Parapatric Speciation in the Evolution of Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities and Their Families

Abstract

The term parapatric speciation, borrowed from biogeography, is used as a metaphor for describing and illustrating a little acknowledged change in the field of early intervention that occurred at the time of the passage of the Education of the Handicapped Act Part H early intervention legislation. The term refers to the formation of a new species from a parent population that lives adjacent to but does not interact with the parent population. Up until the passage of the Part H legislation, early intervention was defined primarily in terms of the experiences, activities, and learning opportunities used to influence infant and toddler behavior and development. Thereafter, early intervention was redefined in terms of the professional services provided young children and their families. The paper includes a discussion of the consequences of the parapatric speciation of early intervention and why the Part H/Part C is in dire need of revision and updating and what those changes might look like.