The move is funded through the expansion of the Early Support Pilot Programme, a 13m four-year Government initiative launched in 2002 to support families with disabled children aged under three.
Parents will now have a record of their child's needs which they can take with them wherever they go. The deafness charity the RNID said this would mean an end to confusion for families who have faced difficulties when moving to a new area because there was no standard protocol in place.
John Ford, director of the Early Support programme, said, 'There has been a call for this type of resource for many, many years.' He said a similar system had just been commissioned for young children with visual impairment.
Brian Lamb, director of communications at RNID, said, 'By monitoring the development of their deaf child, parents are able to be more closely involved in professional decisions to improve their child's communication and language skills. This national resource will mean that early intervention services will be accountable for the support they provide.'
The Early Support programme, which has been piloted in nine areas, will now be rolled out to 35 more partners across England.
An Early Support family pack was also launched last week, containing information and materials to support the co-ordination of services. It includes booklets for parents with specific advice on a range of disabilities, and a guide produced by the National Autistic Society and the parent-led advice and support group PACE.
Steve Broach, assistant director of PACE, said, 'The family pack, and the Early Support Programme in general, is an important part of the long-term process of getting better services for children with autism and their families. The pack will be of huge benefit to families whose children are diagnosed at a very young age. However, many children are diagnosed long after their third birthday, and we hope that the Government will now look at how to give their families access to the same high-quality information.'
Other organisations involved in producing material for the family pack include I CAN, Contact a Family and Scope.
More information can be found on the websites www.espp. org.uk, www.rnid.org.uk and www.nas.org.uk.
The pack, which was initially piloted in nine areas across the country, is intended to make it easier for parents to access local services.
Launched in 2002 Early Support includes representatives from statutory agencies and the voluntary sector, including the RNID and the National Autistic Society, the Department for Education and Skills and parents.
