DECEMBER 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 53
EARLY INTERVENTION
APPEALING SERVICE DENIAL
BY MICHELLE DELL’AQUILA
Parents know their children. They
are aware of their child’s personality,
their growth, and their movements.
Occasionally parents may notice a lag
in communication or motor skills.
Child development services can help
get a child back on track by analyzing
the child and then offering a plan
with activities or exercises to help
the child fully develop in areas they
may be struggling with. There are
specific criteria that the child must
meet in order to be considered for
these services.
But what if the child did not meet the
criteria for early intervention services?
This can be discouraging, but it doesn’t
have to be. There are a few things parents
can do if their child is deemed ineligible.
One of the first things a parent
can do is to appeal the decision.
If the child was said to have been borderline
or below the normal range,
a parent can appeal. But if the child
ranked as average or above, there is
a good chance the appeal will not be
successful.
There are many companies with
experienced, licensed professionals
who can sit with both the parents
and child and discuss the concerns
and develop a plan. There are many
more such services available.
Where can such services
be found? Search online
for local developmental
services that can be
provided at home. If
there are no such services
available, try a
search for child development
services that
offer remote visits via
Facetime or Skype.
Child development services such
as these can offer lesson plans or
guides, exercises, and activities
for a child. This can be done with
the professional observing and
offering guidance or as
homework prior to the
next session. They
can help determine
which milestones
a child has met and
needs to meet in
order to stay on target
with development.
Language guides are one of the
most popular methods of assisting
children. These guides will help
them learn to make the proper
letter sounds with the aid of their
parents.
There are licensed educators, therapists
and professionals available
all over the country, and thanks
to advances in technology, their
services can be used anywhere
for any child. With the assistance
and guidance of child development
services, parents can rest assured
that their child’s developmental
milestones are being met.
Michelle Dell’Aquila is a licensed
therapist and the director of Child
Development Advice, an educational
consulting agency. She can be reached
at parentingcoachonline.com
PARENTING TIPS
If a child is denied early intervention services,
parents can seek out help elsewhere. (Getty
Images)
State University of New York Honors Local Student
with First-Ever McConney Award
Joy Alonge, a SUNY Old Westbury senior
majoring in Business Administration, has
received the inaugural Norman R. McConney
Jr. Award for Student Excellence from the
State University of New York. Alonge, an
Elmont, N.Y. resident, was one of the 42
statewide recipients recognized in an award
ceremony this month in New York City.
Named in honor of the late Norman
McConney, the award recognizes students
participating in SUNY's Educational
Opportunities Program for their academic
achievements. McConney had a long career
dedicated to improving conditions for the state’s
underserved populations, and was an early champion
and drafter of the legislation that created EOP in New
York State. EOP provides supplemental financial
assistance and services to students from economically and
educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
“Through the EOP, SUNY has changed
the course of so many lives and has given so
many students the chance to excel and
pursue their dreams,” said SUNY
Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson. “We are
enormously proud of the students receiving
these awards. Many of them have
overcome enormous obstacles to fulfill goals
that once may have seemed unattainable. I
applaud every one of them for demonstrating
perseverance and determination.”
In the current academic year, SUNY has more than
11,000 EOP students on 48 SUNY campuses. Since its
inception in 1967, the EOP has served more than 75,000
students and evolved into one of the country’s most
successful college access programs.
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