Tips for EI assessment?

Re: Tips for EI assessment?

• rebecca1198 member

  July 2014

  @ClaryPax, I'm new to this and confused, so please bear with me. I was under the impression that she doesn't need a prescription for EI (in fact, I called myself rather than getting the pedi to do it and when I said she was in the NICU they said that was all the info they needed until her orientation visit). Are you talking about PT that's not under the EI umbrella?

  
  
  

  Report0 Reply
• Loading the player...
• rebecca1198 member

  July 2014

  And an even bigger question -- how is PT different from OT?

  
  
  

  Report0 Reply
• Salemkitty13 member

  July 2014

  PT is for gross motor skills. OT is for fine motor skills and self help skills. They overlap a lot especially in infants. DS is 11 months and was evaluated at 6 months for EI. He gets OT, PT and special instruction(which is changing to speech therapy) I agree with PP that you should write down your concerns. There isn't anything you can say that will ensure services per se but they do take your concerns into account. They will talk to you about your LOs medical history and ask questions about what she can or can't do. Good luck with the evaluation.

  Report2 Reply
• Hiccup15 member

  July 2014

  rebecca1198 said:

  @ClaryPax, I'm new to this and confused, so please bear with me. I was under the impression that she doesn't need a prescription for EI (in fact, I called myself rather than getting the pedi to do it and when I said she was in the NICU they said that was all the info they needed until her orientation visit). Are you talking about PT that's not under the EI umbrella? 

  You do not need a referral or prescription for EI. I think what ClaryPax was talking about was EI is good at setting up PT if need be. 

  
  

  Make sure you have a list of your concerns written down. I didn't write anything down when we had an evaluation for DS2 at 10 months, and I wish I had. 

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Report1 Reply
• chickpea123 member

  July 2014 edited July 2014

  I work in EI, so found this post of interest. I would recommend listing your concerns and be specific as to how they are affecting your child's daily life and development compared to other baby's you see who do have better head control. Think about how it is affecting her in daily tasks such as feeding, eye contact, ability to engage with you during "play" and "conversation." I'm not sure how old she is now, but if she cannot turn her head toward you when you attempt to gain her attention then this could affect her development in terms of learning and developing imitation and communication/social skills (as an example). How is it affecting your bonding with her and the connection she has with you? These are some things to think about. I'm assuming she is still fairly young? If so, the assessment will likely weigh heavily on parent interview/report which relies on your input and concerns. After all, you are the expert on your child...you know her best...so who better to trust than you, mama! Of course, they will observe her and perhaps do a combination of different assessments to gather enough information that is well-rounded. 

  Most importantly, I personally would be very open with the evaluators. I encourage you to share what you are writing here in this discussion regarding your concerns about getting services you feel your child needs. An effective and respectful evaluator works with you as a team member...they make decisions with you, not for you and your family. They will give their recommendations based on what they see and hopefully will explain their reasoning behind them. 

  Good luck to you

  Report2 Reply
• rebecca1198 member

  July 2014

  Thank you all! I have two main concerns: 1) she can't (won't?) pick her head up during tummy time yet, and 2) she has a head side preference (though the pedi doesn't think she has torticollis, she refuses to turn her head to the left when I call her or wave a toy on that side). I guess I'm relying on EI to figure out if these concerns will impact her development. Her pediatrician also wondered if I was comparing her to my son and noted that I'm paying more attention to milestones given her situation than I otherwise would (both true), so these may not be therapy-worthy anyway! But I will communicate both concerns during the assessment tomorrow and see what they say.

  
  
  

  Report1 Reply
• rebecca1198 member

  July 2014

  F/U: she qualified for weekly OT. I laid out both issues I saw, though noted that my husband and her physician weren't concerned. The assessor basically said that it's not an exact science when they're this young, and she likes to err on the side of caution and work through OT. If we feel it's not helping or not needed, we can re-evaluate. Goals are to get her on track to have enough trunk control to start feeding when she's ready and to work on grasping for BLW. Thank you all for your help!

  
  
  

  Report2 Reply
• macchiatto member

  August 2014

  Sounds like you're off to a great start! Let us know how it goes!

  fraternal twin boys born january 2009

  Report0 Reply