Quality of life for infants and toddlers

Early intervention programmes for infants and toddlers with special needs and their families can play a critical role in enhancing their quality of life. This paper outlines a set of ‘best practice’ criteria which comprise a scale for designing and evaluating early intervention programmes from an international perspective. Attention is paid to process as well as outcome criteria, and to the social implications of different approaches to early intervention. It is argued that if the quality of life of young children with special needs and their families is to be enhanced, early intervention programmes should be based on six principal values: community coherence, cultural sensitivity, right to services, family integrity, professional standards, and accountability.