Social and Functional Characteristics of Receipt and Service Use Intensity of Core Early Intervention Services

Early intervention service intensity and young children’s home participation

“…The PEDI-CAT domains have excellent test-retest reliability and have been shown to be significantly related to participation outcomes [10,24]. Further, when compared to Child Outcomes Summary (COS) scores, which is a consensus rating that is endorsed in EI as a valid indicator of child's functioning [3], significant associations between PEDI-CAT daily activities scores and COS mobility scores were found (r = .31-.39, p < .05). Since routine collection of COS was not mandatory at this EI program throughout the data collection period, there was a high percentage of missing COS data and therefore PEDI-CAT data were included in analyses.…”

“…For each type of activity, caregivers reported on 1) frequency of attendance (i.e., how often the child attends an activity) (8-point scale, from never [0] to once or more each day [7]; 2) level of involvement (i.e., the child's level of engagement in the activity) (5-point scale, from not very involved [1] to very involved [5]); and 3) their desire for their child's participation to change (i.e., their dissatisfaction) [yes, no]. Then, caregivers evaluated the impact of environmental features and resources on home participation (3-point scale, from usually helps/usually yes [3] to usually makes harder/usually no [1]). For this study, mean completion time for the home and community sections of the YC-PEM e-PRO was 21.…”

“…Although we examined three dimensions of home participation, we only found evidence to support the role of EI service use on child's level of involvement while attending activities and/or caregiver desire for the child's participation to change, which may be more salient aspects of home participation in the context of EI service receipt. For example, EI services may focus on improving a child's functional skills to be more involved in activities, as evidenced by prior work showing the significant effect of EI service intensity on gains in cognitive and social-emotional capabilities [3,31]. We did not have data on EI service type or care quality to know how EI services were focused, but prior studies have found indirect effects of family-centeredness and perceived control over help and services received on a related outcome of parent and family well-being [7].…”

“…We did not have data on EI service type or care quality to know how EI services were focused, but prior studies have found indirect effects of family-centeredness and perceived control over help and services received on a related outcome of parent and family well-being [7]. Therefore, future studies that include data from case progress notes or parent-reported measures of care quality (e.g., family-centered practices) would help to further explain these differential findings across multiple dimensions of the participation outcome [3].…”

“…Early intervention (EI) is a primary source of rehabilitation and developmental services for 2-3% of U.S. infants and young children annually [1]. Significant state variability exists with regard to EI service delivery and EI service use varies as a function of select social and clinical characteristics of the children and families enrolled [2,3]. There is growing evidence to suggest the importance of EI service use and gains in children's cognitive and social-emotional competencies from EI entry to exit [4].…”