What is EIIS?
EIIS Video
EIIS Service Delivery System
What is ASD?
Service Provider
Parent Resource Package
Training Opportunities
Regional Evaluation Report
Western Regional Evaluation: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS Data obtained from the four target groups over the course of the evaluation process show that the EIIS initiative in the Western Region has had a positive impact on the communities' capacity to meet the needs of children with ASD and their families.
Service providers report that services are better coordinated as a result of the EIIS initiative. They report routinely collaborating with outside agencies more frequently and report participating more often in transition planning. Service providers report that follow-up to program planning is better now than before EIIS was implemented. Twice as many organizations have a structured IFSP process to identify, record and continually evaluate service delivery goals with families.
EIIS has also improved access to materials and resources, information, networking and training specific to ASD. Schools are also more satisfied with the transition planning process and have more lead time for preparation and greater access to pre-school support staff than before. Twice as many physicians say they would refer a child to a pediatrician should there be a suspicion of ASD. Families report a high satisfaction with the services they received, reduced waiting times and a greater range of available services within a reasonable distance from their homes.
On-going efforts from the health, education and community service sectors are required to support and maintain the collaboration facilitated by the EIIS initiative and to build upon the Region's achievements. A commitment of financial and other resources will be required to support enhanced staff positions and family-centered service delivery. A regional training plan will be required to ensure that staff competencies are maintained and that members of the EIIS Autism Teams have the skills required to provide on-going services. Families will also require on-going training to support their role in intervention. Continued public awareness for physicians, families and professionals on ASD and the available services to support families is essential to ensuring that families have access to services in a timely manner. Population-based screening for developmental delay would assist communities in building awareness, identifying children early and implementing interventions that afford the most opportunity for developmental progress.
For more information regarding the implementation of the EIIS initiative in Western Nova Scotia, or to obtain copies of the evaluation questionnaires, please contact the EIIS Regional Coordinator.
Early Identification and Intervention Services
Denise Vacon - EIIS Regional Coordinator
46 Parade Street, Yarmouth, NS B5A 3A9
Phone: (902) 749-5667 Fax: (902) 749-5697
Email: dvacon@swrsb.ednet.ns.ca
Website: http://eiiswest.nsnet.orgTarget Group: Physicians
Recommendation #1: (Page 10) EIIS Autism Teams continue to develop awareness initiatives for physicians of local services available for families with children with ASD to ensure that appropriate referral routes are followed and delays are minimized.
Recommendation #2: (Page 12) The Region work in collaboration with any provincial initiatives to make continuing medical education available to physicians and help them to recognize the red flags associated with developmental delay, including autism.
Recommendation #3: (Page 14) The Region develop a strategy to build partnerships with physicians and raise awareness of the local services available to support families with children with ASD.
Target Group: Schools
Recommendation #4: (Page 19) Ongoing professional and parent awareness of ASD is required to promote early identification in pre-school children.
Recommendation #5: (Page 23) Pre-school service providers must continue to be available to schools for child-specific support during transition planning and for problem solving during the first year of school to ensure as smooth and as successful a transition as possible.
Recommendation #6: (Page 24) On-going training is required to support professional development and increase staff comfort levels in applying their knowledge of intervention strategies within a classroom setting.
Target Group: Families
Recommendation #7: (Page 28) On-going public awareness of developmental delay, including parent and professional education of developmental "red flags," is required to ensure children are identified as early as possible.
Recommendation #8: (Page 36) On-going professional development be made available to support service providers in meeting the needs of families using a strengths-based, family-centered approach.
Recommendation #9: (Page 38) EIIS provide on-going support in developing and maintaining support networks to ensure that families stay connected.
Recommendation #10: (Page 38) A regional training plan for families be developed to support their role in intervention services and their participation in training opportunities, including dedicated resources for this purpose.
Target Group: Service Providers
Recommendation #11: (Page 42) Identify support services required after school entry and work collaboratively to explore service delivery options for improving access to ASD services across the life span.
Recommendation #12: (Page 54) Opportunities for population-based screening for developmental delay (including ASD) be explored by the Region to ensure that children are identified as early as possible and that timely interventions are implemented, providing the most opportunity for developmental progress.
Recommendation #13: (Page 55) Ongoing professional development be made available to support service providers in meeting the needs of families using a strengths-based, family-centered approach.
Recommendations #14: (Page 56) EIIS Autism Teams work in partnership with school boards and daycares to continue to develop the transition planning process and facilitate the early integration of transition planning teams across the Region.
Recommendation #15: (Page 57) Organizations serving children and families should identify the supports required and explore means to increase the availability of home-based services across disciplines for both assessment and intervention services.
Recommendation #16: (Page 57) ASD materials and resources across partnering organizations be catalogued to facilitate the sharing of resources.
Recommendation #17: (Page 62) Strengths-based, multi-disciplinary team approach to service delivery be applied as a model of service delivery for all children with special needs.
Recommendation #18: (Page 66) A regional training plan be developed to support the on-going training needs of EIIS enhanced clinicians, non-EIIS clinicians, and service providers in partnering agencies that make up the Region's EIIS Autism Teams.
Christina Schulze-Allen - EIIS Regional Coordinator
Western Regional CAYAC, P.O. Box 520, Middleton
Nova Scotia, B0S 1P0
Email: csa.cyiwg@ns.sympatico.caPhone: (902) 825-5377
Fax: (902) 825-5379
Supported by
Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre
Technical Resource Centre