My son Elliott has been receiving intensive early intervention therapy at child success center for almost two years.
He is receiving OT, Speech & ABA therapy. The ABA is mainly at school, but also includes clinic & home sessions.
As I reflected on the last two years, I thought about what is working for Elliott.
And it really comes down to relationships and collaboration. The strong relationships we developed with Elliott’s therapists cultivated a partnership in his treatment. Melissa once told me parent involvement isn’t about spending 30 minutes to an hour each day focusing on his goals at home. It’s about finding moments, a few minutes couple of times a day to make play therapeutic; work on thumb positioning with blocks or encouraging him to reach up on his tippy toes to grab something.
The more we built our partnerships the more his therapists invested in his growth and development.
Collaboration amongst his team of therapists also contributed greatly to his progress.
Instead of each therapist working independently in their own specialty, they work collaboratively to help strengthen the crossover.
Speech and OT goals are now incorporated in behavior therapy, behavior therapy allows his therapists to be more effective during their sessions. And all goals and skills are presented at school and reinforced with behavior therapy.
With a strong relationship and team collaboration, Elliott’s therapists have been more willing to advocate for him. If they see something isn’t working, they talk about it, brainstorm ideas and figure out how to solve it!
As a parent it’s a winning combination.