Every few days or so, I read through recent comments posted throughout the blog and attempt to address the questions that have been raised by our readers. One of the most pressing issues that is frequently raised by parents reading the blog is apraxia. When I review the questions and concerns asked by parents, I can hear the intense concern and ...

Recently, a reader inquired on the blog about the specific requirements needed to qualify for services. Her question reads as follows: ''...I need an explanation of what qualifies as a ''25%'' delay. I typically am not involved in the eligibility process but was recently put in the position.  How is the 25% delay determined?  Does the ...

On September 29th 2009 we published a post entitled: Autism and Early Intervention Speech Goals. The post discussed a local case of a speech therapist working with 3-5 years olds who prefers and recommends only using sign language with children diagnosed with autism. When the IEP goals were written for this child transitioning from birth-3 to the ...

Halloween is just a few short weeks away and those who read my blog often know how much I love the holidays and festive therapy sessions! Last October I wrote a post filled with simple ways to add a little Halloween fun to your therapy sessions. The post was called Halloween Therapy: Tricks n' Treats and featured ideas such as: carving a ...

Earlier this week I shared a story regarding a little girl I work with in Early Intervention. If you've had a chance to read over the post, you'll see that at our previous appointment I asked the mom if it would be ok for us to venture a block away to the neighborhood playground. I explained that we would make it a family trip and all of us would ...

There is a family I have been working with for about six months now. The little girl, although not officially diagnosed, displays many red flags for autism. In addition, she has an older sibling who also displays many similar signs although at a slightly less intense level. The little girl I see is also receiving therapy from an occupational ...

Tuesday's post discussed the various ways speech therapists can treat young children in early intervention who have been diagnosed with autism. The question posed to the public was the following: when you are teaching these children to communicate, do you use sign language, pictures, words or a combination of either two or all three of them? In ...

Today’s post poses a question for all the speech-language pathologists out there who work with children in early intervention who have already been diagnosed as having autism. My question is this: when you are teaching these children to communicate, do you use sign language, pictures, words or a combination of either two or all three of them?The ...

Over the past year this blog has addressed a variety of syndromes, disorders and conditions that affect the many children we treat in early intervention. Due to my lack of time (but not lack of interest!), I do not always have a chance to research all the suggestions that people post and share on the blog. I always find this frustrating because I ...

ADVANCE is pleased to introduce our new Specialty Spotlights on our Web site!On Sept. 1 we unveiled 9 new specialty sites which highlight many of the most popular practice areas and interests in occupational therapy. Each specialty site contains information tailored exclusively to therapists working in that practice area, including targeted ...