Dear Parents and Early Intervention Professionals,
In
2002, I founded Rising Stars of Rockland Inc., an Early
Intervention agency that is approved by the New York
State and Rockland County Health Departments to provide
all aspects of Early Intervention services. It was a
natural step for me, after working in the field for
20 years, and being committed to the philosophy of early
intervention since before I became an Occupational Therapist.I
graduated with a Bachelor in Applied Science (O.T.)
from Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences, Melbourne,
Australia in 1985, and have devoted my skills to the
field of early intervention since that time. I have
also worked in a variety of settings, including schools
and adult rehabilitation. I have been a direct provider
of Occupational Therapy, offering home-based early intervention
for the Rockland County Department of Health, since
1995. The New York State Department of Health has truly
demonstrated their commitment to the children of New
York by funding the very successful Early Intervention
Program!
 As
the name implies, “early intervention” means
intervening in a child’s development early on,
and I am a firm believer in its application. As soon
as a developmental delay is identified by a professional
evaluation team, services are initiated. Consequently,
the child receives service as he/she is developing,
and is able to acquire the expected skills closer to
the time that is expected. Children flourish with this
approach. The results are wonderful, and I have been
personally involved in many success
stories.
Many of the children who present with developmental
delays are then able to catch up by the time they are
ready to start school. The family is intimately involved
in the process of early intervention, which I feel adds
so much to its success. The intervention takes place
in the child’s natural, more comfortable environment
— in their home or day care center.
 The
next obvious step in the growth of Rising Stars of Rockland
was to sponsor courses in topics of direct relevance
to early intervention, as it merely reinforces my agency’s
commitment to our children and to our therapists. In
this way, therapists are able to advance their skills
as conveniently and affordably as possible. The therapists
have the opportunity to be involved in the planning
stages of the courses, to carefully tailor the details
of the learning experience to the specific needs of
the children that my agency services. Therapists are
involved in speaker selection and the specifics of the
course content.
 The
continuing education events that Rising Stars has sponsored
have been a huge success, and have attracted many professionals
who want to further develop and update their skills.
The effects on the children that Rising Stars services
have been remarkable, as they flourish from the expanded
techniques that their Rising Stars therapists apply
during therapy.
Rising
Stars plans on expanding the number of workshops we
will sponsor in Rockland County, so that more specialty
areas can be addressed. The interest from the professional
community has been overwhelmingly positive, and this
encourages Rising Stars to continue in our work. Furthermore,
more parent involvement in training events will be encouraged.
I
look forward to communicating with you, whether you
are a therapist looking to join Rising Stars’
talented group, or parents of a child who may require
our excellent support services!
Sincerely,
Rivka
Vann, OTR/L
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