The New York State Early Intervention Program (EIP) is part of the national Early Intervention Program for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. First created by Congress in 1986 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the EIP is administered by the New York State Department of Health through the Bureau of Early Intervention. In New York State, the Early Intervention Program is established in Article 25 of the Public Health Law and has been in effect since July 1, 1993.

As new parents of a child with Down syndrome, you already have your hands full just trying to get acclimated to this new country, to obtain the correct guidebooks and learn a few words of Dutch.  Therefore, you are understandably skeptical when someone suggests that one of the new people you should meet is a physical therapist.  They are recommending that you start your new infant in regular physical therapy.  Why physical therapy?  Don't children with Down syndrome learn to walk and run, just like other children do?

The purpose of this article is to answer that very question.  Why indeed would you invest your time and money in physical therapy?  After all, you are quite right; children with Down syndrome will learn to walk, run and jump.  It will take a little longer than it does a typical child, but the goals will be achieved.  Typical children walk at around 12 months of age, and the average child with Down syndrome walks at about 24 months of age.  And on top of that, physical therapy is not going to accelerate your child's rate of gross motor development.  With or without therapy, the average child with Down syndrome is still going to walk at about 24 months of age.  So now that I've just about convinced you that physical therapy isn't worth your time and money, let me say that physical therapy is one of the most important services that the child with Down syndrome will receive in the early intervention period, and it is during this time that physical therapy will have the greatest impact.  Let me explain some of the reasons that I recommend it.