Early Intervention

Catalog description

The Communication portion of this course will address the assessment and implementation of communication interventions for infants and toddlers from birth to three that are functioning in the early stages of gestural and pre-verbal communication, including the scope of practice, ethics, and cultural and linguistic diversity as it relates to the families and caregivers of the children. General principles of clinical observation, assessment, establishment of treatment goals, report writing, documentation, and service delivery in home-based and medical settings are emphasized. Students are expected to understand federal, state, and local requirements and incorporate appropriate Early Intervention referrals, practices, and guidelines as part of intervention planning. The feeding and swallowing disorders component will focus on the assessment and treatment of feeding difficulties in premature infants and toddlers to age three with various disabilities. Assessing breast-, bottle-, and spoon-feeding skills and treating feeding and swallowing problems in infants and toddlers who have oral motor, sensory, neurological, medical, and behavioral feeding difficulties will be included. Understanding the legal, ethical, cultural, and linguistic diversity as it relates to the families and caregivers of the children for treating feeding and swallowing disorders from birth into preschool education will also be provided.