Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

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 …

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 …

You call to schedule the first intervention visit and the child’s father answers the phone. He says, “Hold on, let me get my wife…”

During the assessment, the father comes home for lunch, opens his front door, sees three strangers sitting in his living room floor, takes a quick glance at his girlfriend, then quietly closes …

You call Rordan’s mother for your monthly contact to check on services and ask her how things are going. She sheepishly tells you that Rordan has made little progress with his crawling and that she doesn’t think he likes physical therapy much. When you ask why she thinks he doesn’t like it, she tells you that …

Consider this quote: “When we know the facts about people, we know what they are. When we  know their stories, we know who they are.” (John Quincy Adams)

We gather tons of facts in early intervention. We ask exhaustive and often intrusive questions about medical history, resource needs, financial information, priorities for the child’s development, daily routines, etc.  …

You’ve probably met Isaiah before. In his child care classroom, his teacher struggles to keep him at the table long enough to complete the finger painting activity or to finish his meal. He’s constantly on the move, climbing and pulling toys off the shelf. At home, his parents find it challenging to play with him …

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