FAQs

What is Early Intervention?

Early Intervention is a state funded program which enables families who have infants and toddlers, birth to three, with diagnosed disabilities, developmental delays or substantial risk of significant delays receive resources and supports that assist them in maximizing their child's development, while respecting the diversity of families and communities.

How does my child become enrolled in the Early Intervention program?

If you or your doctor has any concerns regarding any area of your child’s development, contact your area Child and Family Connections (CFC) office to begin the enrollment process.

To find your local Child and Family Connections office, go to:
www.wiu.edu/ProviderConnections Under “Related Links”

FREE SCREENINGS:

Speech Tree also provides free screenings. Screenings are a way to find out if a full evaluation is required in the areas of speech, occupational, physical, or developmental therapy. These screenings are done prior to full evaluations completed through Child and Family Connections.

If you are interested in having your child screened, please contact
Speech Tree @ (815) 725-9992

What happens after my child turns three?

Discussion with your Service Coordinator regarding transition into the school-district program will begin when your child is about 2 ½ years old. Some school districts will perform their own battery of testing to determine eligibility into their program. Other school districts rely on the reports provided by the Early Intervention therapists. Some children do not qualify to receive on-going therapy through the school district. Depending on the gains your child has or has not made can determine what type of services, if any are required. If by age three, your child no longer shows delays in his or her area of need, then your child would be discharged from the Early Intervention program and no further interventions would be recommended. School-districts offer an Early Childhood program for children ages 3-5. This program is utilized by children with special needs and children who continue to have a delay in one or more areas of development after they turn three.

Can my child receive private/individual services over the age of three?

Speech Tree accepts children for ongoing therapy through private pay or with approval from the client’s insurance company.

What agencies is Speech Tree enrolled with?

Speech Tree is enrolled with:

• Department of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC)
• Various insurance companies that we are “in-network” with
• We will also work with local school districts to provide supplemental support.

Having trouble finding us in your list of providers?

We are listed as Pediatric & Adult Rehabilitation Associates.

What are some things I can do to encourage speech and language development?

BIRTH to 2 YEARS

• Encourage your baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as “ma”, “da”, and “ba”
• Reinforce attempts by maintaining eye contact, responding with speech, and imitating vocalizations using different patterns and emphasis. For example, raise the pitch of your voice to indicate a question.
• Imitate your baby’s laughter and facial expressions.
• Teach your baby to imitate your actions, including clapping your hands, throwing kisses, and playing finger games such as pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, and the itsy-bitsy-spider.
• Talk as you bathe, feed, and dress your baby. Talk about what you are doing, where you are going, what you will do when you arrive, and who and what you will see.
• Identify colors.
• Count items.
• Use gestures such as waving goodbye to help convey meaning.
• Introduce animal sounds to associate a sounds with a specific meaning: “The doggie says woof-woof.”
• Acknowledge the attempt to communicate.
• Expand on single words your baby uses: “Here is mama. Mama loves you. Where is baby? Here is baby.”
• Read to your child. Sometimes “reading” is simply describing the pictures in a book without following the written words. Choose books that are sturdy and have large colorful pictures that are not too detailed. Ask you child, “What’s this?” and encourage naming and pointing to familiar objects in the book.

TWO to FOUR YEARS

• Use good speech that is clear and simple for you child to model.
• Repeat what your child says indicating that you understand. Build and expand on what was said. “Want juice? I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?”
• Use baby talk only if needed to convey the message and when accompanied by the adult word. “It’s time for din-din. We’ll have dinner now.”
• Make a scrapbook of favorite or familiar things by cutting out pictures. Group them into categories, such as things to ride on, things to eat, things to play with, etc… Create silly pictures by mixing and matching pictures. Glue a picture of a dog behind the wheel of a car. Talk about what is wrong with the picture and ways to “fix” it.
• Help your child understand and ask questions. Play the yes-no game. Ask questions such as “Are you a boy?” “Are you Marty?” “Can pigs fly?” Encourage your child to make up questions and try to fool you.
• Ask questions that require a choice. “Do you want an apple or an orange?” “Do you want to wear your red or blue shirt?”
• Expand vocabulary. Name body parts, and identify what you do with them. “This is my nose. I can smell flowers, brownies, popcorn, and soap.”
• Sing simple songs and recite nursery rhymes to show the rhythm and pattern of speech.
• Place familiar objects in a container. Have your child remove the object and tell you what it is called and how to use it. “This is my car. I can race it and make it go fast.”

(American Speech-Language Hearing Association, 2006)