Early Communication Intervention within a Community-based Intervention Model in South Africa

Lisl Fair,Brenda Louw

doi:10.4102/sajcd.v46i1.724

Abstract

Infants and toddlers with special needs within the developing context in South Africa are not currently receiving adequate early communication intervention services. The development of a model for service delivery to this population is imperative for the successful implementation of early communication intervention in the developing context in South Africa. The basic model of early intervention service delivery provides a theoretical basis for early intervention service delivery but has certain limitations when applied to the developing context in South Africa. Community-based intervention is proposed as an avenue for the delivery of health care services within primary health care although constraints in the application of community-based intervention exist. An integrated model of early communication intervention service delivery within community-based intervention is proposed and illustrated by presenting a case example.

Highlights

Intervention hasi been established internationally as accepted practice for se~ice delivery to infants and toddlers with special needs over the past two decades (Guralnick, 1997)
Apart from these demographic indicators influencing early communication intervention service delivery in South Africa, the transformation of the national health system to primary health care, implies that service delivery by speechlanguage pathologists must be tailored to fit.into the criterion of primary health care (Pickering et al, 1998)
The role of the Primary Health Care (PHC) community worker is to facilitate the community-based intervention (CBI) process, to serve as a consultant to the community and to make the resources of the PHC system known to the local community (WHO, 1995)

Summary

Introduction

Intervention hasi been established internationally as accepted practice for se~ice delivery to infants and toddlers with special needs over the past two decades (Guralnick, 1997). The 1996 sensus indicated that the population in South Africa is of diverse nature, constituting of indigenous Africans, Asians, people from Caucasian decent and people with a mixed racial heritage (Pickering, McAllister, Hagler, Whitehill, Penn, Robertson, McCready, 1998). Apart from these demographic indicators influencing early communication intervention service delivery in South Africa, the transformation of the national health system to primary health care, implies that service delivery by speechlanguage pathologists must be tailored to fit.into the criterion of primary health care (Pickering et al, 1998)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion