-Written by Amy Foster, Rainbows’ Physical Therapist
Early Intervention might be a somewhat confusing term. If a person doesn’t have a direct experience to relate it to, they may not know how to describe the term “Early Intervention.”
When I, as a therapist, start working with a new family, I have no idea what they are thinking when they are told that their child might be appropriate for Early Intervention. Some families may be happy that there is someone who can validate their concerns, while others might be discouraged because the hope for a “healthy” child took a different course than they planned.
Since I am an Early Interventionist that might be working with your family, there are some things that might make your transition to receiving services a little easier. First of all, we really love that we get the opportunity to help you navigate the Early Intervention world. Even if we may not exactly know what will work best immediately, know that we are really happy to try to help you come up with some strategies that will make your family’s life a little easier.
We know that sometimes your child might be having an off day. Don’t worry about that. We don’t want your child to be their best self with us, we would rather they be at their prime when they are with you and your family!
If the child we are there to see has siblings, they have so much to offer him or her. We enjoy when they interact with your child when we come for a visit. We love to help your other children know what they can do to encourage your little one to grow and develop.
We understand that YOU are the expert on your child. We are so impressed by all the little details that you notice about your child. We recognize that you, as a parent, come up with the most ingenious ways to handle challenges.
We love watching you play and interact with your child. When you are interacting with your little one, it is so fun to have a front row seat to the learning experiences that you are facilitating.
We value the fact that you are allowing us into your home and letting us in on a glimpse of your lives, especially the parts that are challenging. It must be very difficult to have someone come in to your home and observe those experiences in order to help come up with a solution to make your little one’s life easier.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with your child. Those of us who work in Early Intervention believe so strongly that addressing a developmental delay or a parental concern from the very beginning will make a positive difference.
