Inspiring Families and Influencing Tomorrow’s Early Intervention Professionals
Staffing an exhibit table at Hope Fest, held on August 19, 2023, Lisa Vallee is ready to provide information on Arizona's early intervention program.
In the world of early childhood development, Lisa Vallee is a top-ranked influencer. Stepping into her role as AzEIP's Community Engagement Liaison this past February, Lisa's commitment and involvement has resulted in highly effective and influential messaging. Most recently, she addressed a class of over 40 Occupational Therapy (OT) students at Northern Arizona University's Bioscience Campus in Phoenix on the topic of OT needs for infants and toddlers.
Lisa Vallee discusses early intervention for infants and toddlers at Northern Arizona University's Bioscience Campus in Phoenix on September 5, 2023.
The invitation to speak to the NAU OT Class of 2026 is a direct result of a presentation Lisa made a few weeks earlier to the rehabilitation staff at Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH). At Phoenix Children's, she addressed over 50 professional speech therapists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists on the hospital's staff. One attendee, Julia Colman, an occupational therapist with PCH, is also an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at NAU, and after the presentation, Professor Colman reached out to Lisa and invited her to speak to her students at NAU during a Lifespan Occupational Therapist class. This course provides students with information on where they can use their skills as occupational therapists. And, as Lisa notes, "We have a need for occupational therapists in early intervention."
Lisa first canvassed the room to determine the number of the students who were aware of early intervention. "Even in that setting, I thought more of the students would know," she said, but only a few raised their hands. Tailoring her comments to her audience of students, she focused on professional development and expanded on how a wonderful career opportunity awaits them in early intervention. From there, she covered many of the basics in early intervention, such as the referral process, assessments, evaluations, and eligibility for services.
Lisa Vallee is the Community Engagement Liaison for Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP).
When asked, "What does an OT do with some of the babies?" Lisa explained that much of the work is centered around educating the parents. "We have a coaching model to help the parent better understand their child's developing sensory system so the child can experience the world comfortably. For example, if a child is tactile defensive and doesn't like to touch anything, then dressing or bathing becomes very challenging." The occupational therapist can help support those families with training and therapy. A lot of times, the behavior of the little one is a mirror to a sensory system that is not functioning properly. "Then they're having behavior issues as a result of that." They're not true behavior problems, as much as they need help with sensory regulation.
Lisa's 20-plus years in the field of early intervention gives her a greater understanding of what challenges parents with young children with developmental delays are facing today. "Anyone who knows me, knows that I am passionate about infant and toddler development," said Lisa. "I love connecting parents to resources to help them along their parenting journey."
When not making presentations, Lisa represents AzEIP at resource fairs and community networking events, and organizes and distributes the agency's newsletter, Gerri's Gazette. She also works collaboratively with the DES Division of Developmental Disabilities, the School for the Deaf and Blind, Head Start, First Things First, Child Find, and other agencies.