Changing Perspectives in Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities in Sweden

This article relates to philosophy of service provision to families with infants and young children with disabilities in Sweden. Early intervention is based on a “habilitation-model” focused on four perspectives: (1) medical, (2) educational, (3) psychological, and (4) social. The Act lor Services and Support lor Persons with Disabilities (1994) stresses intervention focused on the handicapping consequences of the child's disability and family involvement in planning and implementing interventions. A change toward a handicap perspective and a family-oriented approach may be distinguished in assessment and intervention practices and inservice training of professionals. A number of Swedish studies reflecting those changes are related