Research in early childhood has shown that the first few years of life – when the brains have the highest level of plasticity – is a critical development period in a child’s life. For some young children with needs, early identification of what these needs are can give them a greater chance of reaching their full potential. In this article, NIE expert on early intervention (EI) Assistant Professor Xie Huichao from the Psychology and Child & Human Development Academic Group at NIE sheds light on some commonly misunderstood views about EI and how it can benefit children in the longer-term.

How would you describe early intervention (EI) and what are some of the most common misconceptions about it?

EI refers to a discipline of professional services and supports for children from birth to eight years of age with or at risk of developmental delays or disabilities, and their families.

One of the many common misconceptions about EI is that most people tend to vision children with severe physical impairment or very strange behaviours as the only target population. In fact, most of the children receiving EI services in Singapore or any other developed countries look just like any other child. This is because many people have adopted the stereotypes of children with delays or disabilities. Typical development and atypical development are on one continuous spectrum of child development and the line in between is artificial and ambiguous.

Another common myth is that EI programmes for children need a completely different set of instructional strategies from non-EI programmes. In reality, almost all EI practices are also effective in teaching children who are not recipients of EI.

In the history of early childhood education (ECE), for example, one of the pioneers Maria Montessori first applied her pedagogies and curriculum to children with or at risk of disabilities. Given its effectiveness in teaching children – regardless of whether they have disabilities or not – the famous Montessori preschool model was eventually birthed. Today, this model is used in many preschools around the world.

How can we encourage a more open-minded and receptive view towards disabilities?

It would be best if the teacher training system in Singapore is reviewed and improved to ensure all Singapore school professionals are trained to support students’ learning of human diversity.

From early childhood to tertiary education, students’ learning of human diversity could be implemented. Learning about human diversity is not just about being a kind person, but to analyse differences among people in multiple dimensions such as language, culture, religion, values, beliefs, abilities, gender, race, body shape and more. The next generation of Singaporeans growing up with a more positive attitude towards diversity and critical thinking skills to understand the social construct of disability will be immune to these misconceptions.

Addressing misconceptions about disabilities requires efforts from society, not just teachers and schools. Employers and policymakers should review their employment practices and rules to first remove biases towards applicants with disabilities. The media should also do their part to represent people with disabilities in all movies, television programmes and other forms of products in a positive and empowering way.

Why is EI critical and how does it benefit the child?

EI is critical because children’s brains have the highest level of plasticity in the earliest years of life. Research has informed us that investment in early childhood has the best return rates.

Early experiences affect the quality of that architecture by establishing either a sturdy or a fragile foundation for all the learning, health and behaviour that follow. In the first few years of life, more than one million new neural connections are formed every second. After this period of rapid proliferation, connections are reduced through a process called pruning, so that brain circuits become more efficient. Sensory pathways like those for basic vision and hearing are the first to develop, followed by early language skills and higher cognitive functions.

The brain is most flexible, or “plastic”, early in life to accommodate a wide range of environments and interactions, but as the maturing brain becomes more specialized to assume more complex functions, it is less capable of reorganizing and adapting to new or unexpected challenges.

For example, by the first year, the parts of the brain that differentiate sounds are becoming specialized to the language the baby has been exposed to; at the same time, the brain is already starting to lose the ability to recognize different sounds found in other languages. Although the “windows” for language learning and other skills remain open, these brain circuits become increasingly difficult to alter over time. Early plasticity means it’s easier and more effective to influence a baby’s developing brain architecture than to rewire parts of its circuitry in the adult years.

What are some key components of successful EI programmes?

Effective EI has an equation: evidence-based practice plus high fidelity in implementation equates to successful EI, yielding desired outcomes on the child and family. In this equation, the first ingredient is evidence-based practice, which refers to integrating the best available research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values.

High fidelity in implementation means the critical components of evidence-based practices have been implemented as intended to be and adaptations are appropriate. High fidelity is defined by that the critical components of evidence-based practices have been implemented as intended to be and adaptations are appropriate. For example, a professional who has a strong standing on no physical punishment may find it difficult to work with a family who spanks their child.

Each family is the expert of their own child because of their wisdom pertaining to this specific child. People in the family spend the most amount of time with the child and have the most knowledge about the child. Meanwhile, each family has their own values, priorities and beliefs about what the child needs to learn and how to learn. These values and expectations should be respected and addressed in the education and intervention for their child.

As professionals, educators possess the discipline-specific wisdom and knowledge. For ECE and intervention professionals, they are trained to have a systematic understanding of how children learn and develop. As these professionals gain more experience in the field, they should become more and more competent in applying their discipline knowledge to the specific cases of individual children and use their knowledge and wisdom to help each child and family. Professionals are also trained with professional ethics and values, while also bringing in their own personal values to practice.

What area in research on EI do you think merit further attention?

An upcoming area for EI research is in implementation science. The EI literature has accumulated a large body of knowledge about what works in EI, say, evidence-based practices. But data shows a generally low application or utilization of evidence-based practices, which implementation science is aiming to address.