An Overview of the Developmental Systems Model for Early Intervention

The recent history of early intervention services for children who are vulnerable and their families in the United States has certainly been one of progressive expansion and refinement. The model projects operating in select communities or university settings and the beginnings of more widespread programs in the 1960s and 1970s have been transformed into a vibrant and visible national program providing early intervention services and supports to which all eligible young children with established disabilities have access (see Guralnick, 2000a, in press-b). Preventive intervention programs for children at risk for developmental disabilities have exhibited considerable growth as well, although these programs lack the many legislative mandates and the coherence of programs for children with established disabilities. Numerous factors working together created the conditions for these transformations as well as for the continuing support for further advances in contemporary systems of early intervention programs. Historical accounts of these factors, including philosophical shifts, knowledge gained from the developmental science of normative development and the developmental science of risk and disability, the results of intervention science, information derived from clinical practice, increased support for early childhood development programs for all children, and major legislative events can be found elsewhere Taken together, what has emerged from all of these efforts is a strong commitment to make early intervention, in all of its forms, work. Moreover, as programs in each state and local community have become more visible and prominent, the expectations for early intervention programs have increased considerably. Ensuring the availability of well-coordinated, highly effective early intervention programs in every community, each representing contemporary principles and practices, is held to be a reasonable goal by policy makers, parents, and professionals. It is further thought that the absence of uniformly high-quality early intervention programs can jeopardize the health and optimal development of our nation's vulnerable children and pose increasing challenges to the ability of families to function effectively.