Introducing the Therapy Team

Possible Member’s of Your Child’s Therapy Team

https://eiclearinghouse.org/getting-started/ei-program-services/

 Speech Therapy https://eiclearinghouse.org/einotes/encouraging-speech/

Supports speech delays and/or communication concerns. Therapies help your child develop skills such as clarity, comprehension, fluency and sound production. Your child may need speech language therapy due to hearing impairments, cognitive delays, and/or weakness in the oral muscles.

Examples are:

• The presence or absence of common baby talk sounds
• The patterns in which a child moves their lips and tongue
• The timing of an infant’s first words
• Difficulties in the formation of categories of sounds
• Sensitivity of nerves around the mouth to touch or temperature extremes
  
  
  
  
  

Feeding Therapy

Feeding therapy can help identify physical concerns that may be associated with chewing and/or swallowing.  Concerns could be related to texture or consistency of the food being consumed. Typically, feeding therapy is done by a speech or occupational therapist that specializes in feeding therapy. 

Children who exhibit signs or symptoms listed below may benefit from feeding therapy:

• Frequent episodes of gagging, coughing, or choking

• “Gurgling” voice (wet voice) during or after eating/drinking

• Frequent upper respiratory infections and/or pneumonia

• Difficulty transitioning to textured food

• Poor weight gain or unexplained weight loss

• Behavioral feeding issues (refuses foods, tantrums, etc.)

• Difficulty chewing or swallowing

• Spitting up after feeding

Nutritional therapy

Feeding, weight gain, and diet are consistently high on parent’s priority list for their infant/child and can be a source of stress when they feel unable to meet these needs on an ongoing basis. Please refer to the link below if have nutritional concerns for your child:

https://eiclearinghouse.org/everyday/role-nutrition/#:~:text=Nutrition%20services%20in%20early%20intervention%20are%20provided%20by%20licensed%20dieticians,food%20habits%20and%20food%20preferences

 Occupational Therapy

An occupational therapist will work on how your child uses their hands to explore and play. They can also help a caregiver understand how their child may be experiencing their outside world and managing sensory experiences.

Occupational therapy may be beneficial if your child:

• Seeks sensory input (e.g. increased need for physical play, toe-walking, has difficulty understanding physical boundaries with peers or adults) • Avoids sensory input (e.g. covers ears, avoids clothing textures seems distressed when hands or body gets messy) • Demonstrates a decreased attention span, increased impulsivity or difficulty standing still • Falls down often or frequently bumps into objects • Requires increased time to complete simple tasks • Demonstrates difficulty transitioning, inflexible thinking or decreased frustration tolerance.

 Developmental Therapy

Supports early learning and preschool readiness skills through play. Therapies are designed to assist children in their everyday environment (home, childcare setting, etc.). A developmental therapist can help caregivers promote play skills, manage daily routines such as dressing, eating and other self-care activities. Developmental therapy focuses on the overall cognitive development for children. Please refer to the link below if have developmental concerns for your child:

https://eiclearinghouse.org/everyday/developmental-therapist-ei/

 Physical Therapy

Physical therapists can help with gross motor skills, like rolling, sitting, standing, walking, as well as teach/promote positioning exercises for plagiocephaly (flat head) and torticollis (head tilts). Through play, physical therapists can help a child build strength, coordination and symmetry in their movements. Please refer to the link below if have gross or fine motor concerns for your child:

https://eiclearinghouse.org/everyday/ot-pt-difference-ei/

Developmental Therapy Hearing (DTH)

Works to support families that have a child with a formal diagnosis of hearing loss. Therapies develop strategies to address developmental delays caused by hearing loss. Please refer to the link for more information about DTH in EI:

https://www.dhs.state.il.us/OneNetLibrary/27897/documents/Brochures/5101.pdf

 Developmental Therapy Vision (DTV) works to support families of children with diagnosed vision loss. They can share information related to your child’s specific visual diagnosis and develop strategies to address the potential impacts on the child’s development due to the visual loss and maximize visual function.

 Please refer to the link for more information about DTV in EI:

https://www.dhs.state.il.us/OneNetLibrary/27897/documents/Brochures/5102.pdf

Medical Diagnostic Evaluation

Infants and young children who may benefit from a medical diagnostic evaluation include those with one or more of the following indicators: • Delay in all areas with no medical diagnosis to explain the delay • Motor delay or abnormalities of movement with no diagnosis • Challenging behaviors and developmental delay • Differences in language, socialization and behavior • No gains in development following therapeutic intervention

 The medical diagnostic team is typically led by a developmental/behavioral pediatrician, child psychiatrist and/or pediatric neurologist. The team may also include a speech, occupational, developmental therapist or a social worker/psychologist. The team will integrate medical, educational and psychological information to make appropriate diagnoses and recommendations for treatment. The goal of the evaluation is to help the family better understand the child’s development, diagnosis and treatment plan. https://eiclearinghouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Medical-Diagnostic-brochure.072016.pdf

 Audiology

Supports children with hearing loss and/or prevents potential damage. A visit to the audiologist may be considered if your child is experiencing challenges with speech development. The medical and therapy teams may want to rule out hearing loss as a possible reason for language delays

Psychological and Counseling Services

Social workers, psychologists, counselors and other mental health professionals are available to provide support to children and their families. Early Intervention recognizes that support oftentimes needs to extend beyond the child. Being a parent or caregiver of young children comes with a fair share of stress. You are not alone! These team members can assess the need for outside resources (medical card, food stamps, health care, etc.). In addition, they help parents address challenging behaviors, navigate moments of overwhelm and support caregiver health. Please ask your service coordinator if you would like to connect with these services.