Got my 6 month old evaluated because I was concerned about her lack of vocalization. She just barely qualified because of her lack of making vowel sounds. They said she was ahead in her physical milestones and the delay was only with her expressive speech. I made an online referral because of my concerns but now that they’ve been validated I feel kind of flustered. I don’t know. Just felt like sharing because I don’t know too many people who even know what early intervention even is.

My boy is two and five months. He’s been in Utah’s early intervention for Speach Therapy for two or three months now. He has an extreme delay. He is where he should be or above average in every other way. And he understands probably 1000 words. But he says consistently three or so. The pediatrician mentioned early intervention. But we also wasn’t worried about our son and told us he’s probably gonna catch up on his own, but I was very concerned and started him in early intervention.

My experience so far has been to feel like the program is worthless. This isn’t anything against the gal that comes to my house. But she comes in and watches me playing/interacting with my boy. And that seems to be it. She will talk to him and interact with him. But nothing different than what I’m doing. And I just think what am I paying for? Maybe it’s because I’m already speaking to him in the ways I should be to help him pick up words? Maybe I need to request a different therapist? I do feel like it is worthless.

When you’ve had Speach Therapy from early intervention come into your house, what has been your experience? Have they actually worked with your child? Have they used charts? Have they given you printouts? Have they given you a lot of guidance? Because I feel like I’ve received nothing.

I’m fairly new to working in Early Intervention as a Service Coordinator, and I’ve been struggling with this feeling that I’m not actually doing enough for the kids.

A lot of my caseload is speech/communication, and my state uses a parent coaching model. I know the purpose of it and I understand that I’m supposed to be modeling strategies, reinforcing goals, coaching parents, etc., but sometimes when I’m actually in the home it just feels like I’m playing with the kid while talking to the parent and then I leave.

I’ll imitate them, narrate what we’re doing, model language, create opportunities for communication, etc., but sometimes it feels so easy and repetitive that I wonder, “Am I actually helping this child?” I also worry that the parents are sitting there thinking I’m not really doing anything.

I know intellectually that there’s more to it than just “playing,” and I know the goal is for the parent to carry these strategies over into everyday life. But I don’t always feel like I made a difference when I leave a session.

Has anyone else in EI felt this way when they were new? Did you eventually get more comfortable with the parent coaching model and start feeling like what you were doing was actually making an impact?

My Daughter started EI at 16 months old. Today she had her last session. We have developed amazing relationships with her therapists and she has come so far like a complete 180 from where we started at. I am so proud of her but also sad because her therapists were so great and really became a part of our daily lives. I know it’s normal to move on obviously but it’s just crazy that it went by so fast and that we will never see them again. That’s all really, no one gets it because no one else I know had a child in EI. I’m also glad it’s over because it was incredibly time consuming and i understand it is a job for them, but my daughter still asks about the therapists that have already ended and the last session today was the one she was closest with so it’s sad.

Hi. My daughter is 1 year old and 6 months we are from Vista California. I have concerns with her not being able to talk and barely look at me when I call her. I feel like it’s not normal on her age. Where can I get a free evaluation for her? Thank you so much

We feel it may be too late. This is been ongoing for quite some time and we don’t know how to help him.

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The survey takes less than 3 minutes to complete.

I am new to being a therapist through early intervention. When I am tracking mileage for taxes, do I count my first session (home to client #1) or just client to client travel. And same goes for last client to home travel.

I have seen different statements online about what counts and would like some clarification so I can accurately track mileage.

I currently work full time in a school and have been doing EI on and off for 15 years as a supplement. A few years ago I started also doing evals with my current agency. I continued as a provider, so I wasn’t too focused on accumulating too many evals. Due to scheduling, I plan on focusing strictly on evals. Ideally I would like 6-8 evals a month. For those who do evals, how many do you typically do in a month? How many agencies are you with? How many did you start with when you transitioned to evaluator? I know I’ll be at the bottom when signing on to new agencies so I’m trying to anticipate what is a reasonable expectation for starting out. Thanks in advance!

What are your biggest tips for someone new to parent coaching? Especially being someone young with no kids I’m scared of not being taken seriously.

Hi everyone 😊

I’m a Certificate III Qualified Early Childhood Educator in Perth WA and I’m currently looking for work in childcare.

I have completed my Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care, have placement experience in long day care, and experience working in OSHC. I’ve been applying online, emailing centres, and I’ve also gone into centres personally with my resume, but I haven’t had much luck so far.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any childcare centres, agencies, or places around Perth that are currently hiring Cert III educators or are open to giving new educators a chance.

Any advice, recommendations, or tips would be really appreciated. Thank you 😊

I told someone I recently got a job in Early Intervention and they mentioned situations where you might walk into homes that have things like roaches or bedbugs. Now it got me thinking a bit.

In those kinds of situations, are you expected to continue the visit, or are you able to respectfully and professionally leave and handle it with your supervisor?

Just trying to understand what actually happens in practice so I’m not overthinking it before starting.

Also, I planned on carrying a small tote bag around for my computer and any other items. Should I not do this now in case a home has infestations? I don’t want to bring any infestations home with me.

Anxious momma here. I don’t know if I should accept EI or not. I know it’s a fabulous program but I just don’t know if it’s necessary.

I asked for speech evaluation. He’s newly 18 month he has 9 words and 3 signs, and numerous gestures. This has been the same since 16 months. He passed the eval for EI at the therapist.

She had PT see him just to be safe, no issues, but since he hasn’t made anymore progress she requested OT and EI.

Ped is not concerned and other moms with boys his age seem to be in the same language boat.

So is this a wait and see? Or act now?

I don’t want to take a resource that someone may really need and we are waaaaaaaay out in the country.

I think our real issue is sleep. He’s had broken night since birth. Can EI help with that?

My lunch box isn’t cutting it anymore. With the weather getting hotter, and my lunch sitting in the hot car for 3-4 hours during the day while I’m running from session to session, I need a lunch box that’s gonna keep it cold. Doesn’t need to be a massive cooler or anything crazy, I usually just have a salad and protein shake in there everyday

Okay hear me out. I’m a feminist to my core but one thing I cannot kick from existing in the midst of misogyny is wearing a bra. I wear one every day no matter how uncomfortable it is. It feels inappropriate not to, especially working with children and going into all different settings. I don’t have big boobs but it would be very obvious if I wasn’t wearing one. Maybe I just haven’t found the right kind of shirt. Anyone anti-bra that has found a good compromise? TBH I wear one every time I leave my house so it’s not strictly a work issue but if I could be comfortable without one at work I could do it anywhere.

Couldn’t be more fitting! lol

This is mostly just to vent, but I’m wondering if anyone else has come across private daycares with ridiculous procedures for letting therapists in. I have one putting me through the most lengthy background check process, one saying I can only come during their nap, and then there’s the 2 hour gap in my days from avoiding naps at every other place. I absolutely adore the EI setting but I’m tempted to go independent just so I can avoid all these places where I’m clearly not welcome.

How do you deal with scheduling when almost every kid would be best to schedule in the morning?

Has anyone ever been turned away from a daycare because their background check deemed you unworthy?

What do you say to teachers who constantly try to push you to a separate area with the kid you’re working with when EI policy clearly states that we are to work within the child’s routines?

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Hi All,

Being on the spectrum myself, I’ve often found myself in social situations that may seem normal or even pleasant to others, but can be extremely stressful and mentally taxing for me and many other neurodivergent individuals.

I wanted to share a fundraiser for an acquaintance who is working on an early-stage research project combining neurobiology, psychology, and virtual reality. The goal is to develop accessible VR-based systems to better understand and potentially improve how individuals with autism and ADHD respond to stressful real-world situations.

They’ve already managed to procure some of the required wearable devices and are now trying to build the VR-based system needed to develop a proof-of-concept.

If this resonates with you, even sharing the link would really help.

https://gofund.me/b7cefdfc6

I genuinely believe this is a meaningful and thoughtful project, so I wanted to share it here.

Thanks for taking some time to read.

Regards

My toddler is 28 months old (She was born at 37 weeks so her adjusted months should be around 27 months as full term delivery is around 41-42 weeks)

• She does lot of eye contact
• She does a lot of joint attention
• She eats on her own without any assistance
• She climbs steps on her own and climbs on to chairs without anyone's help
• She understands different objects
• She babbles a lot
• She is hyperactive
• She has interest in different objects
• She does hand leading

But she also does these

• Lot of toe walking (80%)
• speaks only 5-10 words
• On father's side (my side) my uncle didn't speak till 2.5 years
• Stimming during night
• She doesn't point us and say mama or dada but she says mama or dada on her own
• She doesn't not point fingers but hand leads us to the object she needs (For water etc.,)

We are planning to put her in playschool soon..

We are anxious whether my toddler has ASD..(Our physician said it may or may not be ASD and with history of speech delay on fathers side it's too early to tell and we are soon going to evaluate her in next 1 week and consult with speech therapist)

I work in EI and I’m wondering what websites, pages, people, social media, etc. people follow to keep up with the EI, children’s education, etc world! I love to keep learning and just seeing what’s going on. I love reading articles and watching educational videos on reels and stuff. What do people love??

Does anyone wear knee pads? I’m finding that on top of chronic back pain, my knees are starting to give me trouble from getting up and down from the floor all day. I see that veterinary scrubs sometimes have built in knee pads so I may try those but would love something discrete. Families don’t need to know all my aches and pains lol.