Mater Dei Early Intervention Program

The Mater Dei Early Intervention Program is family-centered and founded on a rich system of values and beliefs which underpin the service we offer to children from birth to six years of age who have been assessed with Developmental Delay and/or diagnosed with a specific syndrome. This service encompasses both the child’s immediate and extended family and the community in which the child will live independently and interdependently as a responsible citizen.

The Mater Dei Early Intervention Program team of practitioners agrees that:

  • a child with a disability is a child first and foremost
  • every child is rich in possibilities and potential
  • a child is an agent within his/her own life
  • play and social learning are the primary ways in which a child learns and interacts with his/her surroundings
  • each family is unique
  • families are the chief experts on their children’s lives
  • a key role for a child’s family is to act as capable advocates and supporters of their child
  • communities and families are obliged to include children of all abilities 
  • (Early Childhood Intervention Practitioner Competencies 2009)


The Mater Dei Early Intervention Program will be:

  • designed to meet the strengths and needs of children and their families if the goal for inclusion is to be met
  • planned to promote practice-based evidence and the development, maintenance and sharing of expertise
  • focused on building the capacity of children, their families and mainstream early childhood services
  • grounded in the use and application of evidence-based practices to support families including strategies for building the capacity of the Mater Dei Early Intervention Program practitioners
  • compatible with FaHCSIA Funding

Peter Limbrick’s Team Around the Child (TAC) model will be the basis of the services we offer at Mater Dei Early Intervention Program.“The TAC approach offers a small collaborative team of parent, therapists and teachers as the ideal forum for integrating interventions for the young child.” (Limbrick, 2011)

The Mater Dei Early Intervention Program offers a transdisciplinary team approach which includes the following suite of services:

  • Speech Pathology and Assessments
  • Occupational Therapy and Assessments
  • Educational Support
  • Early Learning Groups
  • Psychometric Assessments
  • Transition to School Plans
  • Pastoral Care

Click here to download a copy of the Mater Dei Early Intervention Program brochure.