Brain Builders Corner - Early Intervention

 A great deal of focus has been placed on transition – from conferences and trainings to publications. The Early Childhood conference in April and the First Steps annual conference in June included several sessions around transition – opportunities for our Early Intervention staff to grow in their expertise as they help families navigate transition. In addition, the Division of Early Childhood (DEC) has Recommended Practices documents and the Early Childhood Center at the Indiana Institute for Disability and Community created an Early Childhood Theory of Action document. DEC’s recommended practices include seven topic areas of guidance for professionals: assessment, environment, family, instruction, interaction, teaming and collaboration, and transition. This document defines transition as “events, activities, and processes associated with key changes between environments or pro-grams during the early childhood years and the practices that support the adjustment of the child and family to the new setting.” Check out the document for more details on the recommended practices: https://divisionearlychildhood.egnyte.com/dl/7urLPWCt5U.

Let’s see how these practices worked for a family of a 3-year-old who recently transitioned from early intervention to preschool:

Parents: “We visited the program and were informed about all of the opportunities for [our child]. The IEP meeting wasn’t as scary as we expected and we were able to participate and share our goals and dreams for [our child]. It went really well and the LEA respected our desires for [our child].” 

Early Intervention provider: “Everyone worked toward communicating processes and shared responsibilities for ensuring a smooth process for [the child’s] start at the preschool next fall.” 

Parents: “We will miss the people we have bonded with in early intervention and appreciate the bonds [our child] had with [the child’s] providers. But she is ready to ride a bus and go to preschool now to prepare to learn with other children. We look forward to continuing opportunities to connect with other families through the Center’s S3 Story times and other events that bring families together.”

Check out our transition resource, Navigating Transitions for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in Indiana (https://www.in.gov/health/cdhhe/files/Navigating-Transitions-for-DHH-Children-in-Indiana-2021.pdf), for information surrounding transition from early intervention to preschool that is specific to Indiana.