Expert Meeting on Early Intervention
On 31 May 2002 an expert meeting took place on early intervention (EI) regarding children with disabilities. The meeting was organised by the Netherlands Institute for Care and Welfare (Nederlands Instituut voor Zorg en Welzijn, NIZW) in Utrecht, an active DCDD member.
The aim of the meeting was to stimulate dialogue between Dutch organisations and organisations in developing countries, through exchange of ideas and discussion of constructive and creative solutions regarding care for persons with disabilities in different countries.
The day began with three interesting presentations which gave an insight into EI programmes in different contexts. Shirin Zaman Munir (Bangladesh) gave an account of an institution-based programme in Bangladesh and also paid attention to the problem of early identification, especially of children living far from the institute. Molly Thornburn (Jamaica) talked about the 3-D project in Jamaica, in which she has been involved for many years, and discussed the Ten Question (TQ) test for identifying children with disabilities.
Rita Habekothé and Bram van de Zalm (The Netherlands) explained the Integrated Early Assistance project, which started in 1994 with the support of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. In all three presentations the importance of parents' involvement and the problem of detecting disabled children under 2 years old was mentioned. These issues were discussed in more detail during the afternoon workshops. Interestingly, it appeared that EI programmes, whether Northern or Southern, encounter similar problems, so we may have a lot to learn from each other's solutions.
One common problem is how to find the right balance between professional care and the care given by the persons in the disabled child's home environment. There is a danger that parents become therapists and forget the importance of play and relaxation. The meeting concluded that it makes sense to develop a network of EI experts in The Netherlands.
Another plan is to organise an EI workshop during the 13th World Congress of Inclusion International in Melbourne, Australia (22-26 September 2002), in co-operation with Molly Thornburn and Shirin Zaman Munir.