Your early intervention practitioner is part of a collaborative team of professionals working to support you and your child.

Our team of professionals is fully involved in your child’s support and care, but it is you’re your early intervention practitioner that your family will see most often. 

Your early intervention practitioner will

• Set goals with you and develop an individual family service plan
• Coordinate the different services that are supporting your child and family, making sure that everyone is working toward the same goal
• Provide therapeutic strategies to build the skills of key people who are in your child’s life
• Gather information for you about services/activities available to your child and family and connecting you with them
• Help build your child’s skills by using their own skills and knowledge, and using the skills of other professionals such as Occupational Therapists and Speech Pathologists when needed
• Pass the knowledge of the team onto you and your family so you can continue to teach your child the things they want to learn
• Respect your families’ priorities and value that you know your child better than anyone else
• Support you so that you know the rights of your child and family and can advocate for them.

When your family is provided with an early intervention practitioner, they will use the key worker approach. They will dedicate themselves to building a relationship with your child and your family to support service delivery.

The key worker approach aims to have one practitioner as your main point of contact to work in collaboration with other services, as well as in partnership with your family. They will consult with other members of the team and if required, can bring in another professionals from the team to see you and your child. From these consultations, they adapt their intervention to ensure you receive a wholistic approach to your therapy and thus, work on a range of goals important to you. They will also connect you with resources and other services in your community.

Why should my child see an early intervention practitioner?

• Having an early intervention practitioner makes it simpler for you as a family because you will only have to tell your story once. They will then talk to their team and gather their expertise and ideas which they will then share with you. If there is the need for another team member to come and see your child, your Early Intervention Practitioner will also be there to make sure that your priorities and plans are always at the centre of their focus
• Early intervention practitioners are there to help you steer your way and support you through the changes that happen as your child grows
• Early intervention practitioners have direct access to a whole team of professionals who are there to support your child and family. This group of professionals is called a trans-disciplinary team and it may include occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, psychologists, social workers and early childhood teacher
• Early intervention practitioners will also be there to make sure that your priorities and plans are always at the centre of what is being done
• We know that children learn best in the places they spend the most time in like home, childcare, school or even the local park. Your Early Intervention Practitioner will be able to visit and work with you, and other people who are supporting your child, in any of these places
• Your Early intervention practitioner will support you to provide opportunities and experiences that will enhance your child’s development and ability to participate in all the daily activities that are important to you