Early Intervention vs. Outpatient Therapy – which is better for my child? 

As clinicians, parents of young children often ask, “which is better – early intervention or outpatient therapy?” or “should my child do both early intervention and outpatient services?” While the answer is certainly dependent on each child’s individual needs, here is what you can expect from each of these services, as well as the similarities and differences between Early Intervention and Outpatient Therapy.  

What can I expect from Early Intervention Services? 

• Early Intervention services are government funded 
  • Early intervention services are government funded, meaning that your state’s Department of Public Health covers all costs. Some Early Intervention services require you to pay an annual cost participation fee based on family size and income. 

• The Early Intervention model provides services for children ages 0-3 years 
  • When your child is approaching age 3, you and your early intervention team will develop a transition plan to determine the next steps for your child. Part of this process will include discussing whether your child needs continued services after they turn 3. Children who still need services after 3 may receive them from their local school district or an outpatient facility. 

• Your child must qualify for Early Intervention services via evaluation 
  • Your child must receive a score of 77 or below in one or more areas of the Batelle Developmental Inventory to qualify for early intervention services. However, the team members evaluating your child may use their clinical judgement to qualify your child for 6 months of early intervention services if deemed necessary based on developmental milestones. If this occurs, your child will be re-evaluated after the 6-month period. If they are still above the qualifying score on the Batelle, services will be terminated. Lastly, your child may qualify for early intervention services solely based on their medical diagnoses or other risk factors.  

• Early Intervention Therapy Sessions take place in the home or community 
  • Early intervention services are typically provided in the home or somewhere in the community (e.g., playground, library, community center, etc.) 

• Early Intervention is primarily focused on parent coaching with individualized goals  
  • Parent education and coaching is one of the most important aspects of early intervention. Parents and caregivers are considered an integral part of the early intervention “team.” When developing an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan), parents and caregivers help formulate a treatment plan for their child based on their family’s personal goals.  

• Early Intervention uses a ‘Bagless’ model 
  • Early intervention providers use a “bagless” model most of the time. This means they focus on routines, activities, and materials familiar to the child within their home environment. Doing so allows parents/caregivers to carry over these activities with their child in the most natural context. 

• Professionals can co-treat under the Early Intervention model 
  • Early intervention team members may “co-treat.” A co-treatment visit is when two or more early intervention specialists participate in a session. These co-treat visits allow collaboration between professionals for your child to maximize their functional outcomes.   

• Your child can be paired with a different profession/specialist than initially recommended 
  • A specific professional or discipline is provided upon availability. As a result, you may not necessarily work with an Occupational Therapist or Speech Therapist during your visit. Rather, your child may receive services from a developmental specialist, music specialist, or other professionals based on the program’s availability for that time.   

What can I expect from Outpatient Therapy services? 

• Outpatient therapy services are often covered by commercial Insurance 
  • Unlike early intervention, outpatient services are not government funded. However, many clinics accept commercial insurance- so while you may incur a co-pay, your insurance can help cover the costs. It is important to note that not all clinics accept insurance as some rely on a private pay model.  Additionally, not all insurance plans cover specialized services; don’t be afraid to call your insurance company to learn more about your specific plan, coverage, and costs.   

• Outpatient therapy provides services for children ages 0-18 years 
  • Outpatient clinics have a wide variety of ages they work with and focus on cross training therapists, so they have the skills to support your child’s individual needs. In addition, many outpatient clinics can provide specialized intervention in specific areas of need such as feeding/transition to solids, Gestalt Language Processing, or sensory integration.  

• Outpatient therapy strongly emphasizes individual goals 
  • While clinicians consider age and developmental milestones in treatment planning, outpatient services also emphasize the importance of the child and families’ individualized goals. Outpatient services can address a wide range of goal areas tailored to a child and family’s wants and needs, leading to improved quality of life for the family. Some common goal areas in outpatient therapy include articulation, expressive and receptive language, executive functioning, gross motor, fine motor, motor planning, feeding, sensory integration, and activities of daily living. 

• Your child must qualify for services via evaluation 
  • Prior to starting services, an evaluation is administered to determine your child’s current skill level and participation, to identify areas where the child may need more support. Evaluations vary based on the age and needs of the child. Your evaluating therapist may use clinical judgement to qualify your child for services, even if standardized scores are within the average range. Services can continue based on progress and do not have to be cut off after a certain period unless the child turns 18. 

• Outpatient therapy services take place in a clinic 
  • Outpatient services take place in a clinic where you will have a standing appointment with the same therapist weekly. These clinics often have a variety of games, activities, supplies, and equipment to promote skill acquisition.  

• Outpatient therapy is a combination of parent coaching and 1-on-1 intervention 
  • While outpatient therapy primarily focuses on 1-on-1, interactive and hands on intervention with the child, they also understand the importance of parent coaching and education which allows your child to continue to develop these skills outside of therapy sessions and improve the pace of progression. Depending on the child and family’s needs, the child may participate without the parent present, the caregivers may observe the session, or the caregivers may be an active participant. There is always time allotted to debrief if the caregivers were not present, provide education/family training, and set up home programming for continued success. 

• Outpatient therapy locations have many resources available in the clinic 
  • Outpatient facilities have a wide range of toys, games, and equipment. Gyms will facilitate gross motor development and may include slides, swings, ziplines, hammocks, and ball pits. Board games, fine motor activities, and sensory play can all help your child meet their goals. 

• With the outpatient therapy model, there will always be 1 professional to 1 child 
  • Your child will be paired with 1 therapist throughout their time in therapy. This helps track progress, build rapport, and keep up with home education. However, there are opportunities for social interactions and interdisciplinary collaboration. Many times, children will engage with each other while playing allowing for increased problem solving, collaboration, and social skills.  

• With the outpatient therapy model, your child is guaranteed to be paired with recommended professional/discipline 
  • If your child receives a speech and language evaluation and qualifies for services, they will be paired with a speech language pathologist, and the same goes for occupational therapy and physical therapy. Feeding therapy can be provided by several different disciplines so long as they have the additional education to provide this type of service. Within outpatient clinics there is often increased specialization to target your child’s specific goals. 

Can my child participate in Early Intervention and Outpatient Therapy? 

If your child is under 3 years old – YES! It is important to know that oftentimes there is more than one option that can help your child thrive. While early intervention is accessible and a great program to support young children and their families in their home, outpatient therapy may be able to target skill acquisition and overall development in a more specialized way. There are benefits to both models, but we encourage you to look at all the options and determine which is the best fit for your child’s needs.  

Check out our printable handout here: Early Intervention vs. Outpatient Therapy

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