EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION IN LITHUANIA IN EUROPEAN CONTEXT

The aim of the article is to reveal and to present the situation of early childhood intervention (ECI) in Lithuania in the context of new recommendations of European Agency. The main results and findings from the study are presented in the article in such sequence: methodological-theoretical approaches of ECI and its evolution, findings on collaboration in ECI between parents and professionals as well as parental satisfaction with ECI in Lithuania; results of assessed and compared ECI situation in Lithuania and other European countries. Different elements of ECI were identified during the analysis: availability, proximity, affordability, diversity, etc. The analysis of the situation showed that ECI in Lithuania is functional, but there are some ECI aspects (e.g. the quality of early intervention service in rural areas vs. city centres; co-ordination and co-operation among services and related professionals provided at local and national levels; comprehensive training on young children’s development for various professionals involved, etc.) to be improved at the national, regional and local levels. Key words: early childhood intervention in European countries, early childhood intervention in Lithuania, comparative analysis