Effective early child and family support has three essential pillars

Health, Education and Family Support

Editorial: The needs of a baby or infant who has disabilities and of their family mean that effective support must include considerations of the health, wellbeing, education and development of the child and the wellbeing of the whole family.

Effective support therefore must have the three pillars of Health, Education and Family Support.  This is true whether the family is in a wealthy Western city and being helped by a group of practitioners or in a low-economy region or country with a minimum of practitioners – perhaps only one (while remembering that some families have no help at all).

When there is a group of practitioners around the child and family, the task is to harmonise all elements of support into a coherent whole so the child is not fragmented.  This harmonising takes full account of the parents’ agenda, strengths and approaches. When it works well the group of practitioners and the parents become an early child and family support team or team around the child (TAC).

The cartoon with this editorial is adapted from an illustration in Bringing up babies and young children who have very special needs. This book is written for parents, students and new practitioners. It develops the theme of harmonising health, education and family support.

Peter Limbrick