Fredericksburg Parent

22 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • Stories of Strength - One Year Stronger WRITTEN BY EMILY FREEHLING It's been 22 months since the world shut down to control the spread of the virus that causes COVID- 19. In that amount of time in a young child's life, rapid brain growth is taking place, and the child is already learning to move her body, speak simple sentences, mimic behaviors and sounds and follow simple instructions. Rappahannock Area Community Services Board The Parent Education – Infant Development (PE-ID) program is an early intervention program for children from birth to 36 months. The program, run through the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, serves families in Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George counties, and the city of Fredericksburg. Because childhood development happens so rapidly at this age, the PE-ID team knew when the pandemic hit that they would need to act quickly to ensure parents and children did not lose precious time with PE-ID's trained providers, including speech language pathologists, physical therapists, occupational thera- pists, early childhood education specialists, and ser- vice coordinators. These providers are passionate about helping young children and empow- ering parents to be their child's best teacher and advocate. Over nearly two years of adapting to pandemic limitations, here are four lessons the PE-ID team has learned. 1. There are fewer barriers than ever before to getting the services your child needs. Things turned on a dime in March 2020 when schools, offices and the rest of the world shut down and stay-home orders made it impossible for PE-ID providers to visit families' homes to work with parents and children. But the early intervention team knew it was crucial to keep delivering services, and to keep coaching parents on how to foster their children's healthy development. They set up secure Zoom meetings that enabled families to keep up with their services amid the lockdowns. Over months of serving families over Zoom, providers learned that this virtual tool could deliver high-quality services and empower parents to become their child's best coach—even though nothing will ever replace the power of an in-person visit. Today, 90% of PE-ID's services are once again delivered in-person in fami- lies' homes. But the added virtual option means that children no longer need to miss out on services because a family member is sick. Early Intervention Remained an Important Support for Parents Through the Pandemic The limitations of the past two years have given providers new tools to help families and young children

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