Determining EI Services Refresher

1/31/2024

Youtube Recording Link

• Notice of Child and Family Rights and Procedural Safeguards Brochure

  • English

  • Spanish

• EI Colorado Training Catalog

• QIO User Guide

• Engagement, Independence, and Social Relationships (EISR)

• DEC Provider recruitment video

  • Website: https://www.bepartofei.org/

• Tech for Tykes

  • IFSP Quick Guide

• “Understanding & Explaining Procedural Safeguards” Training

• Mission & Key Principles

• Clarification about Annual Reviews

Helpful Scripts for Service Coordinators/Providers

Qualifying for EI Services as a whole, not a specific service:

“Your child is eligible for Early Intervention services based on a significant delay in the area of communication. During the IFSP meeting which includes the child and family assessment we will discuss times of day where this delay is impacting your child’s ability to participate. This will help us identify the concerns and priorities you have for your child and we will develop outcomes and strategies based on your input. Then, as a team, we will determine the services that are needed in order to implement those strategies.”

“Sometimes a developmental interventionist may be a better fit after identifying the concerns and/or priorities. Or, perhaps an OT .... we won't know until the IFSP has been developed.”

During the Family Assessment

A good way to finish up asking about each routine is to ask the family how this time of day would look if their initial concern(s) were addressed. For example, “How would lunchtime look or be better for you and your child if they were able to communicate when they wanted more or when they were finished?”

Reviewing concerns/priorities with the family following the Family Assessment:

“I’ve noted a few areas of the day where it sounds a bit challenging or where you would like to see some change. Is it alright if I read them to you and you let me know if there is anything that you would like added or changed?” The family and service coordinator will have a discussion about each of the items then move on to the priorities section. This section pulls the family’s biggest priorities from the concerns section for their child as the foundation for the IFSP outcomes.

For determining the priorities, a good question is: “Of these concerns, what would make the biggest difference in your family right now to work on?” or “What would be the most important priority that you would like to address?”

Making IFSP Outcomes Functional:

Ask the question “to do what?”

Example:  The child will say 5 different words (to do what?) to ask for the toy that he wants during playtime.

Talk to the family about how often they need support:

It is important to think about how often the family needs support in order to be able to implement these strategies and the family’s capacity to have sessions.

Is it always once a week? Maybe not.  Maybe the family needs support every other week.

We should also be talking to families about the fact that the provider is there to help them implement these strategies, especially throughout the week during the different routines of the day. There is no formula for how services are determined. Not every child that has a speech/language delay needs 4 sessions per month of SLP services. It’s important to individualize these services just as the IFSP is individualized to the child and family.

Discussing all of these factors will hopefully help families think about how often they would like to meet with their provider and what frequency would work best for their family. Providers can also discuss with families how their needs may change over the course of their time in early intervention.