Special Needs

Starting the Birth - 3 program

We are meeting with our Birth- 3 case manager today for an intake.  My boy twin has a lot of issues and is exhibiting a physical delay.  If anyone could share their experiences with EI I would appreciate it :)
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Re: Starting the Birth - 3 program

  • Our EI expereince was great, mainly because I knew how to navigate the system due to a friend who had gone before me with her child :)

    Ds2 was showing major delays in all areas so we had him evaluated. The whole team - speech, OT/PT, development - agreed he needed services and they sent a lady to work with him. She was lovely, but not a specialist in any area, I think her title was "early intervenvionist." She really was a lovely lady but I didn't think she was meeting his needs so I requested a speech therapist, and a month or so later an OT as well. This may be different in other places, but where we live they don't automaitcally provide these therapists because it costs them more, but if you request it, they have to proivde it. I did meet some resistance since the original lady though ds2's delays were all due to the fact that he is adopted from Korea, however I followed my mummy gut and knew it was more.

    So, overall I found EI to be lovely and, mostly, responsive to his needs. If your son qualifies, this will be your first experience with being his advocate. DH is always reminding me that ds2's therapists are just that, therapists and not my friends. If I need to change therapists or ask them to do something different I need to speak up and not worry about hurting their feelings etc. I feel the EI eased me into all of this.

    That is quite a convoluted reply, but I hope it helps in some way!!!!

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  • I would say it was somewhat good due to the therapists DS had.

    DS started when he turn 1 and exited the program at 2 1/2 to go to the special needs preschool provided through the school district. I am greatful they were able to get him into the preschool because EI put a foot in the door for him since he still needed services.

    PT was great and she knew what she was doing. She helped a great deal when DS was learning to walk and learning how to do stairs.

    OT was and is the best one in town and had done OT in over 20 years. She provided private, EI and has taught at the college.

    Speech was okay. There was high turn-over rates there. DS's speech therapists kept changing. I think they found better paying jobs elsewhere. I don't know if that had to do with DS not learning as much speech.

    Case manager was great and resourceful. Had many events planned for parents and children.

    My only complaint was the EI therapists and daycare teachers were not cooperating. The therapists would go and provide services at the daycare and that was convenient because I work. The therapists had activities for the whole class and the teachers only wanted therapists to work one-on-one. This was the reason why I put DS in school.

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  • I'm so glad you're getting started early! Our biggest problem with Alex was that I didn't call EI till he was 2.5 (exactly) so by the time evaluations happened, he only got ~ 3 months of feeding therapy, 2 months of PT and 6 weeks of OT before he turned 3! :( Other than things being a little slow to get started and there being some communication breakdowns between Babynet (our state's Birth-3 program) and our Early Interventionist, we had a good experience. We've been SO happy with Alex's EI (he qualified to keep her till he turns 5) and with his therapists. And you know where to find me if you ever have questions, need to talk, vent, rejoice, etc.! Let me know how it goes!
    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
  • You're doing a great thing by getting started now! I'm a school psychologist, so I knew when my DD was diagnosed at 9 days old with a rare genetic syndrome, that I needed to get involved with EI right away. We've had EI since my DD was 2.5 months old. We get vision, OT, and nutrition. We don't see nutrition anymore, because DD has caught up on eating issues. Vision we see about once a week and we have an awesome VI teacher. Our OT we see about once a month to work on sensory defensiveness and she is helpful, but not great. Our VI teacher tends to also help us with the sensory issues. Don't hesitate to ask for a new therapist if you are not pleased with the one you have. I believe that a knowledgeable, helpful therapist is key. Make sure that the IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) addresses all your concerns.
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  • Just wanted to share that we also met with our case manager for birth-3 today :)

    We had a good experience, the case manager was kind and informative. Hoping this opens doors for you and us as well!

  • We've had Lauren in EI for 5 months now and are very happy. We get a home visit once a week and group therapy is available once a week (we can't ever actually go to it, they don't allow siblings).  Her teacher shows us what we can do at home with her and gives us new ideas every week. Lauren loves her. She does a lot of the same songs so Lauren can actually learn them. She even moves her arms up in the air with the Itsy Bitsy Spider song.
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  • We just started about 2 weeks ago, still figuring everything out. DS is 9 months old and has CP.  So far so good!
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