A one-day consultation was held at the Methodist Church Hall yesterday to discuss Early Identification and Intervention for Delays and Disabilities in the Early Years.
The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with UNICEF.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Chief Education Officer Beverly Neptune said that while all children should be screened for developmental delays, there are cases where such delays are identified in children when they are much older causing them to miss all the important interventions which should be taken.
Miss Neptune hailed the consultation as an important one for all actors and agencies involved in early childhood but also stressed that the involvement of families is very important.
Meanwhile, Shelly-Ann Harper, UNICEF’s Representative highlighted the importance of the consultation, noting that the period from birth to three years old is critical in a child’s development and that the earlier a disability is detected and an intervention made, the better it would be for the development of the child.
The Facilitator for the one-day cousultation was Dr. Maureen Samms-Vaughan, Professor of Child Health and Child Development and Behaviour at the UWI.
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