Pros and cons of being an early intervention therapist

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 2:39 pm

Hi I’m thinking of becoming an early intervention therapist. I’ve heard people say they didn’t like it but I can’t remember what they said the reasons were. It sounds like a pretty flexible job. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons? Also what is the salary and does every agency pay the same amount? Thank you!

amother

Floralwhite

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 2:43 pm

I do EI in NJ. I love what I do. I love the age and the progress we get to see. Cons- getting paid by the hour and lots of cancelations that you don't get paid for, travel time...

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 3:29 pm

amother Floralwhite wrote:

I do EI in NJ. I love what I do. I love the age and the progress we get to see. Cons- getting paid by the hour and lots of cancelations that you don't get paid for, travel time...

If the parent cancels you don’t get paid?

amother

Linen

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 3:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

If the parent cancels you don’t get paid?

You only get paid if you actually do a session

It is technically flexible because no one is forcing you to work at specific times, but you do need to be available when the parents can have you over. It's not like you can show up whenever you want. For example you may want to do a session sunday 12 pm but the family is out shopping

amother

Floralwhite

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 3:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

If the parent cancels you don’t get paid?

No. And little kids get sick a lot in the winter so there's a decent amount of cancelations also over YT, chol homoed..anytime I'm not actively working I don't get paid

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 4:04 pm

amother Floralwhite wrote:

No. And little kids get sick a lot in the winter so there's a decent amount of cancelations also over YT, chol homoed..anytime I'm not actively working I don't get paid

Hmm. That is a lot of off time.
Can you give me an estimate of your yearly salary with all these cancellations and yomim tovim? And what your typical daily hours are?

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 4:50 pm

amother Currant wrote:

Some houses are dirty, like bedbugs and stuff. Cockroaches crawl in your bag. Dogs.

Ew. Who lives with cockroaches walking around?? Can’t you just drop the case if you get a house like that?

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 4:58 pm

I did it for a bit in Brooklyn

Cons

- parking (in Monsey shouldn't be an issue)
- nap times - had to work around them and sometimes was very inconvenient.... like somtimes I would have two kids near each other but couldn't do them right after each other bec of when they napped....
- everytime a parent canceled, kid got sick, Yom tov and etc I didn't get paid.... and sometimes parents forget to tell you and you show up and no one is home
- unless it's in a school, parents will likely be sitting in on a lot of sessions.... which is great bec it helps teach the parents skills but it sometimes got me nervous to have my every move watched depending on the spefic parent....

Pros

- I loved that I could set up my schedule in the way that worked for me.

- usually was doable to change things around and go later if I had an appointment or something (it's not like teaching or babysitting where you need to find a substitute and etc...)

- I love babies and overall really enjoyed working with them

Eta one of the reasons I stopped is bec we bought a house and I wanted a steady monthly salary to depended on.

amother

Currant

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 4:59 pm

More people than you’d think have roaches.

Also I have a colleague who got TB in a client’s house.

Some homes with pets have fecal material all over.

Some therapists bring plastic mats to spread on the floor.

amother

Scarlet

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 6:31 pm

Hi. I did EI for 10 years in Boro Park. I loved it.
Cons: PARKING, being in and out of the car, traveling, navigating babies nap times/playgroup morahs/ inflexible mothers, missing sessions due to moms forgetting or other reasons, needing a large caseload to make real $ so lots of juggling and paperwork, working around the other therapists schedules when you share a case.
Pros: community was wonderful ( there’s nothing like helping Jewish neshamos), I could make my own schedule, flexible, easy to do makeup sessions, you can bill almost 12 months a year 6 days a week, and the children are just so freaking cute!

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 6:36 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

Thanks
What kind of paperwork needs to be done for each case?

amother

Scarlet

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 6:42 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thanks
What kind of paperwork needs to be done for each case?

Depends what kind of service provider you are
Speech therapists tend to have the most I think
I was special instructor paperwork wasn’t that bad you have reports for each child every so often you also have to write a note for each session provided and get a signature from the parent or caregiver. If you think the child could use an increase or another evaluation you’ll need to write up a report. But I only worked for one agency and they have an app all your work is sent to them through the app so it was paperless and pretty simple I’m sure it’s not that way for all agencies.

amother

Mon, Sep 04 2023, 6:44 pm

amother Scarlet wrote:

Ok thank you so much for the info