Hello there! If you're just tuning in, this is Part 2 of my series of posts on Early Intervention to celebrate this year's Better Hearing and Speech Month's theme: Early Intervention Counts.
You can find Part 1 of my series, Why Early Intervention? here! While you're there be sure to enter my GIVEAWAY of Teach Me to Talk: The Therapy Manual!
Now let's get down to business. I know what you're thinking- An EI therapist that doesn't have a toy bag? What does she do? I don't know when EI therapists became known for bringing a bag of toys into therapy, but it is still a common practice. In fact, in my very first visit to my first client's house, I walk in and the mom says, "Oh, you don't have any toys?" I looked around the room and politely said, "It looks like your child has plenty of toys to play with here!" and grabbed a toy and started playing.
After that session, I began to explain why I didn't have a toy bag during my initial visit. To me, it makes perfect sense why I wouldn't bring in any toys: I am with a child for one hour. 1 hour out of the 168 hours in a week. Sure my toy would be new and exciting for a child, but what happens when I leave? The parents are left without the toy I brought in and no idea how to carry over what we did in our session throughout the rest of the week. By using the toys already present in the child's environment, I can show the parent or caregiver the best way to play with the toy with their child, give them examples of language to model, and give suggestions for more practice once I leave.
But don't limit yourself to toys! To begin with, some of our houses might not have toys available to use. Here's where you can let your creative juices flow. Head outside and pick some dandelions, dig in dirt for worms, play hopscotch, climb on the jungle gym. Stay inside and use the couch cushions and a blanket to build a fort, search through the cabinets and make drums out of pots and a spoon, help with a load of laundry or the sink full of dishes, eat a snack or help cook lunch, get out the shaving cream and get messy.
The possibilities are literally endless, you just have to be open to take a chance. Sure, you might fail. I would be lying if I said every one of my sessions went perfectly. However, I can honestly say that my kids are learning. Not just when I'm there, but when I'm gone. By incorporating our unique skill set and knowledge into a child's daily routine with things present in their natural environment, we are equipping them with the tools for success.
Since I just started venturing into the EI world last fall, it was easy for me to go bagless; I just didn't bring one to my first sessions and I haven't regretted my decision since. But what if you've been doing EI for 10 years and have brought toys into every session? I'm not saying to completely abandon the toys, unless you are up for the challenge! Start small. Choose one client that you feel comfortable with and whose parents are on board for the change. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be keeping the toy bag in the car for all of your sessions.
Now I don't want to fool you and say that I never bring toys into a child's home. There are certain circumstances when you need to bring something in. You might be working on feeding and bring in a puppet to play with. Or maybe the kid isn't interested in anything, so you decide to bring in a bottle of bubbles, because every kid loves bubbles, right? Or there's a goal on the IFSP that you know you can meet if you could only bring in this one toy. So bring it in, play with it, and show the parents the success their child is having. The last 15 minutes of the session, put your toy away and help the parents determine how they can work on something similar with what they have in their home. Make sure that they are able to have success with their own items before you leave. The next session, you might not have to bring that toy back in.
I hope that if you are an Early Intervention SLP, you will consider ditching the bag for one session and seeing how it goes. You might decide that you hate it. At least you tried! Or, you might decide that you like not having to lug that heavy bag around. (Your shoulder might thank you as well!)
My friend over at Sublime Speech recently did a 3 part series about being a "Bagless SLP", so be sure to check out her posts as well! You can view a great parent testimonial video on their thoughts of the toy bag there too.
Have you tried going bagless? What has been your biggest challenge or your best moment? I'd love to hear!
Be sure to enter my giveaway of Teach Me to Talk: The Therapy Manual on Part 1 of this blog series. And check out Part 3, Why We Play, here!
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