Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

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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 …

Maybe you’ve felt this before…you are on a visit and it’s the parent’s turn to practice using an intervention strategy. Perhaps you just modeled it, or you and the parent came up with an idea and want to give it a try. When you ask the parent if she’d like to try it, she averts …

It’s Thursday afternoon and I’m banging my head on the steering wheel after my home visit. Why? Because I’ve spent the last hour coaching this family to stop giving their two year old a bottle when she can drink from a sippy cup, straw, and an open cup. It’s not like we haven’t worked on …

When we whittle early intervention down to its core, I think it’s all about interactions. Interactions between the child and caregiver, first and foremost…interactions between the child and the environment (toys, sofa cushions, spoons and cups, buttons on the TV remote, the family dog)…interactions between the EI practitioner and caregiver that facilitate positive interactions with …

Nicholas visits with Mia and her grandmother, Mrs. Wilson, during breakfast. Mrs. Wilson loves to cook and would like to involve Mia but she isn’t sure how. When she’s tried, Mia pulls her hand away or arches her back instead of touching the ingredients. Mrs. Wilson knows that she should help Mia touch different textures …

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 …

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 …

This will come as no surprise to you as an early interventionist…findings from a new study in the online journal JAMA Pediatrics suggest that electronic toys are not so good for toddler communication development. Shocked? I knew you wouldn’t be.
Electronic Toys & Play Interactions
I often found this to be a big challenge on intervention visits …

“Emma runs away every chance she gets. Open a door and she bolts. Try to walk with her into a store and she screams until she wiggles free. We can’t take her anywhere!”

This is how Emma’s mother describes one of the family’s main concerns. Emma’s behavior is difficult for them to manage, and one of …

It is hard to believe but it is almost May!  The final Talk of the two-part series, entitled “Ditch the Animal Sounds: Writing Appropriate Outcomes that Lead to Effective Implementation,” will be presented live on May 5th!  In anticipation of the upcoming webinar, I am excited to share with you just a few of the …

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