Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

Adult and Child Smiling

 

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Ever been in a home visit with a parent who is
simultaneously using his/her phone while discussing the child with you? There
are lots of ways that phones and screen time show up during visits. For
instance, parents hand their child a phone to keep him quiet or distract other
children in the home. Parents may pull out their …

In Part 1 of this series, you learned about the first intervention, which focuses on the caregiver’s awareness and interpretation of his or her own actions. This first intervention emphasizes (to us and the caregiver) the power the caregiver has to positively impact the child’s development through interaction and action. In Part 2, we’re going …

In evidence-based early intervention, our primary aim is to coach, rather than to “do therapy” ourselves. We teach families how to help their children. The most challenging part of coaching can be finding effective ways to invite parents to participate and join in the interactions with their child.

Location, Location, Location

As therapists, it is natural for …

Okay, when you read that title, maybe you were curious, wondering if you were going to learn about three new discoveries that will make your job easier. Or, maybe you did a quick eyeroll, thinking “Here we go, the next big ‘thing’ that I need to do.” Either way, I’m glad you’re here. While I’m …

You may have seen that awesome clip in the news recently of the father having an animated conversation with his 18-month old son. (If not, click the link and it will make your day!) Not only is it completely adorable, but it’s also a perfect example of a concept called “conversational turn-taking.”

Turn-taking is one …

Parenting Style is Similar to How One Would Purchase Eggs

As a parent and a professional who works with a lot of different families, I have noticed that there are two ways that Moms and Dads parent their child(ren) in this day and time. It appears that parenting style is similar to choosing eggs in the store: …

Alice (service coordinator) joins Jodie (therapist) on an intervention visit to see Max and his mother. When they walk into the home, Jodie reminds Max’s mother that Alice is here and says, “She’s just here to do the paperwork.” Alice keeps the smile on her face as she greets the family, but inside is cringing …

We are at the end of our discussion on the levels of awareness of parent of young children with disabilities. We have explored the ostrich phase – a time when a parent has a lack of awareness about disabilities and may not recognize the characteristics of a disability displayed by his or her child. Additionally …

I’ve been thinking a lot about routines-based intervention lately. In particular, I’ve been thinking about (and experiencing) what happens when a family doesn’t invite you into their daily routines. What do you do when the space the family makes available to you is small? Not physical space, but family life space. When the only activity …

You know the feeling…wishing you could speak the family’s language so you can build that strong relationship that’s so important in early intervention (EI). It can be challenging to coach a family when you have a language barrier, but a good interpreter can help you overcome that challenge. I recently met a new colleague with …

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