What is Infant and Toddler Intervention?

What is Infant and Toddler Intervention/Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)?

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Once your child is found eligible for Help Me Grow Infant and Toddler Intervention services, the first step will be developing a service plan for your child and your family.
 

What is an IFSP?
 

The Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a written plan for providing early intervention services to you and your child until their third birthday.
 

Who develops the IFSP?
 

The plan is developed by a team including you, your service coordinator, the team of evaluation/assessors, individuals you want at the meeting (other family members or advocates), and professionals who understand your child’s developmental needs.  Developing the plan is a process aimed at providing you with skills and resources to help your child grow and develop.  Based upon all the information that was gathered during the evaluation and assessment process of your child and your voluntary family information, you will work with the team to identify your priorities for your child for the next year.  Service that align with these priorities will be designed to meet your child’s needs. Remember, you are a very important part of the team and will help make decisions about your child’s and family’s services.
 

What are the contents of the IFSP?
 

The IFSP will contain information about your child’s development, relevant family information if you wish it to be included, the results or outcomes that you and the team are trying to achieve, dates and length of services that are required to meet those needs.  These services are to be provided in locations where your child typically spends their day (natural environment).  You are very important to your child and the goal of the infant and toddler intervention services is to help you help your child learn and develop.  Very young children do not learn by having a one hour visit from an educator every week. Therefore, intervention services are provided in the child’s natural environment so that you or other adult caregivers can learn how to support your child’s development and growth throughout the remainder of the week.
 

What are these services?
 

Your family will be assigned a service coordinator who will convene the IFSP meeting and help you learn about other services and resources that your child or family may need.  Your child may receive one or more of the following services:  assistive technology, audiology, counseling and home visits, family training, health services, medical services (diagnostic only), nursing services, nutrition services, service coordination, sign language and cured language services, social work, special instruction, speech-language pathology, transportation, vision services and other services as necessary and appropriate.
 

What happens when an IFSP is begun?
 

A review of the IFSP will be held every six months (or more frequently if requested).  The review will enable you and the team to determine how much progress your child has made toward achieving the outcomes originally created on the IFSP and whether any changes or adjustments to the outcomes or services are necessary. We know that young children grow and change, so an annual IFSP meeting will be conducted every year to evaluate your child’s progress and service needs.  The IFSP may be revised to reflect new developmental needs
and services.