Danielle

Vachon
Program Visit
Educ 862
5 March 2014
The program I visited for this assignment was Lakes Region Community
Services Council. It is a Family-Centered Early Supports and Services (ESS) or

Early Intervention Agency. It has service provided to families and children under
the age of three who have a developmental delay, disability or an established
condition. Services are provided in the home and community to assist families in
providing the best evidence based practices to increase a childs growth and
development. I was invited to watch a screening on an 18-month year old boy who
has a language delay.
When Tylaine and I first arrived at the home we sat down with the mother
and talked with her for a little while. Tylaine asked questions such as, What kind
of food does your son like? What toys does he like to play with? Does he
understand you when you talk to him? After we were both caught up to speed we
watched the young boy play in his living room. Tylaine was watching and
listening to see what the child understood and what the child could say. She was
also watching to see if the child was communicating in other ways such as
pointing, head shaking, gesturing, etc. After watching the child play, she observed
how he ate certain objects to see how his mouth, tongue, and palate work together.

After assessing the child, I met with Tylaine and another woman to discuss
the process that they go through when evaluating a child. I was curious about what
instruments they typically use. They explained that they use the HELP (Hawaii
Early Learning Profile) or more typically they use IDA (Infant Developmental
Assessment). Tylaine explained that they have been very satisfied with the
IDA tool (it is available in English and Spanish). IDA screens developmental
functioning in several domains: gross motor, fine motor, relationship to
inanimate objects (cognitive), language/communication, self-help,
relationship to persons, emotions and feeling states, and coping. She likes it
because it takes a team to evaluate a child. The tool allows for many
different viewpoints, including the parents reports and observations of the
child. The only downfall to this tool is that the time varies with each child
depending on the degree of the delay.
Once the screening/evaluation is complete, the evaluation team will decide if your
child is found eligible for ESS, he or she will be assigned a home visitor,
according to their needs. This person may be an Educator, Physical Therapist,
Occupational Therapist or Speech and Language Pathologist. The home visitor
and family will work as a team to develop goals as part of the Individualized
Family Support Plan. The home visitor will strategize, model and help you
implement activities that can be incorporated into your daily routines to build on
your childs skills and help them to reach your goals. They will also help to find a

variety of resources for your family and help you to continue to be successful in
raising your child. There is no charge for families during Early Intervention. New
Hampshire has funding set aside for the child if the family has insurance.
I found the interview very helpful and knowledgeable. At the end of the
screening they found that the child had inflection and could understand almost
everything that was being said to him. He was happy and very motor oriented.
They saw that he feeds himself and has no problem using his mouth, tongue, and
palate together. They discussed how his delay is in pronouncing certain words (he
makes lots of sounds) and suggested the family keep reading and talking
constantly to the boy. Tylaine recommended the child for a full evaluation, which
will be conducted within 45 calendar days. Overall, the experience was interesting
and I am eager to hear how the boy does in his full evaluation.