American babies and toddlers with disabilities are entitled to publicly funded therapies known as Early Intervention, since all U.S. states and territories accept federal funding for this program
Alexander watches Paw Patrol with fervor, bowls his baby brother over with hugs and does everything with gusto.
What the 3-year-old West Chicago toddler can’t do yet is speak more than a few words. His balance is wobbly and he isn’t able to tell his preschool teachers when he’s hurt or scared.
Alexander qualified for five therapies through Early Intervention, a federal program dedicated to treating developmental delays in babies and toddlers and helping them develop the tools they need to thrive. But his mother, Hilda Garcia, said securing that help felt “like another job.”
Even after repeatedly calling, researching for hours and pushing herself to the limit with work and childcare, Garcia had to wait more than a year for an in-person appointment with an Early Intervention provider.
The federally mandated program is plagued by chronic staffing shortages, leaving thousands of desperate parents frustrated: they know their children need support, they’re aware of proven therapies that can help, and yet some have to wait months or even years for the care they need. Many age out of the program before accessing any services at all.
“When we miss those opportunities to help them at those younger ages, sometimes we are limiting their potential into adulthood,” according to speech-language pathologist Sarah Ziemba, an Early Intervention provider in Peoria, Illinois.
Early Intervention was created in 1986 to address developmental delays in children like Alexander as soon as possible. About one in six children in the U.S. has at least one developmental disability or other developmental delay, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since all U.S. states and territories accept federal funding for Early Intervention, they are obligated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to provide services to all who qualify.
