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The Wellington Early Intervention Trust (commonly referred to as WEIT) is an independent charitable trust accredited by the Ministry of Education to provide early intervention services to preschool children 0-5 years from the greater Wellington region.
WEIT offers a centre based programme for families who have a young child with developmental delays (physical, intellectual or behavioural). There are four specialist therapies;
- Music Therapy
- Physiotherapy
- Speech Language Therapy
- Early Intervention Teaching
The children who come to the centre have many different kinds of disabilities, such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Aspergers, rare genetic disorders and developmental delays with no specific diagnosis.
WEIT is governed by a Board of Trustees made up of past and present parents who are responsible for the policies and governance of the centre. WEIT is funded by both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to provide these services.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A SESSION?
Each week the children attend a 2 ½ hour session with their parent or caregiver. There are only 4 or 5 children in a session. As well as group music the 4 therapists spend an individual 20 minute session with each of the children and their families, working together to develop practical strategies and to establish programmes that can be continued in the home and community.
HOW DO WE DEVELOP A CHILD’S INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
As a team we complete an holistic assessment of the child’s strengths and areas of need using a range of methods. While observation and interaction with the child is the most helpful tool, we also use standardised assessments which mean questionnaires and reports to fill out with families. These assessment tools are current, evidence based and help us to gain an overall picture of the child’s strengths and needs, and from there to develop their programme. Every 6 months an individual developmental plan or IDP is written, based on the holistic assessment of a child’s skills and ongoing needs. The family and the therapists come together to form the plan, and often the process will include other people such as staff from the child’s early childhood centre and health professionals.
HOW DO WE HELP INTEGRATE THE IDP INTO A CHILD’S EVERYDAY LIFE?
In addition to the weekly sessions, we co-ordinate with other services and agencies such as Orthotics or Audiology, their early childhood facility, and schools.
LIAISING WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRES:
Often our families want help in choosing an early childhood centre for their child, so initially we can offer advice on the different options available. On an ongoing basis we also employ trained adults called Education Support Workers, or ESWs to work alongside the child for a period of time while they are at their early childhood centre. And most importantly, our ESWs work with centre staff towards the goals set in the child’s IDP.
HELP WITH TRANSITION TO SCHOOL:
We place a lot of emphasis on providing support for families during the process of transition to school. This involves visiting a range of schools to choose from, applying for appropriate funding support when in school, and referral onto the Special Education teams working in the chosen school.
Our therapists are accredited to complete assessments for equipment, for example wheelchairs or communication equipment, that will help the children in their early years and when they transition into school.
