Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

A strong, comfortable, and trusting partnership between the service coordinator and the service provider is so important for a cohesive early intervention system. Without it, you have IFSP services ending without IFSP reviews or outcomes being “met” but not indicated on the plan. You have frustrated team members who feel that families are not getting the support they …

I typically start my early intervention sessions by asking the family to “brag” about what is new and exciting in their child’s life.  Usually, the family will also bring up what activities are challenging for them.  If not, I will ask the family what are their concerns?  Admittedly, these concerns are more child-focused and less …

Ask any 3 families what bathtime is like for their child, and you’ll get 3 different responses. For one family, bathtime might be a long, fun, wet playtime each night for the parent and child. For another, it might be a very busy time of bathing 3 young children, getting them in and out of …

We’ve all had that visit…the one where we knock on the door for the first time and the family is less than pleased to see us arrive. Or the visit where, after we arrive, the parent leaves us in the living room and doesn’t reappear for 10 minutes. Or, the visit where the parent is …

Last week I wrote about strategies for using videotaping during and between EI visits.  Here are three fabulous resources to help you think more about the potential use of video to positively impact our work with families:
Results Matter Video Library
Larry Edelman from the University of Coloradco produced these videos and has been a leader in developing short videos for use in …

One of the interesting ideas that’s percolating around in my brain following the DEC conference is about using videotaping during and between early intervention visits. Here are a few ways I’ve either heard about or read about for using videotaping in early intervention to help families bridge the gap between visits and everyday life:
Using a …

Our training team has just returned from attending the DEC’s International Conference in Minneapolis this week and boy, did it jumpstart my brain! So many thoughts swirling around in there related to using video on intervention visits, collaborating with colleagues in other states, and building professional development resources for our providers here in VA! More to come …

We know from research in early intervention that making the change to using collaborative, family-centered practices during early intervention visits continues to be challenging for EI providers. One of the reasons that this continues to be a challenge is because most of us think we are already doing it!

Each of us needs to take the …

In my previous post I discussed five tips that will help early interventionists in collaborating with families to embed therapeutic strategies into their daily routines.  To review, the tips are: start with a routine based interview, incorporate family goals into strategies, set up the environment, follow the family’s and child’s lead, and be creative.  In …

I agree with Mahoney, Robinson and Perales (2004), “….the time has come to stop talking about parent involvement and to commit to learning how such involvement can be accomplished across a range of family constellations, circumstances, and values.”  When I first start working with a family I explain that there shouldn’t be a “therapy” hour …

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