SPEED

The Parent/Infant Program (P/I) serves children with disabilities, aged
birth through two, and their families. Services include play based arena
assessments, therapy and play groups, individual child/family sessions and
family centered activities This pogram is supported by a cooperative
arrangement between SPEED and the ECHO Joint Agreements. Services are
provided throughout the year within the home and/or at two locations, the
Hickory Hill "Early Learning Center" in Park Forest and the MacArthur
School, in South Holland.

Diagnostic services for infants and toddlers are provided through the
collaboration of the Parent/Infant Program and three other south Cook
County early intervention programs. This service is known as the "Family
and Child Connections" system. This "system point of entry" is the way all
children, ages birth through two, are screened for eligibility of
services, so they can select the early intervention services of their
choice.

The transdiciplinary services of the Parent/Infant Program are provided by
a staff of certified, licensed and Early Intervention Credentialed
personnel in all disability areas--developmental delays, physical
disabilities, health impairments, sensory disabilities, communication
delays and disorders, behavior and emotional problems, and autism.

Family involvment is the heart of P/I. Family members actively participate
in the assessment process and in individual and group sessions with their
children. The family works with the service team to develop the individual
Family Service Plan. Parent education is offered, often with parents as
copresenters. The motto for Parent/Infant is: 
THE SOONER WE START, THE
FARTHER THEY GO.