Early Intervention Timing and Intensity

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The main finding of this important research from JAMA is extremely promising for early intervention OT professionals.

In the study, greater early intervention service intensity was associated with better functional gains. 

But, there’s a problem. 

Federal spending per child on early intervention services has declined over the past decade. And, in this climate of tightening budgets: 

Most children in the study had delayed care. 

And, low service intensity. 

After we review this article, we are so thankful to welcome to the podcast pediatric private practice owner, Sarah Putt, OTR/L. Her and I will unpack what this all means for the OT community—and your OT practice.

Primary Journal Article Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

• Timing and intensity of early intervention service use and outcomes among a safety-net population of children

Supporting Research and Journal Articles

• Ensuring Timely Connection to Early Intervention for Young Children With Developmental Delays
• Occupational therapy practice guidelines for early childhood: Birth–5 years
• Child characteristics and early intervention referral and receipt of services: a retrospective cohort study

More OT and EI Resources

• OT and Early Intervention Guide

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to recognize barriers to reaching a therapeutic level of therapy intensity. 
• You will be able to identify possible solutions to providing greater intensity for greater functional gains. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (5 minutes)

• 00:00:00 Intro to Early Intervention Timing & Intensity
• 00:01:10 OT Potential Podcast Intro
• 00:02:46 Intro to Early Intervention Services
• 00:04:01 What was the Intent of this Research?
• 00:04:35 What were Their Methods?
• 00:05:52 Results
• 00:08:04 Discussion and Conclusion

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (50 minutes)

• 00:09:34 Intro to Sarah Putt
• 00:11:39 Sarah’s Private Practice OT EI Business
• 00:15:59 Impressions of the Article
• 00:25:17 Barriers to Service Initiation and Intensity
• 00:31:00 Possible Solutions for Improving Access to EI
• 00:34:37 Systems to Improve Communication, with the Referrer and Family
• 00:39:35 Advice for Starting Your Own EI Business
• 00:48:59 EI Advocacy at the State and Federal Level
• 00:57:33 Final Thoughts

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about Early Intervention Timing and Intensity.  The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic.  Our guest, Sarah Putt, also has no financial disclosures.

Speakers

Sarah Putt MA, OTR/L

Sarah Putt is a licensed and certified occupational therapist. With over 13 years of experience in early intervention, she is the founder and clinical director of Sarah Bryan Therapy in Los Angeles, California. Her company specializes in therapy interventions in the home environment and typically works with children from birth to 3 years of age.

Sarah is also the host and creator of OT 4 Lyfe, a podcast and website dedicated to sharing her passion for the field of occupational therapy with other practitioners and anyone interested in the field of occupational therapy.  Her hope is to inspire other OT practitioners, bring awareness to interesting topics within our field, and connect professionals for the advancement of occupational therapy as a whole. She is also the cohost of two other occupational therapy podcasts, The OT Roundtable and The Real OTs of Early Intervention. Sarah loves talking about all things OT, podcasting, and early intervention.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. For more details read our blog post: Can I earn OT CEUS from a podcast? To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Explained. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

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