Educating One and All

All early intervention programs develop their unique approach to meeting the needs of families. Regardless of their approach, home visits are at the core of early intervention in natural environments.

In the March 2008 issue of Young Exceptional Children,  there is an article that speaks to this issue directly: “Early Intervention Home-Visiting Principles in Practice: A Reflective Approach”. Reflective practices are all the rage in the education community these days and there is finally an article that I think speaks to the relationship of an early intervention program with the families that it serves. To put the emphasis on reflective home visiting practices, it is important to note for those reading this who are not early interventionists, home visits remain a relatively new innovation in approaches to early intervention. Center-based, therapist-centered practices were considered best practices not that long ago and many programs continue to work towards best practices that are only 10-15 years old.

As the title of the article suggests, there are two sections to this article. The first section establishes the research basis for home visits, including: establishing context for activities in a family’s routines, promoting active engagement of the child in the family’s routines, active caregiver participation in the home visit, and ensuring the competence and confidence of the caregiver. The second section takes on the meatier issue of even if we do follow the research, how do we check ourselves adhering to the principles? The article proposes a checklist for early intervention groups to use during professional observations and personal reflection.