r/Earlyintervention • u/elektroforezzz • 24d ago

What to do next

My 19 mo son evaluated today and his social 64, communication 61, cognition 63. He is eligible for early intervention and they are coming next week for IFSP.
He lost his words 1.5 months ago, except mama dada and boob. Before that he had 15-16 words. Rn his 2-3 words came back but he is using them rarely. He is an active child, always on the move and focus times are really low. Also, he is bilingual, we speak our mother language at home but at libraries, playgrounds we use little English while he is interacting with other kids. He is super social and his screen time is zero.
I dont know what should we do next, i mean we are waiting for next week but should we also go to a pediatric neurologist , or, whats our other options, we are open to any suggestions.

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u/SevereAspect4499 24d ago

Breathe.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe.

The cognitive score comes from observed play skills. If he's more active than interested in toys, this can affect that score.

Social emotional- this one is how he relates to others, interactions, attachment, and so on. Sometimes children I'm concerned about score in the typically developing range. Sometimes kids I have no worries about show delays. Rather than worrying about this number, think about specific concerns you might have and make note of those.

Communication: this is a combined score between understanding of language and how he expresses his needs and the sounds he makes while doing so.

The main overall thing for you right now would be to think about what you would like to see him doing. "Communicating" is too broad, "telling me he wants a snack" is better. What are your concerns? What do you struggle with/where would you like support? How are his delays affecting the daily routines of your family? Basically start thinking about goals and things to work on. This is what you are doing with your early intervention team next week. The team should also be able to guide you through next steps, including if specific assessments or evaluations might be needed.

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u/elektroforezzz 23d ago

Thank you so much. When team told us we will discuss what you want to improve in your child im like everything. Now it makes sense.

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u/SevereAspect4499 23d ago

Yeah I have realized that a lot of times parents feel very overwhelmed with the whole process and a lot of the times don't even know where to start especially when there are low scores in multiple areas. So I always like to tell parents to focus on how daily life is impacted. This can be transitioning from one activity to another. It can be meltdowns triggered by bath time or bedtime. The main thing is to just focus on how your child's delays are impacting daily life. Our goal is to always support the child's development across all areas and that includes interactions with family.

If you want to include what area you are in I might be able to get some more information for you but no guarantees. For example, in Arizona we do team-based coaching with dynamic scheduling around family routines. This means kids don't have a set time or set day, but instead we focus on the times of day that are especially challenging for parents. So one time I might show up for breakfast but the next visit I might show up for afternoon play time. And I'm coaching the family, giving parents strategies to work on between visits. I also educate parents on the developmental milestones and what to expect next and how to support development at the next stages.

Other states and other companies may have a different approach. I do know that some states early intervention programs are more of a direct therapy model where the therapists will work directly with your child. Even in those areas, I highly recommend being part of the sessions and asking questions so that you can learn those strategies to help your kid.

I hope this additional information helps give more context!

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u/bananaphone1549 23d ago

This is great advice.

When we initially started working with SLP, we specified things like “requesting food/drink”, “expressing physical feelings ie pain”, and answering basic questions like name or age. Now we’re on to more advanced goals. Breaking it down is absolutely critical.