EI centres progressively offer a continuum of early intervention (EI) services that are better tailored to the varied developmental needs of our children, and the changes in a child’s developmental needs over time. The continuum of EI services include the following:

a) EIPIC Under-2s: This programme is targeted at children under 2 years old. It emphasises the training of parents/caregivers so that they can effectively carry out intervention strategies in the child’s daily routines at home. Such intervention strategies will help the child learn through his/her daily activities, and lead to early and more effective intervention. The EIPIC Under-2s programme requires the parent/caregiver to accompany the child. At 2 years old, the child will transition to the EIPIC@Centre programme.

b) EIPIC@Centre: This is a programme that provides both therapy and educational intervention services, typically in small groups. The child’s progress will be assessed regularly and the intervention goals and strategies customised to the child’s individual requirements.

c) DS-Plus: This is a programme that is provided in preschools targeted at children who have made sufficient progress under the EIPIC@Centre programme, and are attending a preschool. EI professionals from the EI centre will work with the child in his/her preschool for an average of 2 to 4 hours per week, co-teaching the child alongside the preschool teacher. This mode of intervention helps the child to adapt to the preschool setting, so that they can continue learning and be equipped with skills to interact and learn within a larger class setting. There is no need to apply for DS-Plus. As part of regular progress reviews, the child’s EI professionals will use the Early Intervention Benchmarking Framework¹ to identify children who are suitable for transition to DS-Plus. EI professionals will engage parents if the child is assessed to be suitable for DS Plus.

Table 1: Overview of the Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) and Development Support Plus (DS-Plus) programmes 

The EIPIC Under-2s and DS-Plus programmes have been implemented across all 21 centres in phases since July 2019.  For more information on the implementation of these two programmes at the EI centres, please refer to the Annex.

SG Enable provides referrals to government-funded EI centres in Singapore, based on parent’s preferred choice of EI centre. The EI centre will assess your child periodically to determine the suitable programme for them as well as the appropriate intervention goals and strategies.

• From birth to 6 years old² ;
• Singapore Citizens or Permanent Residents;
• Assessed by a paediatrician³ to be at risk of a developmental, intellectual, sensory or physical disability, or a combination of disabilities; and
• Not concurrently enrolled in any other ECDA-funded EI programmes (i.e. DS-LS, DS-Plus programmes).

Meet other specific programme criteria as per Table 1.

² Please see Table 1 for the respective age criteria of the specific EIPIC and DS-Plus programmes. Please note that child who are 7 years old and older may be served in EIPIC if he/she is assessed by a paediatrician to require deferment for registration.

^3.The paediatrician should be registered with the Singapore Medical Council.