Early Intervention Strategies for Success

Sharing What Works in Supporting Infants & Toddlers and the Families in Early Intervention

 

Jenni has two options on every intervention visit:

Option 1: She can work directly with the child while the child’s caregiver observes nearby, or

Option 2: She can provide instruction to both the caregiver and the child by facilitating their interactions with each other during naturally occurring, developmentally enhancing activities.

The first option is probably easier, because in …

How much do I value families’ everyday routines in being able to positively influence children’s development? So very much. Yet… how often do I find myself on a home visit either: 1) only talking with a family about their routines, or 2) engaging with the family in only the routine of play? Too often!

Values versus …

In Part 1 of this series, we met Phoebe, a service coordinator, and Wyatt’s family. Wyatt had just been referred to early intervention, and his family was eager to begin services but feeling overwhelmed by the process and their son’s new diagnosis of cerebral palsy. We began the discussion about the DEC Recommended Practices (2014) under …

We often hear from early intervention (EI) practitioners that they need more videos that show recommended practices. In order to “do” it, or implement these practices with families, it really helps to “see” it. Because practices are something we do, we need examples to help us know if we are doing them correctly too. This …

You know the one…that moment when your heart filled up and you thought, “THIS is why I do what I do.” It’s that moment when you see a child achieve a milestone that has been long coming, or you watch as a parent realizes that she has taught her child to walk. It’s like a …

Wyatt was just referred to early intervention (EI) and his parents are unsure about what to expect. EI is a new system for them, one full of acronyms, paperwork, and professionals. They are eager to get services in place but are feeling overwhelmed by the process and Wyatt’s new diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Their service coordinator …

Service coordinators, the early intervention (EI) team members who lead the transition process, often have questions about how to ensure that all of the required transition steps are followed and documented. Individualizing the process while accurately documenting the required steps is an important balance for service coordinators. There are a lot of details to attend …

Oliver’s mother calls you and tells you, with a shaky voice, that he’s been “kicked out” of his third child care center. The center director told her that his behavior has become “more than we can handle” and “a safety concern for the other children.” You’ve been working with this family for several months now on …

Nicholas visits with Mia and her grandmother, Mrs. Wilson, during breakfast. Mrs. Wilson loves to cook and would like to involve Mia but she isn’t sure how. When she’s tried, Mia pulls her hand away or arches her back instead of touching the ingredients. Mrs. Wilson knows that she should help Mia touch different textures …

As the idea of conducting functional assessment takes root here in Virginia, there have been some worries about what it means. Does it mean that we won’t do our more traditional assessment anymore? How will we determine a child’s age-equivalency? How will we get all of the information we need? Who will do the functional …

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