On May 1, 2021, Governor Northam proclaimed May as Early Intervention Awareness Month in Virginia. Many EI programs use this month to raise awareness and build relationships with referral sources, physician offices, other community programs, and of course, families. The video What is Early Intervention in Virginia? is often shared widely because it provides …
EI Awareness Month in VA – The Power of Family Stories
Posted on May 13, 2021
by
Dana Childress, PhD
in *Recent, All, Celebrating Early Intervention, Engaging Families, Local EI System Management
The Unspoken Realities of Child Abuse during a Pandemic
Posted on March 02, 2021
by
Sarah Kim, MS OTR/L
in *Recent, All, Engaging Families, Intervention Visits, Practical Strategies, Tele-Intervention
During the past year, our world has overturned with public health concerns, teleworking from home, social distancing, and childcare facility closures. As this shift has occurred, we as EI providers have naturally adjusted to our new reality. However, some of these exact safety measures meant to keep the public safe has created a daunting reality …
Successfully Engaging Caregivers in the Child Outcomes Summary Process Virtually
Posted on February 02, 2021
by
Lisa Terry, M.S., M.Ed.
in *Recent, All, Assessment, Engaging Families, Practical Strategies, Service Coordination, Teamwork, Tele-Intervention
Despite not being able to meet in person, tele-intervention (telehealth) has brought new opportunities to think about how we are talking about the child outcome summary process. Let’s be completely honest. Tele-intervention forces us to use good teaming practices because there cannot be any side conversations among professionals and everyone is only able to see …
Call to Action! Service Coordination and Early Intervention – DEC/ITCA Position Statement
Posted on January 19, 2021
by
Dana Childress, PhD
in *Recent, All, Local EI System Management, Professional Development, Service Coordination, Teamwork
The presence of an engaged service coordinator who understands the role and skillfully conducts the many responsibilities of the position ensures a well-coordinated approach to EI service delivery. It is widely acknowledged in the EI field that families have the right to high-quality, individualized EI services; our field must commit to including service coordination in …
A Gift for You – New “Parents and Early Intervention” Video from EITP Illinois
Posted on December 15, 2020
by
Dana Childress, PhD
in All, Celebrating Early Intervention, Engaging Families, Intervention Visits, Teamwork
You’ve worked really hard this year. You’ve stretched to fit into a mold of providing early intervention (EI) that was unlike any you’d ever experienced before. You struggled, you persisted, and you succeeded. You did it because you love what you do. You also did it because you love the families.
This new video, Parents …
Temperament and Social Emotional Development
Posted on December 10, 2020
by
Naomi Grinney, LCSW
in All, Engaging Families, Intervention Visits, Practical Strategies
When talking to parents and caregivers, it can be helpful to ask them what they know about temperament and assess their understanding of how their temperament matches (or doesn’t match!) their child’s. Parents may be able to talk about their child’s response to different environments, sensory preferences or reaction to change and may not have …
Tele-Intervention Has Made Me Thankful For…
Posted on December 01, 2020
by
Dana Childress, PhD
in All, Celebrating Early Intervention, Coaching Practices, Engaging Families, Intervention Visits, Professional Development, Tele-Intervention
Many of you have been providing early intervention services via virtual visits for nine months now. That’s a long time….I probably don’t need to tell you that because you are living it. It’s been a long time since you sat in a family’s living room, since you held a baby, since you blew bubbles with …
3 Key Strategies for Building Relationships with Dads
Posted on November 05, 2020
by
Megan Schumaker Murphy, EdD
in All, Coaching Practices, Engaging Families, Intervention Visits, Practical Strategies
Several years ago, I found that my EI caseload included a couple of families with stay-at-home dads. This was a first for me, and I found myself struggling to connect with family caregivers, which hadn’t happened to me since I was new to the field. Both men were quite nice, but I stumbled when I …
AAC in EI: Debunking Common Myths and Misconceptions
Posted on May 27, 2020
by
Lauren Lamore-Chen, MAT
in All, Engaging Families, Practical Strategies, Teamwork
Amanda and I met while working at a special education charter school as an Assistive Technology specialist and special education teacher. Somehow, several years later, we have both ended up working in EI. Amanda currently works as a Speech-Language Pathologist providing EI services and AAC evaluations in DC and I am a Developmental Therapist in …
EI Tele-Assessment Video Chats & Strategies: You’ve Got This!
Posted on May 13, 2020
by
Dana Childress, PhD
in All, Assessment, Engaging Families, Practical Strategies, Tele-Intervention
Here’s the question: Whoever, in a million years, thought we’d be doing developmental assessments using video conferencing??
Really, when you think about that, it’s equally unnerving and amazing. Unnerving because it can seem like a completely new way of gathering information about a child’s development without even being physically present with the child. Amazing because …
