The Real OTs of Early Intervention
This show aims to empower and educate occupational therapy practitioners and students to be confident and competent working in Early Intervention.
Episodes
Summary:
Today we’re gonna have a little fun and share a few of our favorite stories that we have experienced as occupational therapists working in early intervention. To be honest, sometimes our job can be really tough, but it is the progress and positive things that happen that can really make our day, our week and even our year. Listen in to hear these stories and the impact they still have on us today.
Episode Note...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- Do you love or hate addressing feeding in early intervention?
- Feeding is more than just the act of food to mouth
- Danielle’s story with feeding as a neurodivergent child and now adult
- Navigating mealtime routines
- Taking our own sensory systems into account
- Child & family led
- The feeding intervention process
Mentioned Resources
Danielle discusses:
- What is Interdependence?
- Understanding the Interdependent nature and connectedness of Doing, Being, Becoming, and Belonging
- How society views interdependence
- Voice clip from Jacklyn Googins on Interdependence
- We as OTs can help shift that narrative and evolve supports to be guided with an interdependence model as the framework
- Voice clip from Greg Boheler on Interdependence
- Rethinking self-regulation goals and shif...
Amirra discusses:
- The source behind her passion for the NICU
- Her NICU related capstone project and research areas during OT school
- How she gained clinical experiences in the NICU as a student
- The long term implications and impact of a NICU hospitalization
- Why she ultimately decided to pursue the EI setting instead of the NICU
- How having background experience in the NICU has impacted her practice in EI
Mentioned Resources
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- Why is early intervention important?
- Importance versus urgency
- Meeting the family where they are at
- Strengths- based approach
- Communication about why it’s important to work on certain skills
- Showing the parent what early intervention is through play
- Stigma in early intervention and other considerations that parents might be on the fence
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: the...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- How it all started
- The EI community
- EI-curious
- Messages we’ve received
- Podcast stats
- What’s next for the real OTs
Mentioned Resources
- Mindfulness and Movement in the Early Years
- Early Intervention Diagnoses
- Why We Love Early Intervention
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://ww...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- The importance of thinking outside the box
- Mindset versus treatment planning
- Shifting the mindset to what is early intervention and why are we here
- Coming up with ideas to be used in therapy
- Learning to grade up and grade down
- It is not about the objects
- Considering the family routines
- Expansion of play
Mentioned Resources
C...
Sarah discusses:
- Pregnancy
- Knowledge on development
- Genetic testing
- Resiliency of babies
- Emergency surgery while pregnant
- Labor and Delivery
- Important of support
- Honoring birth stories
- Postpartum
- Healing journey
- Turning off our therapy brain
- The biggest thing I’ve learned
Mentioned Resources
- Pregnancy, Perspective, and an Emergency Procedure
- All We Do is Play and Other EI Myths
- 3 Things to Say to Caregivers
Contact:
Overview of Mindfulness and Movement
- Danielle’s Dissemination of her capstone project “Mindfulness and Movement in the Early Years”
- The Purpose
- Foundational skills that support academic success and emotional regularity
- Pyramid of Learning Chart https://www.smartpediatrics.com/post/understandingsensoryprocessing
- A child’s main occupation is to play. A student’s main occupation is to learn
How can EI Therapists support t...
Mentioned Resources
- Pathways Tummy Time
- Getting Down with Tummy Time
- Why We Love Early Intervention
- Teletherapy 101: EI Edition
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://www.marvelousmirracles.com
- Danielle: https://danielledelorenzo.com
- Sarah: https://ot4lyfe.com
Show Sponsor:
Mentioned Resources
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://www.marvelousmirracles.com
- Danielle: https://danielledelorenzo.com
- Sarah: https://ot4lyfe.com
Show Sponsor:
Mentioned Resources
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://www.marvelousmirracles.com
- Danielle: https://danielledelorenzo.com
- Sarah: https://ot4lyfe.com
Show Sponsor:
- This episode is sponsored by Michelle D OT. Check out her blog and resou...
Mentioned Resources
- The Assessment Process
- Containers and Walkers and Bouncers, Oh My!
- The Real Deal on Documentation in EI
- Breaking Down the IFSP
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://www.marvelousmirracles.com
- Danielle: https://danielledelorenzo.com
- Sarah: https://ot4lyfe.com
Show Sponsor:
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- Our first session experiences
- Having a plan without a plan
- Considerations for your first EI session before seeing the client
- Questionnaire for first phone call
- Environments, maps/ traffic, dress code
- Showing the families how important they are to us
- Rapport building from the beginning
- Cultural Sensitivities
Mentioned Resources
- The Assessment Process episode
Contact:
- Website: http...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- What container syndrome is and what it is not
- How it adds up throughout the day
- It's so much more than don’t put your kid in a container
- Importance of freely moving moments throughout the day
- Reflecting on daily routines
- Types of containers
- Potential harmful effects
- Other considerations for use of containers
Mentioned Resources
Contac...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- Why is tummy time important
- Embedding into daily routines
- When not to do tummy time
- Strategies to promote a happy, positive tummy time experience
- Understanding a baby’s signs & cries
Mentioned Resources
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.real.ots.of.ei/
- Amirra: https://www.marvelousmirrac...
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- What daily documentation looks like in early intervention
- How it differs from other practice areas
- The purpose of daily documentation
- The necessary components
- Importance of documentation
- Using parent friendly language
- Including specific measurements
- Advice to improve your EI documentation
Mentioned Resources
- The Early Intervention Teaming Handbook: The Primary Service Provider Approach
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- The shift into teletherapy due to the pandemic
- Already comfortable going into the home in early intervention
- Unique lens as an occupational therapy practitioner
- Utilization of the coaching model
- Redefining teletherapy
- Asynchronous and Synchronous teletherapy delivery
- The parent perspective on teletherapy
- Pros and cons of teletherapy in EI
Mentioned Resources
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- Best ways to gain experience with children birth to 3 years of age
- “Hold all the babies”
- Remember the OT Framework
- Working with the parents & the whole family
- You are not expected to know everything
- Working in areas around early intervention like in a NICU, school-based, or outpatient pediatrics
Mentioned Resources
Amirra, Danielle, and Sarah discuss:
- What is an IFSP and what do the letters stand for?
- Professionals that contribute to it and what it includes
- Report and meeting components
- When it is initially done and updated
- Occupational therapy’s role in the IFSP process
- Difference between IFSP and IEP and medical model
Contact:
- Website: https://therealots.com
- Email: therealotsofei@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.rea...
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