Comments on: Helping Families Bridge the Gap between Your Visit & the Rest of the Week https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/ Sharing What Works in Supporting Infants & Toddlers and the Families in Early Intervention Thu, 25 Jun 2020 03:17:23 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 By: Deana Buck https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-12 Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:24:15 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-12 I hurt my back and am having PT. I went yesterday and he asked me to fill out this little form. One of the questions was about functional changes I had seen since the last visit. I mentioned that I had been able to sleep some wthout waking up with pain. He asked if that had been a problem, I said yes, and then we worked on some strategies that would help me some more. I slept great last night. I’ve been thinking about that proess all morning. The area of intervention was driven by my identified area of concern. He asked me to demonstrate how I sleep, and gave me three strategies to try. He also told me why they were important. When I tried them out last night, I had to make some modifications but, having the knowledge about why he wanted me to do them, I was able to make it work.

The collaboration between his expertise and problem-solving skills and my priorities for change is powerful. And sustaining.

]]> By: Deana Buck https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-11 Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:23:31 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-11 Colleen,

Thanks for your post. I used to find that those kinds of situations also brought out the “fixer” in me more than anything else. Sometimes it’s really hard for me to be patient, listen, and observe — rather than offering 10 solutions to fix the family’s problems. I agree with Dana that it’s often that focus on one or two small changes — that can help everyone feel like you’re headed in the right direction.

]]> By: Dana Childress https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-10 Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:42:38 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-10 In reply to Colleen Gleason.

Yes, Colleen, supporting families with lots of needs can definately be challenging but also so rewarding. It’s hard sometimes to balance our vision of what we’d like to see happening and what is actually happening. Sometimes I think it’s all about baby steps – helping the family make small changes as they are ready. Even small changes can make a big difference. Taking the time to listen, build rapport and develop understanding goes a long way too to helping families bridge the gap!

]]> By: Colleen Gleason https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-9 Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:19:41 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-9 I find challenges in working with families who have multiple challenges including finances, family dynamics, and depression. It is challenging to address the multiplicity of issues. AT times I find the issue is that the family are finding it difficult to actually HAVE routines.
Supporting the family then feels like a lot of listening–and being patient when I would like to see things happen according to my vision and timetable.
Thanks for great blog!

]]> By: Deana Buck https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-8 Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:51:06 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-8 This has made me think about the SpecialQuest Continuous Quality Improvement process. At the end of each training segment (or day), the facilitator asks the participants to reflect on the experience. What worked (that should be continued next time)and what would we like to change for next time. The process is informal, and always proides valuable feedback and direction. It provides a way to retool, adjust, and make changes so that the process works for everyone. Can you try that after a visit

]]> By: Dana Childress https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-7 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:03:56 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-7 In reply to Mary Voorhees.

Yes, the idea of checking in regularly with families during and at the end of the visit is so important to making sure that intervention FITS what families do and want to do. The feedback loop, back and forth, between the parent and provider helps us know that intervention is meaningful and useful to families.

]]> By: Dana Childress https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-6 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:59:38 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-6 In reply to Deana Buck.

Great suggestion! I’ve found in the EI literature how much of the work done in EI is very similar across families. When we are really working within the context of family routines, intervention becomes much more individualized and each visit looks different. Similar strategies might be used, but they’ll look different for different families. Reflecting on work with individual families is a great strategy to reflect on your own practice!

]]> By: Mary Voorhees https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-5 Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:44:08 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-5 I agree that the strategy of talking with the family after the visit to get their input about what they want to try is important. I also think the strategy of observing a routine that a family has identified as being challenging for them and joining the routine when you can to practice strategies and address development in real time is a key practice that will support the family to use the strategies between visits.

]]> By: Deana Buck https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-4 Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:36:49 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-4 I think about this a lot, and wonder if one way of thinking about this flxibility is to reflect back on your interventions with a particular family — caregivers, parents, child…. and pay attention to your role — how are you explaining your work and the intent of EI, are you as flexibile as you would like? Is your support for this family pretty similar to your work with other children and families? If it is, then perhaps that’s an area for you to consider making some changes.

]]> By: Dana Childress https://www.veipd.org/earlyintervention/2012/04/26/helping-families-bridge-the-gap-between-your-visit-the-rest-of-the-week/#comment-3 Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:53:20 +0000 https://veipd.org/earlyintervention/?p=5#comment-3 In reply to Cori.

I completely agree! I think the word “homework” should be banned from EI lingo! 🙂 For many people it can have such a negative association. I hope that, if we really are focusing on the activities and routines that happen between visits, then the interactions that the parents have with their children when they are using intervention strategies will feel less like homework and more like adding tools to their parenting toolbox.

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