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.
