Q1: How did the practitioners working with you and your child involve you in the early intervention process?

<Judy Swett>
  
When my daughter was receiving early intervention services, I remember being told to do a lot of things with her to help her develop and learn. The problem was that no one asked me what I thought was important or explained to me why I needed to be doing certain things. Why was it that she was not supposed to “w” sit? After all it really was her favorite position.  I didn’t understand the relevance of her learning to draw shapes. The practitioner would bring in a basket of toys, show me some things my daughter could do with these toys and then left with that same basket. I would remember her saying something about crossing midline but I wasn’t sure why this mattered or how I could get her to do it after the provider left. I wish that someone would have talked to me about my fears and my belief that I was totally responsible for helping my daughter close the gap in her development.  I wish we had talked about my guilt over that fact that my daughter was a 10-week preemie. Thoughts about how I could have prevented this throughout my pregnancy wracked my brain constantly.  I don’t remember being asked for my input in writing the plan goals and I didn’t realize that I should have a role in that. When my daughter moved to a classroom setting, I was concerned about how I would continue to be involved in helping her achieve her goals at home. Looking back on that experience, I realize how different things would have been if the practitioner had been using practices that supported my engagement in the process.