The Early Intervention Program is a New York City and New York State government program which entitles children aged birth through three to receive multidisciplinary developmental evaluations, and required intervention services at no charge, if the children are found to have developmental delays by the evaluation.
In Bellevue Hospital, it operates within the Pediatric Clinic. Members of the Child Life, Speech and Hearing, and Social Work Departments participate in evaluating the children, in addition to pediatricians, neurologists, and other specialists, as needed.
The Rusk Institute Preschool and Infant Development Program, located in the Rusk Institute on the fifth floor, is for young children with physical handicaps and other developmental delays.
In the Bellevue Hospital EI Program, residents will observe developmental evaluations, and participate in the weekly team meeting. The EI Program team meeting is in the Bellevue Clinic.
In the Rusk Preschool, the resident will meet with the director of the program, who will introduce the school and its components, discuss what the resident will be observing, and provide a tour.
Residents will be able to observe the children in different activities, and observe the work of different therapists, related to the child’s disability.
The resident should:
- Gain an awareness of the condition of being "at-risk" for developmental problems, and the medical, environmental, behavioral, and psycho-social factors which contribute to that condition. Understand the importance of low birth weight and prematurity as contributing factors to being "at risk".
- Become familiar with the special features of infants and young children, as related to the current assessment of their development, and the prediction of future function.
- Understand the make-up of a multidisciplinary evaluation team; the roles of the various professionals, and the assessment tools available for use with this young population.
- Gain experience in the role of the pediatrician on a multidisciplinary evaluation team, and in the early intervention process, as it relates to individual patients.
- Make an on-site observation of a hospital-based early intervention therapeutic program for children with physical handicaps, and discuss their observations with the director of the program.
- Become familiar with the NYC Early Intervention system - background, legislation, process for referral, and determination of eligibility.
Role of the Resident:
The resident is expected to:
- Participate in the weekly multidisciplinary PRC EI team conference by presenting medical reports, when available, for children who are being discussed at a particular conference, and also by taking on the role of the medical expert when questions arise, including researching these and/or further discussing these questions with the developmental attending and/or fellow.
- Observe a classroom session, observe one or more evaluation sessions, and be able to discuss their observations and thoughts concerning this experience.
