Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

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Have you ever taken a yoga or dance class? If you haven’t, let me tell you about my experiences. In either class, I’ve always found myself in a big room in front of wall-sized mirrors facing an instructor. While soft music played, the teacher would call out the names of poses I was supposed to …

As a guest in Amelia’s family’s home, you do your best to be polite and respectful. You enjoy working with her grandparents, and feel that they are doing their best to encourage Amelia’s development. The only challenge you have is the fact that they smoke during the visit. You’re concerned about the fact that you leave …

Your tire just went flat. You pull over to the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere, to try to accomplish something you’ve never done before. No, it’s not call AAA…you’re going to change the tire yourself. Thank goodness you have a good signal out here because you use your phone to look …

If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check out the first blog post in this 2-part series, Milestone or Modern Convenience?  – Part I: Overuse of the Sippy Cup and Pacifier, to learn important information about an infant’s need for sucking and the risks involved with overuse of the pacifier and sippy, cup!

Now that …

Although shocking to many, the sippy cup is NOT a developmental milestone.  Nor is sucking on a pacifier, for that matter.  But why do we (therapists, parents and caregivers) celebrate these acquired “skills” as developmentally appropriate achievements?  Why do we allow these “skills” to happen for much longer than they should?  Is it just easier …

It is hard to believe but it is almost May!  The final Talk of the two-part series, entitled “Ditch the Animal Sounds: Writing Appropriate Outcomes that Lead to Effective Implementation,” will be presented live on May 5th!  In anticipation of the upcoming webinar, I am excited to share with you just a few of the …

We definitely have challenges in getting specific-to-speech-related services paid for in early intervention (EI). And we should!  Targeting specific speech sounds in isolation before the age of three years does NOT make sense on a developmental level—and this is exactly why insurance companies tend to question the claims.  We know, however, that we need to …

Abby has significant motor delays. Her mother asks you some version of this question during every visit: “Is it my fault that Abby isn’t walking yet?” or “What did I do to cause this?” The question itself makes you uncomfortable, because you can’t really answer it well and because you feel like you’ve tried to answer …

Joey is 25 months old.  He was referred to his local early intervention intake coordinator by his parents secondary to their concerns about his intelligibility and inability to effectively communicate his needs or wants.  They reported that he uses approximately 15 words but “talks in such a garbled manner” that both parents and Joey’s older …

Lynn meets Devon and his mother, Janae, at the grocery store for their visit this week. When she arrives, she finds them trying to walk into the store. They are struggling because Devon is having a tantrum and Janae is trying to carry him while he kicks and screams. Lynn goes up to them and asks if …

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