other community and statutory
services, including school placement.
In order to help develop and improve statutory services around the UK and overseas we welcome visiting
professionals who work with children currently attending our intervention service.
The UK Early Support project
Based on our unique experience in providing evidence-based early intervention groups, the charity has
played a leading role in the UK government's Early Support project.
This project aims to improve the delivery of statutory services to babies and young children with disabilities
and their families across the UK. For more details visit the Early
Support web site...
About the groups
The charity's early intervention groups for babies and
preschool children with Down syndrome provide structured activities to promote development.
Around 96 children are currently enrolled in these services.
The groups have a particular focus on speech, language, communication, literacy, numeracy, cognitive
development, social skills and behaviour.
Click on these links to find out more about the charity's:
Working with parents to promote development
Through our groups we work with parents to promote their children's development by:
- giving information about the special needs of children with Down syndrome, tailored to each specific
child and family, as the children's needs vary considerably
- offering group and individual activities relevant for each child's age and stage of development
- demonstrating activities to encourage each child's progress which parents can include in daily family
routines at home.
These activities are all based on the latest research into the developmental needs of children with
Down syndrome and we explain to parents why each activity will be helpful.
Provided by in-house experts
TThese services are run by members of the charity's expert team of practitioners,
including psychologists and speech and language specialists. They have many years of combined experience
in early intervention – as researchers and as practitioners.
Evaluated by parents
We ask parents to keep some easy-to-complete records on their child's development. These are helpful
for parents to measure change and progress as well as enabling us to evaluate specific interventions.
We also ask parents to provide regular feedback on the quality of the service in the group they attend
and to provide suggestions for improving our services. In addition, we may also monitor and evaluate
children's progress by video-recording and standard assessment procedures.
Complementing statutory services
Attendance at the charity's Baby Development Groups or Early Development Groups does not replace
the need for good statutory services for children with Down syndrome.
Some activities at the groups may supplement and complement those already available to families through
their home teaching, speech and language therapy, Child Development Centre or education services.
Joining the groups
After you have looked at the information about our Baby Development Groups and
Early Development Groups, if you wish to find out about joining one of our
groups, please go to the joining the groups page.
Please note: There may be a waiting list to join this popular service.