Shira N.A. Boxer

Make The Most of Your Early Intervention Experience with These 3 Important Tips

1- Personal recommendations are always best. Find likeminded peers. Find out what these other parents learned from their providers; what did their providers work towards and how did they get there. What about their approaches worked for you? Did they communicate well? If your peer’s answers resonate, these providers and the people in their networks are the ones to pursue.

2- Ask questions. Make sure you understand the goals and outcomes your providers are working towards. How did he come up with this goal? Which assessment was it based on? Why was this goal chosen? What is the method that will be used to get there? How is progress measured?
Does this method encourage generalization to other skills? If you have questions or suggestions, bring them up. This process is intended to be collaborative, to empower, and to educate.

3- Do your best to look at the whole picture. Sessions which cause stress on you or your child are going to be ineffective. If anyone is regularly unhappy or uncomfortable, it’s time for a change. We have to make sure the children are calm, happy, and alert when spending time with their providers. Remember to assess whether a certain type of session or a certain provider is working for you and your family. You might have found a provider with impressive skills with a disposition that just doesn’t mesh. Another wonderful therapist might only be available during nap time. The time spent together will not be beneficial with these variables in the way. The timing, chemistry, and even the distractions of other family members could affect therapy sessions. Keep this in mind and be ready to adjust!

I am a school psychologist and seasoned early interventionist. I offer direct therapeutic services, advocacy, and parent coaching. My child centered, individualized method targets regulation, attention, communication, and connection. I work remotely and in person with children, their families, providers, and caregivers

Visit me at www.ShiraBoxer.com for more information and to schedule a complimentary session.

Shira Boxer | Early Intervention Early intervention planning, implementation, and advocacy for children age 5 and younger and their families.

The relationship between you and your child is an invaluable tool. Are you looking for ideas on how to spend simple, joyful time with your child? Here are 4 ways to help you to enter your childrens’ world and fuel them with connection.

1- Being present is an action. Have “special time” with your child. This is set period (10 minutes or whatever you can manage) of uninterrupted quality time. This time should be given a name, your child chooses the activity, and you follow her lead. Make sure your child has your undivided attention (screen free and one parent per child). If your child can communicate the activity she wants, great. If not, observe what she is doing in that moment and join in. When in doubt, just sit next to her and start doing exactly what she is doing. Maybe if you paused for a moment, she’d look up, expecting you to keep going. This is a great “back and forth”. You both roll a car, you playfully stop rolling yours, she looks up with anticipation, you start rolling again! This isn’t a time for following directions, teaching, formal instruction, or assessment of any kind. If you have a sense of joy , your child likely does too, and that means you’re doing it “right”.

2- Watch, wait, and listen. There is a tendency to ask questions and narrate. This is especially true of well meaning adults who are trying to encourage verbal language and social interaction. Children often need time and space to process our words and to organize their ideas. Count to 8 before rewording a question or calling her name for the second time. Try getting your point across using fewer words; more body language, gestures, and affect. Removing some of our own verbal language often yields surprising results in our children. Remember that communication comes in many forms. Susan Cain, famous author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking says “There's zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.” Our kids have great ideas. With patient observation and time, we will understand what they are trying to say.

3- Do something new. Say something new, sit somewhere new, bring something new to the room. Brain scientists have found that novel stimuli promotes learning and releases dopamine. To register a little ones attention, I change my tone, affect, volume, speed, and body positioning. Going from speaking to singing, putting my sock on my arm instead of my foot, or trying to eat from a cup. The playful, unexpected, and appropriately timed, move is a great way to connect. Change something up and you could be surprised with the outcomes

4- Find moments in the day-to-day. There are opportunities to connect everywhere; have fun with getting dressed, riding the elevator, bed time, or walking to school. A great way to build a habit is it to attach something new to something already established (Highly recommend Atomic Habits by James Clear). If you’re going to be riding the elevator anyway, you can turn your hand into a character who pushes the elevator button slowly like a turtle, or crawls the wall like a spider. (Very important to use affect; play with inflection, sing, or whisper then shout for a touch of anticipation). With some creativity, the options are endless. It gives you a quick chance to connect, adding some joy to the mundane while presenting your little one with something novel (see number 3).

For a detailed checklist to maximize your “special time”, comment below or send me a message with your email address.

I am a school psychologist and seasoned early interventionist. I offer direct therapeutic services, advocacy, and parent coaching. My child centered, individualized method targets regulation, attention, communication, and connection. I work remotely and in person with children, their families, providers, and caregivers.

Visit me at www.ShiraBoxer.com for more information and to schedule a complimentary consultation.

“Special Time” with my daughter generally involves a Tik Tok I don’t completely understand.

Shira(mom) Ruby(daughter) on TikTok could have gone faster haha

Are you a parent starting your journey with Early Intervention?

Here are 3 things (plus one surprising bonus!) you should do right now.

1- Choose your team with care. Be discerning about the services you choose and the professionals who provide those services. You will learn as you go; what works for you and your child. You can always ask yourself if you feel good about the provider and the method being used. If you aren’t connected to the support services, your child won’t be either.

2- Prioritizing self care is a non-negotiable. You are the most important advocate, play partner, teacher, and resource for your child. Take care of your partner, take care of your other children. It can be all consuming; figuring out what a child with specific needs might benefit from and how to get it. If you are doing everything you can to maintain an environment that is calm and connected, you’ve designed the blueprint of an effective interventional plan.

3- Come up with your definition of “better”. If you are working with your partner or family members, spend time coming up with a collaborative definition. This way, when you talk to therapists, teachers, and caregivers, you will have a foundation to rely on. Your “team” members have to be working towards goals that represent your child’s individual needs and your values as a family.

Bonus!
4- Track your progress. After a session, I’m often asked “how did she do?” The children are perfect. They’re doing exactly what they should be doing. As parents and providers, we have to ask ourselves how we are doing. Are we connecting, following their lead, responding to their cues, and creating a conducive environment for them to learn and grow? Check in on yourself and make adjustments. Trust me, it works.

I am a school psychologist and seasoned early interventionist. I offer direct therapeutic services, advocacy, and parent coaching. My child centered, individualized method targets regulation, attention, communication, and connection. I work remotely and in person with children, their families, providers, and caregivers.

Shira Boxer | Early Intervention Early intervention planning, implementation, and advocacy for children age 5 and younger and their families.

This!!

Kimbo West on TikTok Coolest project from Vartanian 🎄