The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has issued emergency guidance to encourage early intervention agencies to provide services to children and families using phone/video communication. These services are referred to as “tele-health services” and can be both helpful and fun to use.
Families currently enrolled at PDC will hear about tele-health services from their service coordinator; she will work with you to determine the mode of communication that may work best for you and your child.
Our mission is to promote the healthy development of children and to support families – we are fortunate to have this opportunity to safely continue services to you and your family!
At PDC we encourage participating in tele-health visits for many reasons:
- Through tele-health, your child and family can continue valuable early intervention services without fear of introducing exposure to illness.
- With schools and many childcare settings closed for an unknown duration, many children are home and out of their typical routines/schedules. This can present its own set of challenges and as your early intervention provider, we can support you and your family through these challenges using the tele-health model.
- Tele-health aligns with the early intervention philosophy of care, referred to as the Parents Interacting with Infants Model (PIWI). This approach is based on the view that a parent is a child’s first and best teacher. We support the use of family coaching as a way for families to learn new ways to stimulate their child’s development, using approaches that are specific to the unique needs of their child, while incorporating these into their families ‘daily routines.
- For the children and families we serve, the tele-health model will allow us to provide essential services during this turbulent time. As a community dealing with daily stressful reports on the health of our neighbors, these connections are a way to support one another, and look forward to better days.
- Research supports the benefits of tele-practice and as we currently do not have the option to complete in-person home visits, we believe that this is the best available option to continue our work together.
- And it’s fun! Our experience has been positive as we learn together a new way to expand our communications, and to stay connected.