Pause and Reflect

Your Guide to a Deeper Understanding of Early Intervention Practice

by Dana C. Childress, Ph.D.
Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University, Chesapeake, Virginia

Contents

• About the Downloads
• About the Author
• Preface
• Acknowledgments

Chapter 1 Early Intervention as a Practice
Reflective Journal
Action Plan

Chapter 2 Fundamentals of Early Intervention Practice
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Action Plan

Chapter 3 Balanced Intervention: Supporting the Caregiver and the Child
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Action Plan

Chapter 4 Gathering Meaningful Information From Families
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Action Plan

Chapter 5 Strategies for Implementing a Balanced Intervention Visit
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Action Plan

Chapter 6 Taking Care of Yourself
Appendix: Author Answers

About the Author

Dana C. Childress, Ph.D., Early Intervention Professional Development Consultant,

Chesapeake, Virginia

Dana Childress, Ph.D., is an early intervention professional development consultant with the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has worked in the field of early intervention (EI) since 1995 as an educator, service coordinator, supervisor, trainer, author, and consultant. Her interests include adult learning and EI service delivery, family-centered practices, and supporting family implementation of intervention strategies.

Preface

Ever had one of those visits when you got back in your car and just felt deflated? Frustrated? Or maybe puzzled about why the child is not making progress or the caregiver doesn’t seem engaged? After sessions like that, it can be easy to explain away those feelings by placing the responsibility for what’s happening on the family. However, caregivers often do not know what they are supposed to do during visits, entering the system with no frame of reference for this kind of experience. The service provider sets the tone and teaches the caregiver how EI works, collaborating to build a partnership.

Reflection on what occurs during the visit is essential, as it affects caregivers' ability to apply intervention strategies between visits. This book will focus on how to collaborate with families, ensuring that the time is spent effectively has a lasting impact.

What’s Coming Next

As you move through this book, I invite you to pause and reflect on your practice. Reflection is crucial for professional growth, so consider how you can help caregivers be successful using intervention strategies.

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been a wonderful opportunity for my worlds to collide. I am deeply grateful for my editor, Hudson Perigo, for her support and belief in my voice. I appreciate my colleagues and the families that I have partnered with throughout my career. Their experiences have informed my understanding of effective early intervention.

Chapter 1: Early Intervention as a Practice

Imagine this scenario: You knock on the apartment door... The visit is off to a great start, but not all intervention visits go as smoothly. On any given day, visits may reflect a wide range of experiences; each family presents a unique challenge, impacting how and what learning occurs.

As service providers, we must consider our role in facilitating the caregiver's connection to the child’s development. Early intervention is about supporting both the caregiver and child in their natural environment.

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NEW IDEAS: ____

IDEAS THAT CHALLENGED ME: ____

THOUGHTS & FEELINGS: ____

Action Plan

Instructions: Based on your reflections, what do you want to do next? Make a commitment to yourself with this action plan.

By ___________________ (date), I will take responsibility for growing my early intervention practice by learning more about (knowledge or practice) by

Your purpose as EI practitioners is to share knowledge about child development and intervention in a way that builds the caregiver's capacity to support the child’s learning every day. It’s essential to remain aware of how we interact with families, reflecting on our practices to continually improve our service delivery. The journey of professional growth involves a commitment to learning and self-reflection, which this book aims to facilitate.