I will admit it. When I see a friend whose toddler is rocking the paci all day every day, I struggle not to judge. This, from a mom whose 7-year-old climbs in her bed with her each night. Parenting is a series of tough choices, choosing the battles worthy of fighting and those you can …
True Confessions: Checking My Biases with Family Centered Practices
DEC Recommended Practices: Assessment (Part 1)
Sofia just coordinated the worst assessment ever. With her head spinning, she takes a moment in her car to reflect on just what went wrong so that she can prevent it from happening again. In a nutshell, here’s what happened:
Sofia had originally met with Max’s father for the intake, who had planned to attend the assessment …
Transition Tips from the Experts – YOU!
In September and October, we hosted a Talks on Tuesdays webinar series entitled, Getting from Here to There: Navigating the Transition from Part C to Part B. This series of two webinars focused on guidance for transition from early intervention (Part C) to early childhood special education (Part B). Presenters shared information about transition procedures, practical experiences and strategies …
Knowing your Financial “Stuff”
I have to admit…talking about financial stuff was one of the most uncomfortable parts of my job as a service coordinator. Asking families about their income and even their tax information to assess their ability to pay for EI services…not fun for me or them. As with many aspects of service coordination, I found that …
Watch your EI Lingo!
EI…IFSP…eligibility determination…Part C…outcomes…Part B…huh? Oral motor…abduction…sensory processing…cognition…what???
Okay, so it’s quite clear that we have our own language in early intervention. We have our own lingo (PDF, New Window) and our own technical jargon, and we are quite fluent in our language. This is normal for many fields, right? What may be different for us, though, is …
Research to Practice Brief #6: Home Visiting Beliefs and Practices
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 …
Time to Take Early Intervention Outside!
Finally…some sunshine and warm weather! This time of year is a perfect time to break your floor play habit and get up and move around. Taking early intervention outdoors does not have to mean that you just move your bottom from the living room floor to a blanket of toys out in the grass, which …
Ever “Wonder” with Families?
Last week, our May Talks on Tuesdays webinar presenter, Jeannie Odachowski, presented about Approaching Families About Early Mental Health Care. Something she said really stuck with me and I’m still thinking about it over a week later. She talked about “wondering” with families – encouraging service providers to wonder with the parent about why the …
The Parent’s Expectations are So High…What Do You Do?
As you get to know Jackie, Teddy’s mother, you learn that she has very high expectations for her son. She expects him to feed himself without getting messy, sit during children’s church on Wednesday and Sunday, and begin potty training – but Teddy is only 19 months old. He’s just learned to walk a few …
The Value of Collaborative Problem-Solving
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 …