Am I Coaching? A Podcast for Early Interventionists

As promised here is the handout "Delayed Response" I reference in my story when I was observing an incidental caregiver/child interaction.  In this episode I go through these these reflective statements regarding Observation, Discussion and Problem Solving: *I initiate a discussion about the family's priorities, needs and plans for the visit. *I have reflective conversations to help the caregivers...

Self Reflection: "Am I coaching," when it comes to the coaching characteristic of practice? Listen as I take on the following self reflective questions that may get you thinking on your own interactions with families and how to continue to grow. I convey the idea to the caregiver that each intervention visit is a practice session for the child and caregiver. I use modeling as a teaching tool to he...

An IFSP meeting like I've never had before and will never forget.  Do you know what's been said to families before you enter their lives?  Hear what this mother was told after the diagnosis of Pader Willi Syndrome was confirmed after her son's birth.  It finally came out while discussing the goal for the IFSP.  It became very apparent that this mother did not know she could even want things for he...

I've been thinking a lot about families.  How to connect intervention with everyday opportunities and it all comes down to parent/child engagement.  This episode I reflect on what I am learning through Autism Navigator and what they call "the layer cake."  Building support from the bottom up.  Let's face it; if our cake isn't baked, it's going to fall - or at the very least be uneven! Autism Navig...

A listener recently reached out asking me to podcast on specific strategies I use with families and on visits.  Great idea and great topic!  Hear what has worked best during visits - I share 3 very different stories of kids at the same level doing very different things.  If you are new to EI this is a must hear episode! Find Coaching Resources at:   All Things Early Intervention

Feedback can get pretty muddy.  Listen as I reference Rush and Sheldon and put into real life context how this looks.     Handouts for Parents and EI providers

It’s a follow-up on today’s episode to last week’s, “He’s not making progress.”  Hear what one listener wrote to me and about how she relates. This is a common theme among all of us in EI.  I finished and created an entire series for parents and EI providers who are coaching to help parents understand communication, the skills involved and how it ties to their ultimate goal of, “I want my child to...

I get a call from my supervisor that the family is requesting another service provider because he’s not making progress.  We know the “what” and the “why” kids need to work on the skills they do BUT do parents understand the “what” and the “why”???  How can we help parents to understand? When parents do understand, let them figure out how they're going to do it.  Sometimes we focus so much on the...

Did you hear that bomb!  Ever felt one during a visit?  I did!  I dive into reflection during this episode.  The first thing you need to do in order to reflect is STOP.  Reflection requires you to be present, to be open and to be ok with pausing during a visit to reflect with the caregiver.  Stop thinking about what you are going to say or do and reflect.  I'll go through the 4 types of reflective...

What we say matters!  Is what you're saying meaning the same to the family you are saying it too?  If we want parents to do the work and feel confident doing the work we need to use words they understand and are in simple basic terms.  This includes how we write our IFSP outcomes.  Check out these tips and techniques on writing "family participation based outcomes."  

Not only do we need to meet families where they are at we need to meet our colleagues where they are at.  For me that means stepping off my soap box and letting others speak their opinions, feelings and beliefs so we can move forward in discussion and growth.

They're awkward!  First visits are your first shot at setting the stage for effective coaching visits!  Like a first date you want there to be a second date and it all depends on how the date (I mean visit - lol) goes and of course how will it end!  What can you do to make connections, build rapport and set up expectations?  What is the one thing everyone clearly understands?  Find out on this epi...

It's easy to do.  Especially when you're in a middle of visit and parents are chasing him to engage and he's escaping, avoiding and seeking movement.  Who's priorities do you follow?  Parents have their priorities and this child has another.  This episode looks at a visit where I went into a backwards slide to try and fix this interaction and then ultimately rebounded in the same visit and got bac...

As I start the new school year I'm reflecting on how to get ready for visits with new families.  How do I set the stage for visits? How do I communicate what parents can expect on visits while balancing the needs of families?  Here is the link to the video I mentioned in the podcast from Early Intervention Coaching.  It's a great refresher and load off our backs when we don't strive for "best" or...

Coaching is hard!  Why is it so hard!  It's hard because coaching requires you to be responsive to the caregiver, the child and the family.  It requires flexibly, spontaneity and intentional planning.  Coaching doesn't come from a bag you take from home to home.  If you did have to pack a bag to bring to a home visit what would you pack? *Joint Planning *Reflection *Feedback *Observation *Practice...

Welcome new friends and old to the Podcast!  Thank you for being my co-host in this episode and sending me your thoughts, questions and feedback!  Hear how to connect a parent's goal for their child to where their child is at right now and come up with a plan to work towards that ultimate goal of the parent or caregivers!  Other hot topics include direct teaching, joint planning and how to get par...

It's raining on the podcast!  I reflect on an update from a family I've previously podcasted about (Great Expectations 1 & 2).  I also had the opportunity to have a reflective conversation with a team member and try my peer coaching skills with a team mate who is struggling.  Through this rain I'm embracing the fact that growth will (eventually) come!

What do you say?  When do you say it?  How do you say it?  Coaching is an interaction style you use when talking and interacting with caregivers.  Having your own "go to" catchphrases can help remember what to say, when to say it and how to say it!  These are some of my favorites that work for me when it comes to the five coaching characteristics. What works for you?  Hear what happens when caregi...

Sometimes engaging families is easy.  Sometimes engaging families is hard.  What makes this task so hard sometimes?  What should I be doing that I'm not doing?  Do you ever feel like it's "raining" before you even get to the visit?  These are the visits we maybe don't look forward to.  Listen as I reflect on a conversation I had with a colleague that made me reflect on a visit I currently have wit...

Back to basics...the 5 characteristics of coaching.  Coaching is an interaction style.  It's how we interact with families.  It's how we talk with families.  It's intentional; and it's not always easy!  Listen as I review the 5 characteristics.  Does each one happen on every visit?  Is there an order to any of it?  Hear my "coaching truths" as I share what's hard for me on visits and I how I try a...

BONUS Episode!  Listen as I share my story of how I went through the Early Intervention process after referring my son.  I hope by me sharing my perspective and what I've learned from it will give you some insight into how you interact with families.  Listen as I share a quick self check on how to know if you are coaching and using the practice as it's intended and not what you think it should loo...

What do you do when what you're doing isn't working?  Progress is really slow or almost immeasurable and you and the caregiver are feeling really discouraged.  Do you start going down a rabbit hole of strategy after strategy; brainstorming with the caregiver on what to do to get him/her to do ABC???  Listen as I discover the answer is sometimes right in front of us.

I'm busting the "Top 10 Coaching Myths/Misconceptions!"  Embrace the struggle because a lot of growth can come from all that rain!  Coaching can be hard but it does work and can work with everyone.  Listen as I address the 10 myths about coaching or as I call them, the 10 reasons coaching can be difficult, and ways to overcome the roadblocks we all face on visits as we work to empower and support...

Rainbows & Rain has a website!  Check out links to materials and recommended resources I've used to fuel my growth in my Early Intervention Practice.   Most of us know WHAT coaching is, I want to know more about HOW to do it and do it better!  Working with adults and teaching adults is not something I learned in college!  I'm an Early Childhood Special Education Teacher; no where in my title does...

What's changed?  How did we go from stormy visits trying strategy after strategy; brainstorming and trying different sensory tools and activities to, "Everything's good - We're doing ok!"  Wait, what?  Let's pause and check in on what's changed and how that happened.  Create awareness with your families by asking these questions in hopes they can identify what has changed so that they can translat...