Providers’ Perspectives About Selecting Materials for Early Intervention Sessions: Five Tensions That Influence Material Use

Early intervention (EI) sessions are intended to occur in a child’s natural environment. Part of a child’s natural environment includes the materials they typically can access. Recommended practices in the field suggest that EI providers should use materials in children’s homes rather than bringing a toy bag to address the child and family goals. However, the use of the toy bag is still prevalent in the field. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perspectives of EI special instructors related to how they select materials for their EI sessions. Findings include five themes that represent tensions that EI providers experienced when selecting materials for EI sessions: (a) the journey of bagless intervention, (b) family-centered versus judgment-based views, (c) the natural environment versus the “ideal” environment, (d) professional responsibilities, and (e) addressing children’s needs. Implications include the need for high-quality preservice preparation and professional development related to this recommended practice and continued research related to bagless intervention.