According to Early Childhood Intervention Australia (www.ecia.org.au) Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) is: ‘…the process of providing specialised support and services for infants and young children with disability and/or developmental delay, and their families, in order to promote development, well-being and community participation.’ We do not perceive intervention as ‘fixing’ or ‘interrupting’. We understand the word intervention as the action of becoming intentionally involved in a situation, in order to improve it.

'The early childhood years lay the foundation for all future development. Recent scientific evidence shows that early experiences shape our lives by affecting the way the young brain develops. What happens to us in the early years has a major effect on our health and social development through to adulthood. Therefore, we must ensure that children’s early experiences are positive - that they have a secure foundation for development.' (Sameroff, 2009; Shonkoff, 2010; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Sroufe, 2009; Worthman et al., 2010). ‘The early years are also critical for the whole family. This is when families can best begin to learn how to support and nurture their child, how to meet their child’s needs, and how to adapt positively to having a child with disability and/or developmental delay.’ (Excerpt taken directly from National Guidelines, Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention by ECIA).

At The Grow Hive, we are dedicated to adhering to the ‘Early Intervention Eight Key Principles’ and the ‘Four Quality Areas’ identified by ECIA, in consultation with the ECI sector. ECIA is the peak body for early childhood intervention in Australia. You can view the key principles and quality areas at https://www.eciavic.org.au/resources/eci-best-practice-guidelines. We promote accountability to these standards through professional development, reflection, consultation and monitoring.

We will organise a free ‘Meet and Greet’ to see how we can help you and if we are the right fit for your family. If you choose to partner with us, we will help you through the registration process. We work with you during the initial session/s to determine your family’s goals. This may include collaboration with your established therapy providers, and/or a global developmental evaluation. We help you to choose the most appropriate service/s, locations and frequency to build capacity within your family and to engage with and support your child. We create a Developmental Profile (if appropriate) and collaboratively formulate a plan for your child. We provide support through your chosen service/s using evidence-based practices and work with you to regularly review goals, progress of outcomes and effectiveness of the services. Most importantly, we CELEBRATE the achievements, big and small with you as your child grows.

Listed below are the developmental areas we can evaluate and support your child to develop in. We have included some examples, but please note these are not comprehensive lists. We understand that all children develop differently across these domains. Whatever your child’s developmental needs, we are here to help. In the real-word, each of these domains cross-over, interact and depend on each other to help us function in daily life. This is why we integrate all the developmental domains during ECI, rather than focusing on skills in isolation. Physical Development Includes gross motor development (such as rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking, jumping, climbing, large body movement, ball skills etc.) and fine motor development (such as tower building, using manipulative toys, dressing, drawing, writing etc.) Language & Communication Development Includes receptive and expressive language, speech, sign, alternative communication, understanding verbal concepts, following directions, building vocabulary, social language etc. Cognitive Development Includes experiences with books, understanding foundational concepts (ie, colour, shape, weather, 1:1 object correspondence), visual discrimination, matching, early literacy and numeracy skills, problem solving, thinking skills, readiness for school etc. Daily Living Skills Includes eating, dressing, playing, toileting, personal hygiene, following routines etc. Social/Emotional and Sensory Development Includes forming secure attachments, relationships and play with others, motivation and self-confidence, social skills, emotional regulation, positive behaviours, recreation, sensory needs and preferences, joy for life and wellbeing etc.

No. It is very important to understand that the expertise of your allied health therapists is invaluable and paramount to your child’s growth. Our aim is to enhance and complement the support you are or will be receiving from your team and/or help you to determine which professionals need to join your child's team. We have the expertise to support you to integrate the skills and goals into relevant and natural settings, in a non-clinical, family-centered way. We acknowledge that there is a shortage of paediatric allied health professionals and long waiting lists in our area and in rural areas. We offer a fantastic interim or continuing service which may help you to prepare for engagement with your allied health team, while limiting the loss of crucial support during this critical period of your child’s life. In the document ‘Promoting best practice in Early Childhood Intervention in the NDIS’ (2020) it states: ‘Given the workforce shortages and the critical importance of working with children in natural settings, it is vital to ensure that therapy staff are used where required and staff with other qualifications and experience are also used. Early childhood educators, special educators…are some of the groups…whose contribution could be an important part of an overall broadening of the pool of workers in the NDIS context. …they have a complementary role to play in assisting children and their families to reach their goals of independence, participation and inclusion…’ (Independent Advisory Council to the NDIS, 2020)

In most cases, yes!! If you are using a service which requires a parent or caregiver to be present, siblings are more than welcome - in fact, we embrace them! Siblings are one of the most important members of your child’s life, so it is great for them to be involved! They can become wonderful cheerleaders, encouragers, and role models. We get it – family life is busy, costly and demanding. We are all about supporting families and will do what we can to help all your children feel important and valued.

We are life-long learners and want our families to feel able to share feedback openly with us. We place high value on reflection and on providing you with the best and most appropriate service possible. You can share feedback or make a complaint in person, via email or via post. We will also invite you to participate in occasional surveys or questionnaires to provide feedback that will enable us to better serve you.