- October 12, 2026
- 4:59 am
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STICH IN TIME SAVES NINE – EARLY INTERVENTION IN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
You might have heard about the proverb “stich in time saves nine” which is applicable and effective in every walk of life. Likely, in the field of occupational therapy this proverb is highly prescribed and followed. In terms of occupational therapy it is manifestly known as “Early Intervention”.
Occupational therapists believe in as soon as possible therapy treatment for any individual as he gets diagnosed with any disease or medical condition. This helps in understanding the condition better and helps a lot its progress and disbursement. Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2003 indicates that 4% of children from birth till four years have a disability, most of these children have severe limitations when it comes to activities of daily living (ADLs), such as self-care, movement, communication, and attending school (4). Generally, occupational therapists believe in early childhood intervention services (ECIS) for any kind of disability as a prominent integral part of their disability-related services. Early intervention program is greatly understood by all occupational therapists equitably in every area of the field. It is revealed through a study that for the first three years of a child’s life, it encompasses a variety of tried-and-true policies that provide them with the fundamental social and emotional protection they require for the rest of their lives (1). For this, family involvement in the purpose is required. An Australian study investigated how parents felt about their family’s quality of life (FQOL) in the presence of a disabled kid. It looked at the connections between parent occupations, FQOL, and ECIS. A parallel triangulation design with mixed approaches was employed. Twelve semi-structured interviews and the Beach Centre FQOL survey (N = 72) were carried out. Overall satisfaction with Total FQOL and the correlations between FQOL, ECIS, and parent jobs were highly rated. Additionally, its findings indicated that having a timely, family-centered ECIS improves FQOL (3).
The notion “early intervention” plays a greater role in people (children and adult) who are at risk of developing limitations as a result of any neurological disease or due to any accident/injury which could hamper their independency. These kinds of patients should immediately be referred to the occupational therapist for their earliest intervention therapy program to achieve their highest independency level to maintain their self-esteem. For this, allied health professionals especially occupational therapists highly appreciate caregivers/parents involvement in early intervention process. Parental involvement in early intervention is linked to better outcomes for the newborn and family, according to systematic evaluations (2). Parents/caregivers concerns and involvement strengthens and boosts the intervention strategies leading to early outcomes and benefits. According to the respondents in the study conducted by Dall’Alba et. al in 2017, the majority of parents are either very involved (38.2%) or somewhat involved (47.1%) in their child’s therapy, with just a small minority (14.7%) being at a low level lead to the best implementation of their early intervention plan (4). The key of the achievement of desired goal in that study was the involvement of the family members in the intended purpose. Hence, it is evident that parents’ involvement in the process of early intervention (EI) results best in the outcome as a whole. Moreover, it helps in strengthening a child’s well-being and physical and emotional traits. This is how it helps in a child’s potentials and maintaining his well-being.
The question arises here how to attract a parent/caregiver for an early intervention program as an integral component for their child as a treatment. Coaching is one way to encourage family involvement (2). Throughout the last ten years, this approach has been used extensively. When it comes to early intervention and paediatric rehabilitation, coaching suggests a very collaborative strategy that is used across several disciplines (2). This approach helps in having the discussion about a client between his parents on face-to-face basis in order to rule out the strengths and limitations of their child and important measures to uplift the child’s potentials. In this regards, we need to analyze about child’s potential capabilities and limitations to work on to strengthens his milestones and help him in achieving the maximum of his capabilities over his barriers. Coaching in early intervention program is an approach to understand specifically about your own child’s needs and demands in his short-comings and powered areas. In early intervention, coaching is frequently utilized to increase family members’ ability to support their child’s development within the framework of daily activities and routines. Stated differently, parent-implemented interventions employ coaching (2). Let us suppose, a 3-y-old autistic child who is emotionally unheard and unable to express his thoughts and then come up with aggression and melt-downs. For him, a need to learn about the emotional coaching approach for parents is crucial. Once they will be able to practice the emotional coaching mechanism with the child, it will be easier for them to handle him and will be easier to read the child in every means. Similarly, with other children’s needs and demands, it does vary. Every child who needs early intervention plan, demands for a tailored-based program for his intervention as an individual being. If we talk about children, the early intervention therapy program is equally applicable in children with any developmental disorder like Autism, ADHD, Learning disorders or with any neurological disorders like Cerebral Palsy or metabolic diseases or with any pediatric neuromuscular disorders including muscular dystrophy and congenital myopathies. The early intervention program aids in limiting the progress of any disease and helps in improving the limitation in functional skills in order to carry on his age according daily living skills.
For geriatrics population, EI therapy program is highly pertinent and beneficial in every type of disease and medical condition from the day of its onset. It is very beneficial in every conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury or any other types of injury, arthritis and else if it is implemented within the 6 months of the onset of that medical condition or disease. It helps in improving their optimal level of independency in their daily living functionalities and also aids them in coping their occupational and vocational tasks. It gives them high potential in boosting up their confidence in motivating themselves which ultimately shows results in optimal or high level functionality in both the fine and gross motor skills.
A study done in Queensland, Australia highlighted about important role of occupational therapists in early intervention as an evidence-based practice. The study emphasizes that early intervention is based on the idea that providing services or interventions to children at a young age can help them improve their skills and lessen the negative effects of their impairment on their development (4). According to Dall’Alba L et. al, occupational therapy early intervention is helpful in supporting children with developmental difficulties (4). It is an ultimate believe of professionals and researchers that early interventions aids an individual’s limitation better than anything else. Additionally, the impacts of early intervention on any individual is ultimately benefitting the community. A study was in 2015 in NSW, Australia, in which they used Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) among pre-school aged children who were on autism spectrum disorder. The results shown significant improvement in their performances in visual perception, receptive language and expressive language areas (5). Moreover, parents noted an impressive rise in their child’s motor and receptive communication abilities as well as a significant decline in autism-specific traits. It is also a great help in improving their play skills (5). Community-based settings for these sorts of intervention programs are highly helpful for families to improve the development need and well-being of their children. This is how it can assist community to improve as a whole and additionally, it plays a significant role in giving economic benefits. Once the burden of any medical condition is controlled or reduced, it provides the potential for a healthy individual and healthy community.
By considering the importance of early intervention therapy program we can refer the patient in the absolute area for their therapy purpose in order to achieve their maximum level of functionality and independency. This act will definitely minimize the burden of differently-able and dependent people in our society. “The minimal level of dependency we have, the maximum level of success we achieve as society.”
REFERENCES:
- Allen G. Early intervention: the next steps, an independent report to Her Majesty’s government by Graham Allen MP. The Stationery Office; 2011 Jan 20.
- Akhbari Ziegler S, Hadders‐Algra M. Coaching approaches in early intervention and paediatric rehabilitation. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 2020 May;62(5):569-74.
- Bhopti A, Lentin P, Brown T. Relationships between early childhood intervention services, family quality of life and parent occupations: A mixed-methods Australian study. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention. 2020 Apr 2;13(2):103-25.
- Dall’Alba L, Gray M, Williams G, Lowe S. Early intervention in children (0–6 years) with a rare developmental disability: The occupational therapy role. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2014 Dec 1;24(2):72-80.
- Eapen V, Črnčec R, Walter A. Clinical outcomes of an early intervention program for preschool children with autism spectrum disorder in a community group setting. BMC pediatrics. 2013 Dec;13:1-9.
