Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

We’re really good, in early intervention, at the “what ifs…” – especially when it comes to adopting new practices. When a practice feels unfamiliar or even contrary to how we were trained, it’s so easy to jump to the “what ifs” and feel like there are many reasons not to use the new information. Often, though …

What Does the Research Tell Us?
Physical therapy and helmet treatment are considered the conservative strategies for positional torticollis, congenital muscular torticollis, and deformational plagiocephaly.1  Retrospective and prospective studies of conservative measures have reported, “good to excellent results, with success rates ranging from 61% to 99% when intervention was initiated before one year of age.”(p.370)2   Ellen …

A new family is referred to your program and they bring with them a prescription for therapy. The prescription lists physical therapy 5x/week. The parents request this level of service because that’s what their pediatrician says the child needs. When you explain the difference between a medical model of therapy and the family-centered methods used …

Did you know that how a child qualifies for early intervention (EI) differs depending on where he lives?? How do children qualify in your state or country?
Early Intervention Eligibility in the US
In the US, Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act outlines two ways that children qualify for early intervention services: 1) developmental delay in one …

I’m starting a new series to try to gather YOUR best strategies for supporting children and families! I’ll share a few of my favorites, and I invite you to post your best strategy or a story of when you helped a child learn this activity or milestone. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, but …

Maybe the family was referred to your program by the court system. Maybe the mother made the referral because a grandparent was pressuring her. Maybe the doctor made the referral even though the father wasn’t really interested.

Whatever the reason, there are some families who enroll in early intervention but who really don’t want to be there.  Accepting early intervention …

Imagine that you are the parent sitting on the floor watching several people who you don’t know interact with your child. At some point, the time comes to find out what they think about your child’s development. This is an anxiety-producing moment, no matter how sure you are of what’s going on with your child.

Now …

Pick a visit, any visit. Walk in the door and…what are you most likely to see? What’s the most common activity to occur on a visit?

Well, the title of this post surely gave it away, but you are very likely to see the provider and child playing with toys. Why? Why do we still find ourselves sitting on …

Baby Massage Instruction
My last article discussed some of the many benefits of baby massage and how practitioners could use it to improve functional skills in babies, educate parents, and enhance our overall practice. In this article I provide an overview of some baby massage strokes.  I would like to reiterate the importance of demonstrating the …

“Massaging your baby is a very special way to let them know they are safe, loved and understood. A daily massage lays the foundation for a lifetime of self esteem for your baby and good communication between the two of you.”

-Vilma McClure Founder, The International Association of Infant Massage Instructors.
The first communication a baby receives …

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