A Little Background...

I wanted to begin by providing some background information regarding the setting where I work. I thought it would be helpful to have a basic understanding of what our program looks like and how children are eligible for services. I am employed at the local Intermediate Unit that provides special education services to preschoolers, 3-5 years of age. Our Early Intervention program provides educationally based services to children (educational services, ST/PT/OT) in a variety of settings throughout our county including specialized preschool classrooms, within typical early childhood settings, on site or community referrals and in-home as appropriate. Therapy services can be delivered following a variety of options including an integrated model (services occur within the context of the child's educational routine), pull out (services occur in a separate location outside of the preschool setting) and consultation to staff (providing recommendations and suggestions with little "hands on" with the child) and any combination. Children qualify for EI services if they are identified as having at least a 25% delay in one or more developmental domains and/or require specially designed instruction to make meaningful progress within an educational setting. All services are delivered following the child's Individualized Educational Plan and a Free and Appropriate Public Education is then recommended. Occupational therapy services are considered a support service within the educational setting meaning that OT services cannot stand alone; this service has to be linked to educational performance. Hope this brief introduction to Early Intervention has been helpful. I look forward to introducing my case study soon. It was great to meet everyone!!