Don't Wait - The Clock's Ticking
Let's get straight to it: early childhood is prime time for learning. From birth to around five years, children experience peak neuroplasticity; a period when they're naturally wired to absorb language, motor skills, and social learning (ecoparent.ca).
By age three, synaptic density peaks, and environment-driven pruning follows. The brain's at its most flexible, curious, and hungry for information. Miss this window, and that extraordinary learning capacity starts to close.
Kids Learn by Playing - So Let Them Play
We all know that young children learn through play, drawing, experimentation, and trying things out. That's how they figure out the world. Jerome Bruner's constructivism and Montessori's "absorbent mind" both agree: kids learn through engaging, meaningful interaction with materials (journals.sagepub.com, disabilityinnovation.com).
When we introduce assistive technology early - switch-based toys, writing tools, eye-gaze games - we're giving them access to that same trial-and-error, discovery-driven learning that their peers get. It's not a shortcut - it's how brains actually grow.
The Dangerous Myth: AT is Post-Settlement Only
There's a common misconception that assistive technology assessment and intervention only happen after a medico-legal settlement. Not only is it wrong, it's actively harmful.
The truth? You can and must bring in AT during litigation, especially for kids. Here's why this matters:
Financial awards aren't theoretical: they're court-mandated budgets to rehabilitate individuals as if they had never been injured 1 2 3
- Waiting until post-settlement squanders developmental time and weakens your evidence
- Early assessments provide measurable progress: milestones achieved, communication growth - clear objective data that strengthens a case
Build the Brain, Build the Case
When kids use AT from the get-go, you're not just helping them learn, you're collecting real evidence. Early intervention gives you longitudinal data: baseline performance, ongoing progress, impact on daily life. That's powerful evidence for rehabilitation and the courtroom.
Critical period evidence shows that early stimulation predicts long-term cortical efficiency (wired.com). Providing AT that lets kids play, speak and interact early sets them up for lifelong benefits.
What Happens If You Wait?
Let's be blunt about the risks of delay:
- Missing the window means lost potential that can never be fully recovered later
- Settlements take years! By then, a child will have missed critical language and learning milestones
- Courts expect awards to achieve "pre-injury functioning" over the client's lifespan, not just patch-ups after adulthood
How to Embed Early AT in Practice
- Proactive assessments: recommend AT during litigation, not just after
- Play-based goals: using AT to explore learning games and to bring about motivational communication opportunities
- Ongoing data collection: track progress, log sessions, and update goals
- Clear evidence pipeline: video logs, app outputs and clinician notes feed directly into medico-legal records
The Bottom Line
- Neuroscience backs it: early years = highest neuroplasticity
- Play is non-negotiable: kids must learn the same way as their peers
- Legal legitimacy: early interventions create stronger evidence and better outcomes
- Delay is dangerous: waiting until post-settlement risks irreversibility
By shifting AT to the litigation phase - starting while children's minds are still "squishy" - we both improve their development and strengthen legal claims. A powerful two-for-one that serves the child's best interests while building solid evidence for their future.
Get in early.
Use the time when the brain is sponge-like. Give children the tools while they're still wired to learn fast - and you'll not only boost development, but build an unshakeable foundation for their lifelong support needs.
