What is Early Intervention? How Does it Work?

"My child is turning three, what happens? Will my child continue to receive speech therapy? How will I know what to help my child with at home? What does the process look like?" These are the most common questions that I have been asked as a parent prepares for a transition meeting. Here's how things have worked (disclaimer: this blog refers to the process in Illinois, and in my experience). 

Intro to Early Intervention

If your child, birth to three, receives early intervention services for speech, developmental, feeding, occupational, physical therapies, or social work, you know that your child had a delay in the respective area(s) and the needs warranted qualification for services. In the early intervention model, the therapist comes to your home and provides therapy in an inclusive manner in which family participation is incorporated. The involvement of family is crucial as family members are the ones to carry out practice and facilitate improvement all of the hours of the week that the therapist is not working with the child.

If your child does not receive Early Intervention and you have concerns about your child's development in any area, contact the pediatrician and ask for a referral or contact your local Child and Family Connections office to voice concerns and learn about your options. Most likely, an evaluation team will be contacted to assess your child and determine which, if any, of the services are recommended. A service coordinator will be assigned to your child's case and this individual serves as your liaison through the Early Intervention journey.

IFSP...What Does This Stand For? What Does it Mean?

An Individual Family Service Plan (i.e., IFSP) is a plan generated after the child's initial evaluation. The IFSP encompasses information regarding the child's current skills, areas needing improvement, and family goals for the child. For example, if your goal is for your child to use words to communicate, the IFSP would state what the child currently does, what might be expected of a child that age, and specific family goals that are developmentally appropriate for the child. All team members (e.g., service coordinator, therapists, and family members) should be present during the development of the IFSP and help create a custom plan that will best benefit your child. Once the IFSP is developed, it is the parent/guardian's right to request a meeting at any time to go over goals, progress, or concerns. Occasionally IFSP meetings are called to increase or decrease service frequency. The child will be re-evaluated after one year of services (until age three) and IFSP goals will be reviewed and goals will be adjusted as appropriate. 

I Was Called for a Transition Meeting. What Does This Mean?

A transition meeting is just that. It is a meeting to prepare the parent for the upcoming transition as the child will age out of Early Intervention services when he or she turns three. Transition meetings are usually brief and you may meet only the person in charge of their early childhood department or preschool team. This individual will go over the fact that when the child turns 3, he will no longer be eligible for Early Intervention. As a tax payer of the town in which you reside, you have the right to send your child to school and receive services there if he qualifies. You will most likely be asked if you have any other concerns such as fine motor, social-emotional, or other developmental areas. This is so that the coordinator can prepare the school's evaluation team and invite the appropriate disciplines (e.g., speech, physical occupational therapies, social worker, psychologist, etc). You will likely then be invited in for an evaluation for the appropriate professionals to evaluate your child.  

When Will My Child Be Evaluated?

If your child receives services from Early Intervention in the State of Illinois, your child should be evaluated prior to his third birthday. This allows the school's team of professionals to conduct testing, collaborate results, and determine the most appropriate placement for the child. Your child should be evaluated prior to his third birthday so that when Early Intervention services stop, there is a smooth transition and continuation of services (if the child qualifies, of course). 

What Do I Need To Do To Prepare For This?

Take a deep breath and relax. The school systems transition children and implement therapies for children as they age out of Early Intervention all of the time. Keep working with your child on the skills that are being targeted in therapy. The therapists and team members understand that your child may be shy, may not want to interact as they normally would, or just outright don't demonstrate all the skills they truly have. That's why it's a team approach and your Early Intervention provider is welcome to attend the meetings with you. All of your child's reports will be shared with the school's team members so that record review can be completed--which is especially beneficial in the instance that your child doesn't want to participate in the evaluation activities. If your child is motivated and excited for school, you can prepare them the week of the testing by telling him that he is going to see the "big-kids' school" and allow him to wear his backpack or bring a notebook, favorite book, or toy with him. Walk or drive your child past the school so he can see it and attach more meaning to the upcoming event.

How Will They Test My Child?

Many evaluation teams complete play based assessments. The team will look to see where your child is performing developmentally while he plays games, manipulates puzzles, engages in communication (either sign language, gestures, vocalizations, words, sentences, etc), and uses his imagination through play. Some school districts use standardized tests in which the child is given specific tasks to complete in order to generate a standard score. Again, if your child doesn't participate fully in testing, the team will utilize record review, parent interview, and observations. Don't worry. You will be working with a team of professionals who do this all the time. Trust me, as one of those team members--we've seen it all and we understand that sometimes kids don't adjust quickly to a new environment or they don't want to separate from the parent. 

What Should I Ask the Team? 
If you have questions, you're not alone. Every parent, whether they've been through the process with another child before or not, wonders what will happen and how it will work for their child. Here are the questions you may consider asking. Some of them may not be able to be answered until the child is tested and the team determines if he qualifies for services and/or which services he qualifies for. 

1.     How many direct minutes will my child receive per week? (Since the team won't know until they test him, you can just ask how service minutes are typically delivered weekly).

2.     Will my child be working with a group? How many kids per group? (The team probably won't answer this until they test him, but they may be able to give you a general idea of how it's typically done.)

3.   What is your therapy model in preschool? Is it push-in (where the therapist pushes into the classroom and works with the kids while they engage in preschool activities) or are the kids pulled out of the room? *The coordinator or team may be able to answer this at the transition meeting.

4.     How will I be kept informed about my child's progress? Will I receive progress reports? If so, how often?

5.     If I choose to keep my child at his daycare, can he pop into school weekly to receive the services he qualifies for?*Some parents decline preschool and choose to keep the kids home or at their previous school/daycare. Some school districts offer appointments or small groups would allow the child to receive services even though they decide not to enroll in the preschool program. 

I hope this helped ease your mind. As always, thank you for reading! Please contact your local school district, Child and Family Connections, or collaborate with your service provider for specific information about how the process may work in your area.

Quick tips: Don't panic. Talk to your service provider about their experience with transition meetings. Ask the provider what questions or concerns you should be sure to share with the team. Remember that you reserve the right to bring providers or professionals with you to any meetings you have with the school district.

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