To complement the preventive and curative aspect of the child health services, the Ministry of Health engages a variety of child health specialists to deliver specialized care.
The early intervention centre which was inaugurated in 2008 is mandated to serve children aged 0-3 years with development delays. Children eligible for admission to the programme are those found to be significantly behind other children of their age in some areas of achievements in the early childhood period and children who fail the Denver Test on two consecutive attempts. Other more serious conditions such as autism and Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are also managed at the centre. The health team includes: a doctor, a nurse, a speech therapist and a speech pathologist.
The Early Intervention centre programme is family-centred and aims at helping families teach skills to the child in a favourable child friendly atmosphere. Home visits and school visits are done to complement the care when the need arises. Each child receives a play-based assessment by the team for establishing eligibility for enrolment, setting goals and objectives, and updated evaluations are done on a 3 to 6 monthly basis. If services are needed after age five, the child will be transited into an appropriate program, e.g. School for the Exceptional Child.
Other Early Childhood Intervention services include: Physical Therapy to strengthen the arms and legs; Occupational Therapy to improve the hands and eye coordination; Pediatric to assist with the curative aspect and the Audiology to assist with the correction of hearing impairment.
