Page 4 - Routines-Based Early Intervention Guidebook
P. 4

Preface



                How it began

                       This book grew out of the experiences of speech‐language pathologists who work with
                English‐  and  Spanish‐speaking  families  enrolled  in  early childhood  interven on  programs  in
                Texas.  It  u lizes an  acronym  for  five  strategies (SMILE—sign,  model,  imitate,  label,  and
                expand) that have been found to improve communica on skills in infants and toddlers.

                       These materials are designed around twelve daily rou nes where a variety of strategies
                to increase communica on can be used.  For example, the “meal me” rou ne provides many
                opportuni es to label items and ac ons, model phrases, imitate sounds, express preferences,
                and  even  describe  foods.    However,  each  rou ne  also  lends  itself  to  teaching  a  specific
                strategy (e.g., making requests).  At the beginning of every sec on, we have provided detailed
                informa on on a single strategy.  By highligh ng one strategy in each session, families can
                more easily learn to incorporate this therapeu c approach into their daily lives.

                       This  program  has  been  field‐tested  with  many  families  enrolled  in  early  childhood
                interven on.  The children in these families had many different disabili es, including Down
                Syndrome,  Au sm,  Cerebral  Palsy,  and  general  language  delays.    The  families  came  from
                different  language  backgrounds  (English,  Spanish,  and  bilingual  English/Spanish),  and  high,
                middle, and low socioeconomic groups.  The generous input and concerns of parents, speech‐
                language pathologists, and early interven onists have strongly influenced the content.

                How it has evolved

                       We have had the opportunity to con nue our field‐tes ng of this program and gather
                addi onal feedback about its benefits from the families and professionals who use it.  Based
                on  their  input,  we  were  able  to  determine  how  using  these  strategies  assists  families  in
                learning ways to help their children develop language skills through everyday events.  We have
                added extra ac vity ideas that families can easily use at home; pages for children to pull out,
                cut, color, glue, and paste; and many more signs for interven onists to turn into flashcards.

                       In  addi on,  we  have  updated  sec ons  on  speech  and  language  development  to  be
                more concise and  useful for interven onists.  There  is a great sec on  on  myths  about
                bilingualism and answers to frequently asked ques ons to address the concerns of families.
                There  are  also  more  guidelines  for  interven onists  and  speech‐language  pathologists,
                including a sample treatment session, new data collec on sheets, and ra onales for working
                on  language  development  to  be  shared  with  families.    We  also  have  included  more
                informa on  on  speech  development  and  the  use  of  signs  as  a  bridge  to  developing  oral
                language skills.
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9