Who we are
Responsible
for the information:
Ms. Montse Torras - mtorras@tauli.cat
Coordinator of the CDIAP
Last update:
14/11/10
 Early intervention in Catalonia:
concept and historical and legislative aspects 
- Concept
EARLY
INTERVENTION is the set of actions directed at children 0 to 5 years of age and
their families to prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat
signs of risk/disorders in neuropsychological development.
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| - Historical and legislative aspects
The first
experience in early neuropsychological care for children
aged 0 to 3 years with developmental disorders took
place in the 1960s. In the 1970s, these departments,
initially called Early Stimulation, become common in
Catalonia.
In 1985
there were 30 departments in Catalonia. In 1985, the
autonomous government of Catalonia passed the law DOG 579,
29-7-1985 creating the "Sectorial
Program for Early Intervention" within the
Department of Health and Social Security and defining the
guidelines for early intervention.
Ten years later, in 1995,
early intervention became a right of every citizen when the
previous law was replaced with stronger legislation (Decret
206: DOG, 13-6-1995) and placed early intervention in the
Department of Social Welfare of the autonomous government of
Catalonia.
This law defines and
regulates diagnostic and therapeutic measures for children
with or at risk of contracting developmental disorders as well as guidelines for preventing and
detecting these disorders.
In 2003, another law
(decret 261, 21-10-2003) to regulate early intervention
departments was passed and is currently being devloped.
Catalonia currently
has 72 Centers
for Child Development and Early Intervention (CDIAP)
distributed throughout its territory.
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The Parc Taulí
Center for Child Development and Early Intervention
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- Affiliation
The Parc Taulí's Center for
Child Development and Early Intervention forms part of the
Hospital de Sabadell's Pediatric Medicine Department. It
forms part of the network of concerted public services of the
autonomous government of Catalonia's Council for Social Action
to treat developmental disorders/dysfunctions that can affect
infants. It was created in 1978.
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| - Catchment area
The catchment area of the
center includes 11 municipalities: Sabadell, Badia del Vallès, Barberà del Vallès,
Castellar del Vallès, Gallifa, Palau de Plegamans, Polinyà, Sant
Llorenç, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, and Sentmenat.
The total referral population
is 23000 from 0 to 5 years.
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- Target population
The
target population can be defined by:
| Age:
0 to 5 years 11 months |
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Disorders:
- Children
with a history of risk
- Children with
biological and/or social signs of risk
- Transitory
disorders
- Different types
and degrees of developmental disorders:
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Motor
-
Cognitive
- Language
- Communication and social
relations
- Behavior
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Affective and/or emotional
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- Criteria
for prioritization
If the demand is greater than the center's
capacity as agreed upon with the administration, the center will
use the following criteria for prioritization:
- Preference will be
given to children with severe disorders
- All children
under 3 years of age
will be treated
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- Care team
The center
has a multidisciplinary team made up of professionals
specialized in normal and pathological biological and
psychological development in infants. The current team includes
specialists in neuropediatrics, psychology, pedagogy, speech
therapy, physiotherapy, and social work.
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- Functions
and methodological
approach
The Parc
Taulí de Sabadell's CDIAP is the area's referral center for:
- Child development
- Diagnosis and treatment
of developmental disorders in infants
The
center's functions are classified as:
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Direct care
Comprising acts carried out directly with the
children and their families, including:
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A.- Diagnosis:
Neurological, psychological,
and social diagnosis. Children are referred by a
pediatrician, teacher, specialist, or family due to
concern (child does not speak, has
difficulties in communicating, motor problems, slow
development, behavior problems, etc). The first step
in diagnosis is to obtain an idea of the child's
problem and to determine whether he or she needs
treatment and if so what kind. The diagnosis
requires a period of time and often requires the
participation of different professionals. The intial
diagnostic assessment is the first relationship that
the team establishes with the child's parents.
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B.- Treatment:
Treatment is
based on
overall
intervention in function of the child's age and on
the characteristics and needs of the child and his
or her family as well as on the type and degree of
disorder. Treatment is adapted to the specific needs
of the child at any given point in time. The
following types of intervention are used:
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Individual and/or group therapy:
Motor, psychological, pedagogical,
and/or speech therapy. The same child may
receive one or more types of care at the
center, up to two at a time.
Treatment sessions
last 45 minutes. The periodicity may vary with
therapeutic criteria: 1 or 2 sessions per week
or every two weeks. These sessions can be individual
and/or in small groups. Individual sessions
include the child's family. |
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Follow-up
with family assessment:
This approach is used when
the criteria for normality are not completely
clear, when there are signs of risk, or when the
developmental disorder is thought to be minor or
transitory. The periodicity of these visits
varies with each patient's needs. The average is
1 session per month. Follow-up can lead to
discharge when
development is considered normal or to
referral for treatment when the child and/or family need it. |
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Follow-up: The evolution of
the chidren attended in our department
is assessed regularly
through neuropediatric and psychological
examinations. The periodicity of these
visits varies with the needs of the child
and family as well as with the child's
progress. |
Social work
follow-up: The social
worker evaluates the situation when necessary,
gathering information about the family's needs
and passing the information to the relevant
bodies so they can be met. Social workers provide
follow-up, accompaniment, and support in the
situations agreed upon, informing families about
the legal and social means available. When
necessary, social workers coordinate actions
with social, healthcare, and educational
resources. |
Parental
groups: We
consider working with families to be very
important to promote child development. For this
reason, we offer parents a place to accompany
and strengthen their competence as parents in
relation to aspects of bringing up a child with
a developmental disorder.
The group facilitates the
task of information and joint reflection
about strategies to strengthen development.
Through the years, we have seen the
importance of these encounters with parents
and have implemented specific programs.
They are currently carried
out in the following groups:
- Càritas mother-child course: "Orientation
about development and parenting: Cognition,
communication and language, games, and
habits for autonomy"
- "Family and social aspects in
raising a child with an intellectual
disability”
- "Family and social aspects in
raising a child with autism spectrum
disorder with or without intellectual
disability"
- "Family and social aspects in
raising a child with ADHD”
- "Family and social
aspects in raising a child with a behavioral
and/or emotional disorder”
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Coordination with the educational centers (nursery
schools, primary schools, and psychopedagogical
services):
the center periodically
contacts the educational centers of the children
we attend so we can work together to optimize
the child's development. |
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Indirect care
Comprising actions
related to:
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Community work: In community work we
give priority to coordinating action with
educational services, healthcare services, and
social services.
Likewise, we work at prevention, detection,
and coordination with primary care centers,
schools, social services, and specialized teams. |
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Internal working of the group:
Meetings to discuss the diagnosis and evolution of the
children attended, supervision of cases with
professionals from outside the hospital, clinical
sessions, specialty group working sessions, updating
pedagogical material and resources, and
computerization of databases about the population
attended. |
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Continuing
training:
Attending courses and congresses related to normal
and pathological development in infancy and to
updated models of diagnosis and intervention. |
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