Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) was not a word that I used from day-to-day 5 years ago. Now it has become a primary feature in my vocabulary as it is the intervention that I deliver regularly. Once I started providing ESDM, I couldn’t see why young children wouldn’t be offered this beautiful model as their primary or even as a complement to other typical therapies. Here are 7 reasons that I encourage you to look into the treatment as an option for your child.
1. Being social is essential
ESDM has a focus on the social interactions between a child and their therapist. To promote learning and create learning opportunities easily, a child needs to build a positive relationship with their teacher. This is an essential component of ESDM. Autistic children often shy away from others due to the disorder. However, within ESDM it is critical that the therapist is seen as a play partner that helps them achieve their goals.
2. Children lead the way
A key feature of ESDM is that the child is able to lead the play. Your child will be able to select an activity or play item to complete which increases engagement and motivation.
3. Play is the environment for learning
After your child selects the play materials, the therapist engages with your child building on each other’s ideas. Once the theme of play is developed the therapist can then embed teaching into the routine. Generally, a therapist will aim to include 5 or more different goals into one activity making play and learning dynamic.
4. Follow typical development
The ESDM Curriculum Checklist is an assessment tool that breaks down the 11 developmental domains into 4 levels that correlate with different learning ages and stages. Each level contains subgoals of the main domain. After assessment occurs, you will have a good understanding of what level your child is currently at and can also use this tool will also be used to track how much progress your child makes over time.
5. Social, cognitive and communication improvements
The ESDM has over 40 years of research where results are generally seen across the different developmental milestones. By targeting all developmental domains, improvements are made in social, cognitive, and communication abilities, among others.
6. Strengths-based approach
Using the ESDM Curriculum checklist, the therapist gets a clear picture of where your child’s current skills fall. This helps in the selection of goals, which will be just above where your child’s current skill level. Creating goals in this way means your child is not being asked to do something that is too hard for them.
7. Data collection proves gains
Following one of the 7 principles of best practice for interventions, ESDM is data-driven. Your child has a program based off of different developmental domains. Within each domain, a goal is created that is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely), and data is kept after each session to track progress and achievement. Once goals are mastered, it’s time to create new goals and keep the learning going!
These are just a few of the noticeable differences that will come from an ESDM program! We hope you give it a go for your child in our Group-based ESDM program. For more information, reach out at admin@kindredkids.com.au or submit an expression of interest via our website!
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