Supporting Male Caregivers During EI Home Visits

63 Vol. 26, No. 2, June 2023 YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN https://doi.org/10.1177/10962506211039524 DOI: 10.1177/10962506211039524 journals.sagepub.com/home/yec Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions © 2021 Division for Early Childhood Devin is a toddler with communication delays. He lives with his mother, Roshni, and maternal grandfather, Naveen. Roshni is a single mother. Naveen moved in with them to help Roshni care for Devin shortly after he was born. Just before Devin turned two, he started EI services. The family works with an SLP and an early childhood special educator (ECSE). Each of the weekly EI sessions takes place in the family home. Naveen travels for work every few weeks but is present at most EI sessions. When EI started, Naveen wasn’t sure what to expect. He assumed that Roshni would be responsible for working with the EI team and Devin. When the EI providers first came into the home, Naveen was surprised by their friendly manner and conversations aimed at getting to know the family. The EI providers invited Naveen to come and sit with them during sessions. Then, the EI providers encouraged Naveen to try using new strategies to facilitate Devin’s language development. The SLP and ECSE asked questions about Devin’s home culture, including what words the family used to address important adults in Devin’s life. The EI providers helped Devin learn to address Naveen as Tata. The EI team helped support Devin’s participation in Hindu celebrations like Holi by learning color names in English and 1039524 YECXXX10.1177/10962506211039524Young Exceptional ChildrenSupporting Male Caregivers During EI Home Visits / Schumaker-Murphy research-article2021