How to use Small Steps

You can use the information on this website very flexibly. It is designed as a practical resource, to be used in whatever way suits you best. You can use it quite informally, if you choose, as a source of ideas. Or you can use it in a more systematic way to review your child’s progress. It may also help you to better understand and track the goals you are working towards with your early intervention team.

There is a lot of information on this website and there is no need to read all of it at once. You can look up sections or individual items as you need them – as you do with an encyclopaedia. On the other hand, Small Steps attempts to give you all the information you need to carry out an early intervention program with your child to a professional standard and can be used as a complete program.

Small Steps covers five different areas of development:

It is recommended that you read through the information under Your child’s program before you start looking at any of these areas of development in more detail. Once you understand how to assess your child, how to set objectives and how to teach, you can decide which area(s) of development you want to focus on.

Sequences

Each area of development is divided into subgroups of related skills, called sequences. For example, the gross motor skills is divided into: Prewalking; Balancing, Walking, Running; Stairs and Climbing; Ball Skills; Jumping; and Trike Riding. Some of these sequences can be worked on at the same time, for example Stairs and Climbing and Ball Skills. Depending on the age and level of development of your child, and your own resources, you might be working on just one or two sequences from each area of development at a time, or you may be working on several sequences from each area – either all at once or alternately. In other words, you draw from them to suit your child and the time you have available for teaching.