Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

Establishing and maintaining professional boundaries is an ongoing and important process for every early interventionist. Because interventionists work so closely with families, the boundaries between the parent-professional partnership and friendship can become blurred. This can happen for both people in the partnership, but it is ultimately the professional’s responsibility to maintain the boundary.
Consider this real …

Today we hosted a fantastic Talks on Tuesdays webinar on culture and cultural competence, presented by Cecily Rodriguez from the VA Dept of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. The webinar will be archived on our Talks on Tuesdays 1014 page soon if you missed it. Several questions related to working with language interpreters were asked …

Will, the service coordinator, is sensing that Malika, Jeremiah’s mother, is feeling overwhelmed after the assessment. Malika has agreed to proceed with developing Jeremiah’s IFSP, but when they get to discussing possible outcomes, she becomes quiet and tells the other team members to put whatever they think Jeremiah needs to learn on the plan. Will …

Finding out your child isn’t developing typically can be inexplicably difficult.  Many of us were in a fog when our children first got started in early intervention.
Initial Diagnosis & Finding Early Intervention
The devastation I felt after my son was diagnosed with Down syndrome subsided long ago, but the memories are vivid.  Arlo is 3 years …

Do you know what the hairy eyeball is?? I do because I’ve been told that I give it without even knowing it. It’s that look that gives away what I’m thinking. It might be a glance or a raised eye brow, or my eyes might open a little more widely. Whatever it looks like, I …

Scenario #1: Each time you visit with Mehki’s family, you notice cockroaches crawling around the floor and on the walls. You’ve had to swat them off of Mehki and away from yourself many times and are becoming increasing concerned. Mehki’s mother says that there’s nothing they can do about the bugs because the neighbor has …

Most practitioners in Early Intervention are going to visit a child at a childcare facility at some point. Admittedly, walking into a childcare center can lack the warm appeal of entering a home. The hug from the child at the door and the parents’ appreciative greeting are often replaced with an impersonal, and perhaps wary …

How many of you remember the TV sitcom, “Who’s the Boss?” that aired in the mid-80’s? The basic premise was a role reversal of common stereotypes when a former National League baseball player moves with his daughter to an upscale Connecticut community to become a housekeeper to a high-powered executive and her son.  Typical television …

A day in the life of a service coordinator: Jenni arrives at work early to prepare for an initial assessment, making sure the paperwork is ready in case an IFSP is developed too. After the 2-hour assessment and IFSP meeting, she drives 40 minutes to her next visit with a family and their OT. The visits …

A new pediatric practice has just opened in your city and expressed an interest in meeting with staff from your EI program. This practice identifies itself as a “medical home” for children and you wonder, “What does that mean?” As far as you can tell, the physician and her staff are very interested in building a …

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