Questions and Answers: Parent’s Guide for their young children with special needs (Ages Birth Through 5 Years Old)

We have written this Parent’s Guide to help families learn how to get help for their young children with special needs (ages birth through 5 years).

We have posed the most asked questions about early intervention services for children ages birth through 2 years old and special education and related services for children ages 3 through 5 years old.

The rules or guidelines for special education in the United States and its territories are outlined in a federal law known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), formerly known as the Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA). Each state or territory develops its own policies for carrying out this Act. (You can read more about this law later in this document.)

You’ll need to find out what the early intervention or special education policies are in your state and area. The list of agencies and contact people in your state should help you get started. A NICHCY State Resource Sheet for your state is available from NICHCY.

The phrases “children with special needs” or “special needs children” are used throughout this document to refer to children who have disabilities or who are at risk of developing disabilities.

Many of the special education words that appear in this Parent’s Guide are defined in the Parent’s Dictionary that appears toward the end of this document.

Full document, in English – https://fndusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Early-Intervention.pdf