Early intervention vs. Private therapy: The pros and cons of both

When your child receives a developmental diagnosis or shows signs of delays, you're suddenly faced with a maze of therapy options. Should you pursue Early Intervention services through your state? Look for private therapists? Can you do both? And how on earth do you coordinate it all while managing everything else?

If you're feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone. Most families don't realize that early intervention and private therapy aren't mutually exclusive choices—they're often complementary. But navigating both systems simultaneously can feel like a full-time job.

Let's break down what each option offers, why you might need both, and how to make it actually manageable.

What Is Early Intervention?

Early Intervention (EI) is a federally mandated program that provides developmental services to children from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays or diagnosed conditions. It's governed by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The biggest advantages of Early Intervention:

It's free or low-cost. Depending on your state and income, services may be completely free or available on a sliding scale. This removes the financial barrier that prevents many families from accessing care.

Services happen in natural environments. EI therapists typically come to your home, daycare, or other familiar settings. This means your child learns skills in the context where they'll actually use them—and you don't have to add another commute to your week.

You get a coordinated team. Through the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) process, you'll work with a service coordinator who helps manage your child's care across different therapy types.

It's family-centered. EI focuses on coaching parents and caregivers, not just working directly with your child. You learn strategies to support development throughout the day, not just during therapy sessions.

The limitations you should know about:

Eligibility requirements can be strict. Many states require a 25-33% delay in one or more developmental areas, or a diagnosed condition. If your child doesn't meet these thresholds, they won't qualify—even if you know they need support.

Session frequency may be limited. EI operates on a "sufficient" standard rather than "optimal." Your child might receive 30-60 minutes of therapy per week when research suggests they need much more intensive intervention.

Waitlists are common. Depending on your location, it can take months from referral to actually starting services. During this critical early window, your child isn't getting any support.

Services end at age 3. When your child ages out of EI, transitioning to preschool special education services (if eligible) or private therapy can take months—creating interruptions in care at a crucial developmental period.

What Is Private Therapy?

Private therapy means working with licensed therapists outside the state EI system. You use private insurance to cover the cost, and you have direct control over choosing providers and scheduling.

The advantages of going private:

You can start immediately. No eligibility evaluations, no waiting for state approval. If you find a therapist with availability, you can begin services right away.

Higher session frequency is possible. If your child needs multiple sessions per week or more intensive intervention, private therapy gives you that flexibility. Many evidence-based interventions recommend more frequent sessions than EI typically provides.

You choose your providers. You can select therapists based on their specializations, treatment approaches, availability, and whether they're a good fit for your family.

Services can continue past age 3. There's no automatic cutoff or transition. Your child can maintain continuity with the same therapists for as long as needed.

Access to specialized approaches. Private therapists may offer specific methodologies or certifications that aren't available through EI, such as PROMPT for speech therapy or sensory integration approaches.

The challenges of private therapy:

Insurance is complicated. Understanding your benefits, finding in-network providers, getting pre-authorizations, tracking claims, fighting denials—it can feel like a part-time job. Many families spend hours each week on insurance administration alone.

Finding providers is difficult. Good private therapists often have months-long waitlists. Finding someone who accepts your insurance, has availability that works with your schedule, AND is a good clinical fit can take months of searching.

Clinic-based therapy adds commuting time. Traditional private therapy means driving to appointments multiple times per week. Between commute time, waiting room time, and the session itself, what should be a 45-minute appointment becomes a 2-hour commitment.

Coordination falls on you. If your child sees separate speech, occupational, and physical therapists, you're responsible for making sure everyone is aligned on goals and communicating about progress.

Here's What Most Families Don't Realize: You Can Do Both

The question isn't really "early intervention OR private therapy"—for many families, the answer is "both."

Here's why combining them often makes sense:

EI provides your baseline coverage. The free or low-cost services through EI become your foundation. Even if it's just once a week per therapy type, it's consistent support at no or minimal cost.

Private therapy fills the gaps. Research increasingly shows that more intensive intervention leads to better outcomes. Private therapy allows you to increase session frequency beyond what EI can provide.

You get different perspectives. Having multiple therapists working with your child can provide a richer picture of their strengths and challenges, plus exposure to different therapeutic approaches.

You're covered during transitions. When your child ages out of EI at 3, having private therapy already in place means no interruption in services while you navigate the transition to preschool or other programs.

But here's the reality: Managing both systems simultaneously is exhausting.

The Hidden Work of Coordinating Multiple Therapy Systems

When you're using both early intervention and private therapy, you're essentially managing two completely separate systems:

• Tracking different schedules, appointments, and cancellations
• Making sure EI service coordinators and private therapists are communicating
• Ensuring therapy goals are aligned across all providers
• Navigating insurance claims, EOBs, and reimbursements for private services
• Coordinating evaluations and progress reports
• Dealing with prior authorizations that expire
• Finding coverage when a therapist goes on leave
• Researching and vetting new providers as your child's needs change
• Adding hours of driving to clinics each week for private therapy appointments

One parent described it to us as "having two full-time jobs: my actual job, and being my child's care coordinator."

This administrative burden often falls on mothers, contributing to the documented higher rates of reduced work hours, job exits, and career impacts among moms of children with disabilities.

How Coral Care Changes Everything

This is exactly why we built Coral Care.

We provide private speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy that works seamlessly alongside your EI services—but without the typical headaches of private therapy.

We come to you. Just like EI, all Coral Care therapy happens in your home. No driving to clinics, no waiting rooms, no trying to keep your child calm in an unfamiliar environment. Your child gets therapy in the place where they're most comfortable, and you get those hours of commute time back in your week.

We handle all the insurance complexity. Our team verifies your benefits, manages prior authorizations, submits claims, and deals with any insurance issues that come up. You don't spend hours on hold with insurance companies or trying to decode EOBs.

We match you with vetted therapists. We connect you with licensed speech, occupational, or physical therapists who specialize in pediatric care, accept your insurance, and have availability that works with your schedule.

We coordinate with your EI team. Your Coral Care therapists work alongside your EI providers to ensure everyone is aligned on your child's goals. We communicate directly with your EI service coordinator so you're not playing telephone between providers.

We don't disappear at age 3. Unlike EI, Coral Care services continue for as long as your child needs them—through toddlerhood, preschool years, and beyond. No gaps, no transitions, no starting over with new providers.

Most importantly: We give you back your time. Time to be present with your child. Time to focus on your work or other responsibilities. Time to not spend every evening on therapy administration or sitting in traffic.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Here's a typical scenario we see:

A family has a 2-year-old receiving EI services—speech therapy once a week and OT once a week through the state program. It's wonderful that it's free and in their home.

But their child's speech therapist recommended increasing to 2-3 sessions per week for faster progress. EI can't provide that level of intensity.

The family wants to add private speech therapy, but:

• They don't know if their insurance covers it
• They don't know how to find a reputable pediatric SLP
• They can't fit more driving to clinics into their schedule
• They're worried about what happens when their child turns 3 and EI services end
• They're already overwhelmed managing the EI schedule

With Coral Care:

• We verify their insurance covers speech therapy with their plan
• We match them with a licensed pediatric SLP who comes to their home
• The therapist adds 2 additional sessions per week—right in their living room
• We coordinate with their EI speech therapist to align on goals and strategies
• When their child turns 3, Coral Care services continue seamlessly—same therapist, same location, no interruption
• We handle all the insurance paperwork and claims

The result: Their child gets the intensive intervention they need through a combination of free EI services and insurance-covered Coral Care therapy—all in their home, with zero commute time. The parents get to focus on being parents, not insurance claims managers or Uber drivers to therapy appointments.

Getting Started

If you're trying to figure out whether your child needs early intervention, private therapy, or both—and feeling overwhelmed by how to make it all work—you don't have to navigate it alone.

Coral Care provides in-home speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy that works with your insurance and coordinates seamlessly with your EI services. No driving to appointments, no insurance headaches, and no gap in services when your child turns 3.

Find therapists and schedule an evaluation →

Search our network of licensed speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists in your area and get started with Coral Care.

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