First Early Intervention

First Early Intervention

Our First Early Intervention (EI) program is an integrated developmental service, offering both evaluation and therapeutic services to children from birth to three years of age who have developmental concerns due to biological, medical, or environmental factors. EI is a family centered program in which parents and caregivers actively participate.

Services are provided in everyday natural settings, including your home, child care center, the home of a family member or childcare provider, in small integrated groups at our center, and in a range of other community settings. This team-based, collaborative model allows the child, family, caregivers, and EI professionals to work together to create increased opportunities for learning. A variety of parent support, educational services, and resource referrals are also provided.

Program Goals:

The goals of EI are to:

• Enhance the family's ability to support their child's development
• Provide information and resources to families and community agencies
• Support parents through the transition to new or continuing programs when their child leaves EI
• Help children and their families acquire the skills they need to grow into happy and healthy members of the community

Communities Served:

We serve the following communities:

• Braintree, Cohasset, Hingham, Hull, Norwell, Scituate, and Weymouth

Eligibility Requirements:

If your child is aged 0-3, and you can answer yes to any of the following statements, your child may be eligible for services:

• My child was born prematurely
• My child has a vision and/or hearing impairment
• My child is having behavioral or attention difficulties
• My child was born with a disability or health condition that affects his/her development
• My child is slow to sit up, stand, walk, talk, or do things for him/herself

Working Together:

The EI team works with each family to determine what type of developmental help would be most beneficial as well as when, where, how, and with whom services will take place. In addition to the family, the team may include developmental specialists, physical/occupational/speech therapists, social workers, dieticians, nurses, and pediatricians. We also work in collaboration with community resources such as center-based day care, family day care, family network services, schools services, Head Start, and private therapy services in the area. Service plans are individualized and flexible in order to meet the changing needs of the child and family.

Services Provided:

EI is paid for by private insurance, MassHealth, and the Department of Public Health. We offer the following services:

• Developmental screenings and assessments for all infants and toddlers
• Service coordination and individualized family service plans
• Therapeutic services in speech, occupational, and physical therapy; developmental education; social work and counseling; and more
• Treatment sessions that support children and families within their natural environment
• Transportation
• Information and referrals to community programs and specialty providers including low vision, hearing impairment, and autism services
• Educational resources
• Transition planning with special education providers and private preschools
• Infant and toddler groups as well as parent supports
• Training for community childcare providers 

Referrals:

To make a referral to the EI program, please click here.

Contact:

The EI program is located at 574 Main Street in South Weymouth. For more information, please call EI at (781) 331-2533 x1110 or email FirstEI@ArcSouthShore.org.