1 Early Intervention Graduates Go to Kindergarten: Findings from the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) Kathleen Hebbeler Donna Spiker SRI International Presented at OSEP Early Childhood Conference Washington, DC December 2005

2 Questions to be Addressed Today What are the child and family outcomes for former recipients of early intervention when the child enters kindergarten? What are the child’s experiences in kindergarten and what services are being received?

3 National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS) Conducted by  SRI International  Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute  Research Triangle Institute  American Institutes for Research 10-year study funded by OSEP in 1995

4 Study Design Longitudinal. NEILS followed children and families from the time they enter early intervention through kindergarten. Families were recruited when they enrolled in early intervention for the first time. Families were recruited from September 1997 to November 1998.

5 NEILS Findings Presented Today Today’s findings based on telephone interviews with family member conducted when:  Child began early intervention (N=3200; 96%)  Child was 36 to 40 months of age (N=2584; 77%)  Child was entering kindergarten (N=2298; 69%). Asked a series of questions about child’s behavior, health, and development. Last round of family kindergarten interviews was completed in December Data are weighted to represent the nation.

6 Who are the Infants and Toddlers Entering Early Intervention?

7 Key Findings Children are more likely to begin services before 8 months and after 18 months than in the time in between. When children begin early intervention is strongly related to the reason why they are eligible for services. There is no typical child in early intervention.

8 Key Findings Children in early intervention are: In poorer health than the general population of infants and toddlers 16% fair or poor health compared to 2.3% for general population) More likely to be boys (61%) More likely have been born at low birth weight 32% vs. 8% general population 10% of children in EI are under 1000 grams

9 Percentage of Infants & Toddlers Entering Services by Age at Entry * * Age at development of the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).

10 Eligibility for Early Intervention Services

11 Eligibility by Age at Entry

12 Child Outcomes at Kindergarten

13 Key Findings Many former EI participants are doing well at kindergarten. About half are reported to no longer have a delay or disability. A minority of children continue to have difficulties with use of arms or legs. A higher proportion of children have difficulties with communicating, relating, and behavior. Health is improving but a minority of children continue to have health problems.

14 Use of Arms and Hands

15 Use of Legs and Feet

16 Communication: How Well Child Makes Needs Known

17 Health Status

18 Health (Continued) Activities limited by health problem – 17% Currently taking medication for a condition or problem – 32%  Taking medication for behavior/mood/activity/attention – 22% Use any kind of medical device – 12%

19 At kindergarten child has a condition or delay that affects development

20 Age at IFSP by Has Delay or Disability at Kindergarten

21 Reason for Eligibility by Has Delay or Disability at Kindergarten

22 Uses Legs/Feet and Arms/Hands as Well as Other Children

23 Fine Motor Tasks Use spoon without spilling Copy a circle

24 Communication Tasks Uses 4-6 word sentence Tells about events in story in sequence

25 Knowledge and Concepts Gives first and last name Has concept of 3

26 How well does child learn, think, and solve problems

27 Exposure to Literacy: Looks at books on own

28 Social Skills and Behavior Social skills Appropriateness of behavior

29 Social Integration: Invited to another child’s house in last week

30 Kindergarten Experiences and Receipt of Special Education

31 Key Findings Transition to kindergarten has gone well for most but not all children. About half of those who participated in EI are receiving special education or therapy services at kindergarten. Some are receiving services outside of the public schools About ¾ of those in EI had IEPs developed at age 3 but only less than ½ received services continuously between EI and kindergarten. Parents are positive about their special education kindergarten experiences but not as positive as they were about EI.

32 How transition to kindergarten has gone

33 Receiving special education or therapy through the public schools at entry to kindergarten

34 Currently receiving special education or therapy through the public schools and disability status

35 Currently receiving special education or therapy through the public schools or private sources

36 (Only for children receiving public special education at K) Where child spends time at school

37 Special services received in kindergarten

38 Feelings about amount of special education or therapy through public schools

39 Feelings about quality of special education or therapy through public schools at K/EI at 36 months

40 (Only for children receiving special education at K) Feelings about time with typically developing children

41 Services Between Early Intervention and Kindergarten 77% report an IEP was developed for the child around 3 years of age  69% of them were receiving special education or therapy through the public schools at kindergarten 63% report child has received services through the public schools sometime between EI and kindergarten

42 Services Between Early Intervention and Kindergarten 45% report child has received services continuously between EI and kindergarten Among those who received preschool services through public schools, speech therapy (76%) most frequent service 21% report child received services not paid for by the public schools between EI and kindergarten

43 Family Outcomes and Perceptions at Kindergarten

44 Key Findings Family outcomes at kindergarten are positive and very similar to family outcomes at 36 months. Some families have a difficult time dealing with their child’s behavior at both time points. The only exception is that at kindergarten families feel less confident in their ability to work with professionals and advocate for their child.

45 Family Knows How to Help Child Learn and Develop

46 Difficulty Figuring Out What to Do about Behavior

47 Know How to Work with Professionals and Advocate for What Child Needs

48 Have Relatives or Friends Who Help the Family Deal with Problems

49 Family Has Little Chance to Take Part in Community Activities

50 Family’s Overall Life Situation Now

51 Child’s Overall Life Situation Now

52 Expect Family’s Life Situation Will Be…..

53 How Far in School Do You Expect Your Child Will Go…..

54 Early Intervention Retrospective

55 Key Finding At kindergarten, families still are pleased with the quality of early intervention education services and see it as having had an impact on their child’s development and on their family.

56 Quality of Help Family Received Through EI

57 Effect of EI on the Family

58 Impact of EI Services on Child Development

59 Conclusions Early intervention is serving children with a variety of different conditions and delays. In addition to having a delay or disability, EI participants differ from the general population in ways that probably have consequences for long term outcomes (e.g., poor health and poverty). By kindergarten, about half of those who received early intervention are no longer considered to have a disability.  We need to do more analyses to have a better sense of who these children are and how they differ from those who are still considered to have a delay or a disability.

60 Conclusions Many former EI participants are experiencing good outcomes at kindergarten. A small proportion of those who no longer have a delay or disability have indicators of possible future difficulties. Problem areas are communication, relating to others, and behavior. About half of the children are no longer receiving special education services. Most family outcomes are positive, especially their hope for the future and their expectations for their children. At kindergarten, most families see EI as having had a positive impact on their children and families.

61 NEILS Web Site: