Early intervention for young children with developmental delay: the Portage approach

It is now 20 years since the Portage Home Teaching model of early intervention was introduced into the UK. In this paper, an overview of the Portage Model and rationale is provided, achievements over the past two decades are noted and related research and evaluation studies are reviewed. A number of areas for future development are also highlighted. These include: issues of quality control; the multi-cultural dimension of Portage; multi-agency collaboration; professional training needs of Portage personnel; and influencing central government policy relating to families who have a young child with special needs.