The research examined whether a program of early intervention has positive effects on the development (motor and mental) in children with ages from one to three who stay full-time in a public nursery school and present developmental delay. Initially 63 children were evaluated using the Bayley Scales II, being that 37 of them showed delay in both scales, mental and motor. Of these 37 children, 20 were randomly selected to participate in an early intervention program. After this intervention, three groups were formed for the second application of the Bayley Scales II, being that the groups were compounded of 15 children with developmental delay who had participated in the mentioned early intervention, 15 children who did not participate in the intervention but had developmental delay, and 15 children who did not have developmental delay. The results showed visible progress in the development of children with developmental delay who had participated in the early intervention. The study concluded that a program of early intervention in public nursery schools is viable to prevent future handicaps in children because the early intervention can detect and identify possible mental or motor underdevelopment and provide means to overcome them.
child development; early childhood education; nursery; early intervention
