Sharing What Works in Supporting Infants & Toddlers and the Families in Early Intervention
It’s Thursday, the week’s almost over, and I bet you were just thinking…man, I sure wish I had a few ideas to help (insert child’s name) use his hands to play! 🙂
You may be supporting an infant or toddler who has cerebral palsy or another neurological condition that causes increased muscle tone. If the child has tightly fisted …
We could call this one the “what’s in it for me?” principle. We know how we are…as adults, we usually pay attention to information that is most relevant to our current situation. We tend to remember information that is most immediately useful, skills that get our needs met, and strategies that we can practice right …
On your first visit you ask, “Is Tyler saying any words?”Â
“Oh sure, Tyler has lots of words! He can say ball, mama, doggie, outside. He probably says 20-30 words!” his mother replies.
When you ask for more information, you realize that Tyler’s words are almost exclusively said in imitation after his mom prompts him. He only has 2 words that …
Okay, be honest. Have you ever:
recommended that a family go buy books;
explained the importance of sorting colored teddy bears into matching bowls; or
listed “placing shapes in a 3-piece form puzzle” as an outcome on the IFSP.
If you answered yes to any of these, well, then you’re in the same boat as me …
Miguel is 19 months old and lives with a large family that includes his parents, three older siblings, an aunt, and his grandparents. He qualified for early intervention due to delays in gross motor development and low muscle tone. He’s also showing some slight delays in his expressive communication. During his assessment and subsequent intervention …
During the assessment, the professional team members notice some soft neurological signs in Seiko’s development, such as an indwelling thumb, slight scissoring of her legs, and low muscle tone in her trunk. Seiko was referred to early intervention by her pediatrician because she is 14 months old and not yet sitting or crawling. According to her …
Tyler is 20 months old and instead of playing with his toys or using his spoon to feed himself, he quickly throws them as soon as he picks them up. Tyler’s parents tell you that it’s really hard to manage during playdates or when they go out to eat. Tyler also rarely stays still to …
If we think about the best way to make the biggest difference in a child’s development, it makes sense that we will be most effective by working through the child’s most familiar people. Those familiar people, parents and caregivers, are the key to success. Positively impacting the child’s development is the reason for early intervention …
Is this you? Are you learning about using the coaching interaction style and finding that you’re stressed by what you think you’re supposed to be doing? How many reflective questions should you ask? Which question is the right one? Am I allowed to make suggestions or even interact with the child anymore???
First, take a deep …
Imagine that, without warning, you lost your job. Without your paycheck, you’ve gotten more and more behind on paying rent until you’re served with an eviction notice. You have two more days until you must leave your apartment and you don’t have enough money for a deposit on a new one. You have no family …
