Early Intervention evaluation?

Question

Can anyone tell me what actually goes on in an Early Invervention evaluation for a two year old? And can you tell me if you can cancel out of the program at any time? When i referred my daughter I thought that she may have a delay. In the last three weeks there has been an explosion of language (yes, and a lot of temper tantrums too). I think they are going to come and tell me to stop wasting their time. What do you advise?

Answer 1

I advise the same thing.

Answer 2

My son had an Early Intervention Speech Evaluation at 2. I Had requested it because his older brother had a speech delay and I saw so much improvement in him once I got him into speech, that I wanted to my younger son started earlier.

Like one of the poster said, basically, they played with him. They had him walk around and climb on things, pick things up and put them in places. They had some books with pictures to test different areas of his speech and language. He actually scored too high for services, but they enjoyed him and were very nice and friendly.

I had him tested again this last year because he didn't seem to be getting many more words and he did qualify for services, but not as an early intervention client since he was 3. I took him twice a week to speech at the Head Start site for half an hour at a time. He's made a lot of progress and he'll will be going to preschool next year and receive speech there.

I would go if I were you. If she doesn't qualify for services, they'll be nice and will probably send you home with a packet with ways to help your daughter even more at home.

I believe since you are self-referred, you can cancel out of the program as she does not have an IEP yet. You could call and they'd tell you.

Either way, she'll end up talking, probably too much sometimes and you'll wonder what the problem was. Enjoy her.

Answer 3

Early evaluations will do a full range of activities designed for the childs age. They will be looking at everything from language, motor skills, socialization and emotional levels. If your child falls below the normal curve then they will be eligible to participate in early intervention programs. Some services that are offered are speech, OT, PT and even socialization classes. Most of these program only run until the child turns 3 then they will help you locate other services usually through your local school district.

My son was evaluated at 2 and needed services. We continued from age 3-5 through the school district. Even though he had periods where there were growth spurts there was still deficits. As long as your child has been accepted into the program they won't typically ask you to leave. Just be honest will all his development and struggles he's faced. If they offer services take them. The earlier you intervene the better chance your child stands at gain skills.

Answer 4

Trust me....Just GET the evaluation. My son Drew is 2, and I had a very strong feeling that something went wrong after he had a very serious flu and an allergic reaction to Motrin. He lost all his words, and had extreme sensitivities to sound, touch, taste,texture.....EVERYONE told me I was a worrier. I had the team come and within an hour they had put their heads together and explained to me that they felt my son has Sensory Integration Dysfunction, or the inability for his sensory system to process and regulate sensations in his environment. (He also has extreme behavior issues) He has been in EI since he 18mo. and his speech HAS improved tremendously, but despite this, he tested below average on all the yearly testing, do to the sensory difficulty impeding his ability to pay attention. His intellect is intact (Thank God) but his sensory problem is seriously affecting him. I am SO GLAD I had the testing done....I would NEVER had known, and I would not be enrolling him in a pre school handicapped program in the fall, and I wouldnt have the benefit of an OT giving me help and strategies to use for sensory integration each week. As a result, he would have had a VERY hard time adjusting to school. Maybe now I will be a head of the game.Trust your instincts. If you are wrong....Halleluja...If you are right......then Congratulations for being a great Mom and getting your child served as early as possible. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Hello. I work for an Early Intervention program. First, yes, you can 'cancel' or refuse services at any time. They won't ever tell you that you are wasting their time. It's what we do. Many children we see do not qualify for services. I think that the assessment cannot hurt. It really does no harm and it may be helpful, if for nothing else, peace of mind. I would encourage you to go ahead with the appointment, tell them what has happened since you scheduled it, and see what happens. Remember, EI services are here to help...it's never a waste of time. Good luck!

Answer 6

My daughter has been in EI since six months of age and it's been helping tremendously. Yes, you can pull out at any time; however, if your pediatrician recommends it, I'd stay with the program as there's no cost to you after your insurance is billed.

Your SLP and an early childhood teacher, sometimes the coordinator also, will all come out to your house or wherever you have therapy and go over the goals for the past six months, if you've met them, what can be done if you haven't, new goals for the next six months and how to acheive them, how often, if any, therapy is still needed, etc.

Answer 7

They hide things under cups to see if the kid remembers which one it's under, have her put pegs in holes, puzzles, etc. They give her instructions and see if she can do them. They basically play with her for an hour.

It never hurts to have the eval done, especially now that it's scheduled. The staff is happy to give one parent in a hundred a clean bill of health. They do it so seldomly. They are much better qualified to evaluate your child than you are, and they may find some weakness that they can advise you how to work on.

Answer 8

First of all, i have a question for you: Do you have a diagnostic from a specialized person? Psychologist, Psychiatrist, or Neurologist. You must make sure that such a behaviours in your daughter are product of a kind of brain damage or environmental, so the applied treatment has to be the appropiate one. Next, the evaluation is freequent and can't be stopped, only changed according to the response from your child

Answer 9

I think that if you don't need them, then you should have a child development case worker that you can call and just cancel. I had them come look at my son when he was younger because he was delayed due to be a preemie at 35 weeks and all of a sudden he started sitting and crawling at 10 mts.