Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

In Part 1 of this series, we met Phoebe, a service coordinator, and Wyatt’s family. Wyatt had just been referred to early intervention, and his family was eager to begin services but feeling overwhelmed by the process and their son’s new diagnosis of cerebral palsy. We began the discussion about the DEC Recommended Practices (2014) under …

Wyatt was just referred to early intervention (EI) and his parents are unsure about what to expect. EI is a new system for them, one full of acronyms, paperwork, and professionals. They are eager to get services in place but are feeling overwhelmed by the process and Wyatt’s new diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Their service coordinator …

As the idea of conducting functional assessment takes root here in Virginia, there have been some worries about what it means. Does it mean that we won’t do our more traditional assessment anymore? How will we determine a child’s age-equivalency? How will we get all of the information we need? Who will do the functional …

Jenni began working with a new EI program a few weeks ago. She’s really happy in this new position and one of the reasons is the great leadership. Her supervisor is a wonderful resource for how to implement best practices. He’s current in his knowledge and skills and supports his staff, including Jenni, in growing …

On a given day, you might have anywhere from 2-6 visits with families. If you step back and reflect, how do these visits typically work? There may be a similar way you begin or end your visits. You may find yourself conducting visits in the same parts of the home across visits or asking similar questions …

Pop Quiz: What is the activity that families report in the literature as the most helpful thing that happens on EI visits?

Answer: Problem-solving

Are you surprised? It makes so much sense when you think about how much you talk with families about their challenges – teaching the 18 month old to sit in the grocery chart, understanding a …

Are you Service Provider A or Service Provider B?

Service Provider A always brings a bag of toys to each visit because this allows her to plan ahead. Having a toy bag ensures that she has the materials that she knows will work, which is great because many children she sees don’t have many toys. The children …

Imagine you are the parent who’s child is newly referred to early intervention (EI). Someone calls you and asks to come by your home. “Why,” you wonder, “do they want to come here?” Then, when the service coordinator arrives for the intake, she asks you personal questions about your child’s medical history and your family …

This will come as no surprise to you as an early interventionist…findings from a new study in the online journal JAMA Pediatrics suggest that electronic toys are not so good for toddler communication development. Shocked? I knew you wouldn’t be.
Electronic Toys & Play Interactions
I often found this to be a big challenge on intervention visits …

Here’s a question for EI leadership: How do you know if your program is achieving positive outcomes for children and families? 

This question is an intricate one for local system managers and other leaders. The answer lies at the heart of what we do.
Child Outcomes – How Do You Know?
On the surface, you could say, sure we …

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