A comprehensive approach to early childhood development and family support

Abstract

Childhood is described as the time when we learn the most and when our brains are most open to new experiences. In the past, each aspect of child development was researched and considered separately, making it easy to lose sight of the developing child, who is much more than the sum of these parts or areas of research. In a child's life, the areas of development are not separated in time, as the child is constantly developing in all areas. Each new skill builds on existing skills already acquired and influences learning in more than one area of development. Therefore, the observation of a child's development should be comprehensive. This approach is referred to as holistic and applies to children with normal development as well as children at risk of developing difficulties or who already have identified developmental difficulties. Although developmental abnormalities can be identified in early childhood, developmental scenarios and outcomes are usually unpredictable. For this reason, all experts involved in the child's development and health should be represented in early intervention. The need to involve different experts and different professions from the fields of biomedicine, education, and social sciences arises from the complexity of developmental disorders in children we encounter today. It can be said that the needs of the child and the family are almost always so complex that they cannot be met by only one professional discipline.

Therefore, the principle of transdisciplinarity is the gold standard in teamwork in the field of early intervention. Transdisciplinary teams are characterized by a high level of integration of all team members. A high level of integration is achieved by team members sharing the characteristics of their profession (role sharing) across the boundaries of different disciplines so that communication, interaction, and cooperation between team members is optimal. The team is formed according to the needs of a particular family. The commitment of all team members is to teach, learn, and work together to provide coordinated services to the family.

Teamwork requires a good knowledge of expertise, but also the limitations of one's profession, as well as respect for team members from other professions. The needs of the family and the child should always come before the interests of one's profession or the interests of the organization in which the professional works. Good coordination between professionals is more important the younger the child is and the greater the developmental difficulties are.

The transdisciplinary team in early intervention is guided in its work by scientific and professional findings that emphasize the quality of early parent-child interactions.  These early interactions are recognized as crucial for optimal child development and parental support is recognized as a means of maintaining mental health.

Therefore, a family-centered approach to early intervention has developed in practice, as opposed to a child-centered approach. The family-centered approach encompasses a system of ideas to support children and their families and is considered the most effective approach to early intervention.

However, in practice, procedures are often only encountered and implemented that are primarily aimed at training specific skills of the child and achieving the developmental calendar. Contemporary intervention approaches in early intervention are therefore based on the functional outcomes of a program, i.e. how relevant the program outcomes are to the child's participation in daily activities and how they are linked to the family's everyday life. The goal of the family-centered approach is to maximize the child's functional outcomes by providing proactive support to parents.

Families go through a very sensitive and particularly challenging parenting phase, which is characterized by great concern about their child's development. Parents are therefore often inclined to try out non-scientific methods and therapies. Services, i.e. experts who do not take a coordinated and integrated approach, also contribute to this. The high level of professionalism and ethics of the team members is therefore reflected in the monitoring of modern forms of support for children with developmental disorders and the use of only scientifically based procedures.

In Croatia, despite many legal and administrative obstacles (which are not expected to change soon), there are professionals from different professions who have managed to form transdisciplinary teams on their initiative, promoting a holistic approach to the child's development and health through a partnership with the parents. This is a complex and challenging process, but one that invites (and obliges) all professionals to consider that many differences in systems and professions do not have to limit collaboration in early intervention.