Section 500.55  Early Intervention Services/Devices

 

Early intervention services as defined in Section 500.20 may include the following as deemed necessary under the IFSP:

 

a)         Assistive technology, including:

 

1)         Assistive technology devices, meaning any item, piece of equipment or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children with disabilities.  Devices must be approved prior to purchase by the Department. Prior approval will not exclude assistive technology devices as defined in this Part that are required in order to meet the child's EI needs.  Devices that meet the medical, life sustaining or routine daily needs of the child do not fall within the definition of assistive technology device.

 

2)         Assistive technology services, meaning services that directly assist a child with a disability in selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.

 

b)         Audiology, aural rehabilitation/other related services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Identification of children with auditory impairment, using appropriate criteria and audiologic screening techniques;

 

2)         Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss and communication functions by use of audiological evaluation procedures;

 

3)         Referral for medical testing and other services necessary for the habilitation or rehabilitation of children with auditory impairment;

 

4)         Provision of auditory training, aural rehabilitation, speech reading and listening device orientation and training, and other related services;

 

5)         Determination of the child's need for individual amplification, including selecting, fitting, and dispensing appropriate listening and vibrotactile devices, and evaluating the effectiveness of those devices;

 

6)         Provision of services for prevention of hearing loss; and

 

7)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's special needs as related to audiology, aural rehabilitation and other related services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

c)         Clinical assessment, counseling and other therapeutic services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation to determine a child's developmental status and need for early intervention services;

 

2)         Administering psychological or developmental tests and assessment procedures to determine the need for psychological or other counseling services;

 

3)         Interpreting evaluation results;

 

4)         Obtaining, integrating and interpreting information about child behavior and child and family conditions related to learning, mental health, and development;

 

5)         Planning and managing a program of psychological or other counseling services, including psychological or other counseling for children and parents, family counseling, consultation on child development, parent training, and education programs;

 

6)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to psychological or other counseling services and to enhancing the child's development; and

 

7)         Identifying, mobilizing, and coordinating community resources and services to enable the child and family to receive maximum benefit from early intervention services.

 

d)         Developmental therapy services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation/assessment, IFSP development, provider to provider consultation and treatment planning that leads to achieving IFSP outcomes, special instruction activities defined in the IFSP that promote acquisition of skills in various developmental areas, including cognitive processes and social interaction, provision of information and support related to enhancing the child's skill development.

 

2)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's special needs as related to developmental therapy services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

e)         Family training and support that can include education provided to assist the family of an eligible child in understanding the needs of the child as related to the provider's specific discipline and to enhancing the child's development.

 

f)          Health consultation by a licensed physician who has provided recent and/or ongoing medical treatment for the child with service providers who are identified on a child's IFSP as members of the child's multidisciplinary team concerning the child's health care needs that impact the provision of early intervention services.

 

g)         Medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes provided by a licensed physician to determine a child's developmental status and need for early intervention services.

 

h)         Nursing services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation to determine a child's developmental status and need for early intervention services;

 

2)         Assessment to determine a child's health status and identify the need for medical referrals;

 

3)         Provision of required nursing care during the time the child is receiving other early intervention services, such as:

 

A)        administration of medications, treatments, and regimens prescribed by a licensed physician; and

 

B)        clean intermittent catheterization, tracheostomy care, tube feeding, the changing of dressings or colostomy collection bags, and other health services as required to allow the child to participate in other EI services;

 

4)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to nursing services and to enhancing the child's development.  Nursing services do not include hospital or home health nursing care required due to surgical or medical intervention or medical health services such as immunizations and regular "well child" care that are routinely recommended for all children.

 

i)          Nutrition services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Conducting individual assessments in nutritional history and dietary intake, anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical variables, feeding skills and feeding problems, and food habits and food preferences;

 

2)         Developing and monitoring appropriate plans to address the nutritional needs of the eligible child based upon individual assessment;

 

3)         Making referrals to appropriate community resources to achieve plans; and

 

4)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to nutrition services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

j)          Occupational therapy services to address the functional needs of a child related to adaptive development; adaptive behavior and play; and sensory, motor, and postural development.  These services are designed to improve the child's functional ability to perform tasks in home, school, and community settings and include:

 

1)         Evaluation/assessment and intervention;

 

2)         Adaptation of the environment and selection, design and fabrication of assistive and orthotic devices to facilitate development and promote the acquisition of functional skills;

 

3)         Prevention or minimization of the impact of initial or future impairment, delay in development, or loss of functional ability; and

 

4)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to occupational therapy services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

k)         Physical therapy services to address the promotion of sensorimotor function through enhancement of musculoskeletal status, neurobehavioral organization, perceptual and motor development, cardiopulmonary status, and effective environmental adaptation.  These services include:

 

1)         Evaluation/screening/assessment of infants and toddlers to identify movement dysfunction;

 

2)         Obtaining, interpreting, and integrating information appropriate to program planning to prevent, alleviate, or compensate for movement dysfunction and related functional problems;

 

3)         Providing individual and group services or treatment to prevent, alleviate, or compensate for movement dysfunction and related functional problems; and

 

4)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to physical therapy services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

l)          Service coordination carried out by a service coordinator to assist and enable a child eligible under Part C and the child's family to receive the rights, procedural safeguards, and services that are authorized to be provided through the State's early intervention program, including:

 

1)         Providing comprehensive case management to coordinate EI and non-EI services provided for the child and family;

 

2)         Contacting the child/family at a minimum of one time per month to coordinate and monitor the provision of needed evaluation/assessments and services;

 

3)         Facilitating and participating in the development, review and updating of Individualized Family Service Plans;

 

4)         Facilitating the development of a transition plan to preschool services;

 

5)         Facilitating referrals for appropriate EI and non-EI services and supports;

 

6)         Developing and maintaining the child's permanent and electronic EI record at the regional intake entity; and

 

7)         Informing families of the availability of advocacy services.

 

m)        Social services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation to determine a child's developmental status and need for early intervention services;

 

2)         Making home visits to assess a child's living conditions and patterns of parent-child interaction to determine the need for social work or other counseling services;

 

3)         Preparing a social or emotional developmental evaluation of the child within the family context;

 

4)         Providing individual and family group counseling with parents and other family members, and appropriate social skill building activities with the child and parents;

 

5)         Working with those problems in the child's and family's living situation (home, community, and any center where early intervention services are provided) that affect the child's maximum utilization of early intervention services;

 

6)         Identifying, mobilizing, and coordinating community resources and services to enable the child and family to receive maximum benefit from early intervention services; and

 

7)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to social work or other counseling services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

n)         Speech-language therapy services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation/assessment activities to identify communicative or oropharyngeal disorders and delays in development of communication skills, including the diagnosis and appraisal of specific disorders, and delays in those skills;

 

2)         Referral for medical or other professional services necessary for the habilitation or rehabilitation of children with communicative or oropharyngeal disorders and delays in development of communication skills;

 

3)         Provision of services for the habilitation, rehabilitation, or prevention of communicative or oropharyngeal disorders and delays in development of communication skills; and

 

4)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to speech therapy services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

o)         Transportation services (e.g., loaded mileage for travel by taxi, service car or private auto) provided in accordance with the Department's EI transportation policies to enable an eligible child and the child's family to travel to and from the location where the child receives another early intervention service.

 

p)         Vision services for the purposes of:

 

1)         Evaluation/assessment of visual functioning, including the diagnosis and appraisal of specific visual disorders, delays and abilities;

 

2)         Referral for medical or other professional services necessary for the habilitation and/or rehabilitation of visual functioning disorders;

 

3)         Communication skills training, orientation and mobility training for all environments, visual training, independent living skills training, and additional training necessary to activate visual motor abilities;

 

4)         Orientation/mobility and other vision services  related to improvement of visual functioning, including orientation and mobility training for all environments, communication skills training, visual training, independent living skills training and additional training necessary to activate visual motor activities; and

 

5)         Family training, education and support provided to assist the child's family in understanding the child's needs as related to vision services and to enhancing the child's development.

 

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 2161, effective January 23, 2008)