article_snippet: (CNN)Early Intervention changes lives.
article_snippet: Take, for example, Early Intervention, which provides services to children with developmental delays from birth to age 3 at little cost to the parents (there are means-tested co-pays).  
article_snippet: At their best, these therapies not only help children with disabilities learn new skills, but also teach parents to better understand parents children.
article_snippet: Right now, a child who is at least 30% delayed in any category -- for example being at least 30% less able to use speech than a typical child of their age -- is eligible for services.
article_snippet: The plan is to take every child who is 30-49% delayed (about 10,000 children), re-test them, and remove eligibility from thousands of those deemed the least deserving until the arbitrary dollar amount is reached.
article_snippet: Children with only mild delays can, with Early Intervention, avoid requiring the more expensive special education services in school when the more expensive special education services in school are older.