Early Intervention and Early Childhood

The cumulative deficit, shown here, represents the idea that the later the investment in improved caring for a child , the wider the gap that has to be closed. This is illustrated by showing the top curve, which represents the normal course of development, and the bottom curve, which shows the course of development for a child who is “developmentally delayed” - in other words, has a slower rate of development, and may be at risk for mental retardation.
The key message is that the later you intervene, the greater the gap that has to be closed.

The Y axis (vertical) is the child’s developmental level - both cognitive and social. The X axis (horizontal) is the age period. The list of factors on the right side of the graph represent all of the factors that may affect the magnitude of the developmental delay. Some of these are characteristics of the individual, such as responsiveness, and others are characteristics of the situation (timing, intensity of the intervention, breadth of the intervention), and a third refer to cultural and developmental appropriateness.