Special Support
Nursing
A friendly face and supportive attitude may be just what you need when you bring your child home from the hospital hooked up to a heart monitor or perhaps a nose or G-tube. The nurse will explain and coach you on using new equipment, and can instill a sense of confidence to the family as you adjust and begin to understand how it helps your child. The nurse can also refer parents to appropriate services for a child's health problems.
Psychological Services
As part of the developmental team, a psychologist helps plan positive learning experiences for children. Working directly with you, your child and family, the psychologist assesses abilities, academic readiness and social, emotional and adaptive behavior. The information is then used to plan appropriate learning experiences.
The psychologist also serves as a resource for
helping parents and educators understand how
children develop
and learn, as well as managing your child's
behavior. A psychologist can help you deal with
such issues as:
- Temper tantrums
- Defiant behavior
- Aggressive behavior
- Anger
- Hyperactivity
- Poor attention
- Resistance
- Self-esteem
Service Coordination
Service coordination is provided to every family. The coordinator acts as a guide to help parents navigate through the world of early intervention services. An invaluable resource about programs and services available in your area, your service coordinator will assist you in obtaining the best possible services for your child.
Social Work
Unexpected difficulties can cause stress within any family and affect the wellbeing of the family or their relationships with others. The AWS Infant and Toddler Services social worker can join with the parents and the developmental team to help the family understand the needs of the child and overcome barriers that can hinder the child in achieving its developmental goals.
The social worker can provide a family assessment, counseling and offer strategies for dealing with issues such as coping, grief, adjustment and stress management. Information and referrals to community resources are also available.
