{"id":2614,"date":"2015-08-26T13:59:00","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T13:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/?p=2614"},"modified":"2021-10-15T19:21:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T19:21:25","slug":"6-key-ideas-for-joint-planning-with-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.veipd.org\/earlyintervention\/2015\/08\/26\/6-key-ideas-for-joint-planning-with-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Key Ideas for Joint Planning with Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently spoke with a mother who is a highly educated, early childhood professional and who received early intervention (EI) for her child. She \"Writingshared this insight with me: she loved when the therapist came\u00a0to her home and looked forward to the visits because she was so eager to help her child. She also felt\u00a0equally frustrated after each visit because the therapist would leave and she wasn’t sure how to use the intervention strategies during her daily routine. She paid close attention at each visit, and she and the therapist would discuss and practice what to do, but each time she was basically “left hanging,” unsure about how to intervene with her child’s development between visits. Think about this…here’s a mother who has professional expertise in early childhood, who is knowledgeable about EI, but who still struggled to use what she was learning. This insight reminded me that\u00a0we really can do better to support all families during<\/em> visits so they know what to do between<\/em> visits.<\/p>\n

What’s A Joint Plan?<\/h2>\n

One of the simplest and most effective things you can do\u00a0during a visit to prepare a parent to know what to do and how to do it between visits is develop a joint plan.\u00a0The joint plan is a key component of early childhood coaching<\/a> as described by Rush and Shelden (2011)<\/a>. It’s also been called an intervention plan in other literature. The whole idea of the joint plan is to intentionally help the parent plan for how to use a strategy between visits when the provider is not present to provide support. It’s specific, individualized, and involves problem-solving and purposeful planning<\/a>. It doesn’t have to be complicated and shouldn’t be very long. It may be a verbal or written agreement. It’s a simple technique that is usually easily integrated into your practice and one that helps parents remember what to do and how to do it. The hard part for providers is often just remembering to do a joint plan at each visit and follow-up on it at the next visit…once you’ve got that down, you’re half way there!<\/p>\n

Watch this 30 sec video to hear from a different mother who explains the goal of early intervention. Her words will help you understand why developing a joint plan is so important!
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