Early Intervention Strategies for Success

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

 

Word cloud: social and emotional development

Early social and emotional development includes the ability for young children to “form close and secure adult and peer relationships; experience, regulate, and express emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways; and explore the environment and learn — all in the context of family, community, and culture” (Yates et al., 2008, p. 2). This describes …

Amanda and I met while working at a special education charter school as an Assistive Technology specialist and special education teacher. Somehow, several years later, we have both ended up working in EI. Amanda currently works as a Speech-Language Pathologist providing EI services and AAC evaluations in DC and I am a Developmental Therapist in …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Wyatt is a happy 19-month old child who was recently released from the hospital, where he lived for the first 17 months of his life. Wyatt was born very prematurely and has been diagnosed with a visual impairment and cerebral palsy. You want to conduct an assessment to learn about Wyatt’s strengths and needs, especially …

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 …

Oliver’s mother calls you and tells you, with a shaky voice, that he’s been “kicked out” of his third child care center. The center director told her that his behavior has become “more than we can handle” and “a safety concern for the other children.” You’ve been working with this family for several months now on …

I have a confession…I don’t actually think we should spend so much time talking with families about their concerns. I think we should ask once, so that we have it for Section II of the IFSP, then leave it alone. Instead, I think we should focus much more on the family’s priority for their child’s …

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 …

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