Over the past 50 years, early intervention provision for young children with disabilities (birth to 6 years) and their families in Australia has evolved and strengthened despite limited supporting policies. However, with the final rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s individual funding model, the early intervention landscape has changed fundamentally. This chapter maps how provisions, especially at specialised and generic early childhood education and care centres, have advanced from a patchwork of highly-structured, child-focused programs for specific categories of disability into diverse systems of service delivery across the states and territories. The strong, collaborative commitment and action by non-government organisations, families, and professionals are examined, together with major constraining factors, critical service gaps, and the need to ensure best practice through family-centred and evidence-based approaches. A review of the Australian early childhood intervention literature is included, with attention paid to the dominant research themes of inclusion in early childhood settings and transition to school. Additionally, the chapter provides comprehensive profiles for three successful initiatives related to advancing early childhood intervention services throughout Australia: Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centres (ASELCC) program in multiple long day care settings, a professional association, Professionals and Researchers in Early Childhood Intervention (PRECI), and a supplementary service to ECI programs, Toy Libraries. These cases are considered worthy of consideration for replication with contextual adjustment in many countries throughout the Asia–Pacific.

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Early Childhood Intervention for Children with Disabilities and Their Families in Australia: Navigating Challenges Through Collaborative Partnerships

  • Wendi Beamish,
  • Christine Johnston

摘要

Over the past 50 years, early intervention provision for young children with disabilities (birth to 6 years) and their families in Australia has evolved and strengthened despite limited supporting policies. However, with the final rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s individual funding model, the early intervention landscape has changed fundamentally. This chapter maps how provisions, especially at specialised and generic early childhood education and care centres, have advanced from a patchwork of highly-structured, child-focused programs for specific categories of disability into diverse systems of service delivery across the states and territories. The strong, collaborative commitment and action by non-government organisations, families, and professionals are examined, together with major constraining factors, critical service gaps, and the need to ensure best practice through family-centred and evidence-based approaches. A review of the Australian early childhood intervention literature is included, with attention paid to the dominant research themes of inclusion in early childhood settings and transition to school. Additionally, the chapter provides comprehensive profiles for three successful initiatives related to advancing early childhood intervention services throughout Australia: Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centres (ASELCC) program in multiple long day care settings, a professional association, Professionals and Researchers in Early Childhood Intervention (PRECI), and a supplementary service to ECI programs, Toy Libraries. These cases are considered worthy of consideration for replication with contextual adjustment in many countries throughout the Asia–Pacific.