Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

We’re really good, in early intervention, at the “what ifs…” – especially when it comes to adopting new practices. When a practice feels unfamiliar or even contrary to how we were trained, it’s so easy to jump to the “what ifs” and feel like there are many reasons not to use the new information. Often, though …

What Does the Research Tell Us?
Physical therapy and helmet treatment are considered the conservative strategies for positional torticollis, congenital muscular torticollis, and deformational plagiocephaly.1  Retrospective and prospective studies of conservative measures have reported, “good to excellent results, with success rates ranging from 61% to 99% when intervention was initiated before one year of age.”(p.370)2   Ellen …

The educator knocks and Malik’s mother answers the door. They introduce themselves then move out to the backyard where Malik and his sister are playing in the sandbox. The educator sits down and says “So, Mom, is this one of Malik’s favorite things to do?”

Wait…did you notice anything wrong with this picture?
Using Parent’s Proper Names …

The practice of early intervention (EI) is always evolving and changing as new evidence comes to light about how to support children and families. This brief summarizes a research study that examined the behaviors of caregivers of young children with autism that were associated with higher levels of joint attention and language in children. It is …

Being the newbie on the early intervention team is not an easy position for anyone. There is so much to know: so many resources to learn about, so many aspects of typical and atypical development to address, so many possibilities for intervention strategies, so many different families, so many unique family routines…ah, the list could …

I’m starting a new series to try to gather YOUR best strategies for supporting children and families! I’ll share a few of my favorites, and I invite you to post your best strategy or a story of when you helped a child learn this activity or milestone. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, but …

Pick a visit, any visit. Walk in the door and…what are you most likely to see? What’s the most common activity to occur on a visit?

Well, the title of this post surely gave it away, but you are very likely to see the provider and child playing with toys. Why? Why do we still find ourselves sitting on …

Baby Massage Instruction
My last article discussed some of the many benefits of baby massage and how practitioners could use it to improve functional skills in babies, educate parents, and enhance our overall practice. In this article I provide an overview of some baby massage strokes.  I would like to reiterate the importance of demonstrating the …

The practice of early intervention (EI) is always evolving and changing as new evidence comes to light about how to support children and families. This brief summarizes a research study that examined perceptions and experiences of EI providers as they implemented a new service delivery approach. It is followed by strategies you can use to …

You are 20 minutes into the intervention visit when the mother gets a call. Her preschooler’s teacher is calling because the child is ill and needs to be picked up. She asks you if she can just run up the street and pick up her child while you stay with the toddler. You have been …

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