Sorina Patru

Psychologist with the right to free practice in the field of psychotherapy and special psychopedagogy

Patru Sorina Gabriela is a psychologist with the right to practice in the field of Psychotherapy and Special Psychopedagogy. I graduated the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, at the University of Bucharest.

In 2021 I obtained the accreditation as an ESDM therapist, and in 2022 the accreditation as a trainer for parents in the ESDM method. I am currently in process of becoming an accredited trainer in the ESDM method.

I have 12 years of experience in working with atypical children, at Horia Motoi Center, and starting this year at the ESDM Association, opened in March 2024.

Presentation: “ESDM-Early Start Denver Model” - a behavioral intervention for very young children with developmental delays.

Abstract:

Description: Even from the age of 1, the development delays of the small child can be visible, and the ESDM approach helps us intervene as early as possible, thus supporting the skills in all areas of development.

Why ESDM?

Because it started from the principles of ABA, but managed to revolutionize it, being the first therapy based on the relationship between the child and the adult, on increasing social interest and on child's motivation.
Because it is specially designed with very young children in mind: ideally, a child enters therapy when he is between 1 and 2 years old and acquires most of the skills he needs by the time he is 4 years old. Why? Because, at this age, the neuroplasticity of the brain is so great that children can assimilate knowledge incredibly quick if they have the necessary stimulation. ESDM therapy creates the perfect environment where the child can acquire the skills he lacks: a large number of learning opportunities + increased social interest + several goals, worked on naturally at the same time = a child with ASD who gets to develop at the pace of a typical child of the same age.
Because it is a naturalistic type of teaching. ESDM uses many elements of ABA therapy, such as prompts or observing behaviors with antecedent and consequence, but separates itself from it with some clear differences. First of all, in ESDM the reward is always social (praise, encouragement, the child's favorite objects, the continuation of the child's favorite game), natural and strictly related to the activity including the target. The leader of the activities is always the child! Starting from what motivates him, what he watches and what he plays with, therapists can then guide the sessions through the materials and toys they choose and through strategies such as turn-taking or hunting for moments of motivation where they can insert requirements. Last but not least, the targets are worked into the game, aiming at the same time for skills in several areas.
It is an intervention method that has a very good data collection system, with its own assessment tools, both for the child and the therapists who work with him. For example, the therapists collect daily data on goal progress, during each session, once every 15 minutes. The assessment of the child is done every 3 months using the Early Start Denver Model Curriculum Checklist tool. Therapists are also evaluated each month by the coordinator and supervisor with a tool called the Fidelity Checklist, which tracks a list of fundamental skills that must be present in each session, with each child. So, you can be sure that your child's development is closely monitored.