Day 32 E.C.I Part 1

On Thursday and Friday I went to E.C.I (Early Childhood Intervention), which is a part of MHMR. E.C.I provides services to children from birth to three years of age. Eligibility for E.C.I includes the following: developmental delay, atypical development, and medically diagnosed condition. On my first day, I shadowed a counselor named Monica. She is AMAZING. She is a woman who is in her late 30’s but glowed with so much joy that one could have easily mistaken her for a mere teenager. The moment I met her, I became even more excited for the day. We visited three homes. I should note that all the services that E.C.I provides are through the home. This was not always the case. But since staff is able to obtain a better understanding of what the living conditions for the child are like and since it is important for the child to make use of the toys and materials they have in their homes for therapeutic reasons, (as opposed to relying on the toys in the clinic), it had been decided that the visits take place in the consumer’s home.

On that note, the first house we visited was of a child who had a clubbed foot, meaning that her left foot was tilted inward as opposed to the normal straight facing foot. This is probably because the mother was on drugs during her pregnancy. As we drove into the low income apartment parking lot, I was a bit anxious about how the mother would feel about me entering her home as a complete stranger. We climbed up the stairs to the second floor and Monica rang the bell. The mother opened the door and her baby, Nicole (for confidentiality purposes) was right by her side. Monica introduced me as a student and asked if it was okay that I join their meeting. The mother agreed. I was relieved. As we entered the small apartment, the smell of smoke hit me. Monica and I sat on the couch across from the mother and baby Nicole. As the counselor began to check in with the mother, Nicole was running around, bringing pillows from one side to other, and stopped to drink coffee whenever she needed that extra boost of energy. Yes, she is a child, almost 2 years old and she had acquired the taste of coffee. While the counselor and the mother talked about Nicole's foot, her sleeping and eating habits, I joined Nicole in her own made up game of transferring objects from one couch to the other. She was adorable with her tiny feet and tiny arms just moving back and forth with no intention of stopping.

In addition to Nicole’s clubbed foot, she had an attachment issue with her mother, which stopped her from doing anything without her mom. Nicole’s dad is a trucker and so he is always on the road. Throughout the mom and counselor’s discussion, I heard that the father was not too pleased with the physical therapist from E.C.I. Since Nicole has a clubbed foot, it is vital for her to perform exercises that force her foot to face straight. However, as per the parents, the therapist who is in charge of Nicole’s exercises hurts Nicole. According to the mom, whenever the therapist shifts the foot straight, Nicole starts to cry whereas with anyone else, she doesn’t. It was clear that the mother wanted another physical therapist for her baby. And Monica was there to ensure both the mother and Nicole were happy with the services that were being provided to them.

The next home we visited was of a woman who was in the process of adopting twins from her great niece. When E.C.I first started to work with these twins, they were both nearly skeletal because they were not being fed. They call a condition as this “failure to strive.” But when we went to visit them, they were the chubbiest babies I had ever seen. They had undergone a complete 180 with the right kind of care and nurture.

The last home we visited was a bit sad. The mother is a single 20 year mother with a baby who has constant seizures and can not sit straight, even though he is nearly 3 years old. It was to the point where the mother had to resuscitate her baby because he was not breathing. I could only imagine how that must be, knowing day in and day out that your child is so close to death. Monica asked her usual questions for their check- in. Soon it was time to leave. As we got settled back into the car, I couldn’t help but wonder how different that mother’s life and my life was, especially since we are the same exact age. I don’t know how people do it. But they do, day in and day out.