Lisa R.

Gibson
Family Professional/Collaborative
Eco-Map Reflection

Recently my field mentor and I identified the perfect family for my Early Intervention

project. The family has such a multifaced dynamic that I thought this would also be the perfect

family to complete the Eco-Map with.

A little background on the family I chose: Little Carlie is a week shy of her first

birthday. She placed in kinship with her Nana Kay. There are more than 2,600,000 grandparents

who are care providers for their grandchildren in the United States (Children’s Defense Fund,

2012). • Some of the reasons grandparents assume caregiver roles include teenage parents,

unemployment, poverty, substance abuse, maternal incarceration, and child abuse and neglect.

[ CITATION Tur152 \l 1033 ] Carlie has a big loving family and Nana Kay has a lot of great supports

and people in her life. Carlie was born exposed in-utero to smoking, drugs and limited prenatal

care. Her biological mother also has intellectual disabilities. Her father we believe is also a past

drug user as well as his father. Nana Kay also has intellectual disabilities, has a ninth-grade

education and her mother oversees her financial affairs. Nana Kay is very open and honest to

what her limitations are, but she cares for Carlie and takes care of all of her needs. People with

disabilities may choose to become parents. Of course, parents who have disabilities also have

strengths, just as their children who have disabilities have strengths. Often the disability itself

does not interfere with how the family functions. The disability may actually enhance the
parent’s understanding of the child. [ CITATION Tur151 \l 1033 ]As we dive into the Eco-Map, we

will see that Carlie is not the only child that Nana has raised.

So, when we arrived at the home, I explained to Nana Kay what the Eco-Map was and

how we could revisit this tool because there are sure to be changes over time. Nana Kay is very

receptive and easy to talk to. So, we began with what I would call the core of the map. The

individuals that are in the home. In the home is Carlie, Nana Kay and John. During the visit we

hear Nana Kay refer to John a lot, so this is the opportunity to find out who John is and his role

in Carlie’s life other the man that lives in the basement. I explained to Nana that she could share

as little or as much as she wanted to share. With that said, Nana explained to us that John is

actually the father to one of her daughters. They are no longer a couple but their relationship as

it is works for them.

Formal supports: This was easy for Nana Kay to list off all the folks that are in her and

Carlie’s life that she feels supported by. Nana Kay has two daughters Sara and Elaine. Sarah,

she considers to be a very strong support however, Elaine who is Carlie’s mother causes Nana

Kay a great deal of stress. Elaine has intellectual disabilities, but she is still using drugs,

homeless, not a participant in her children’s lives and whenever she comes around takes things

from Nana’s home so, Nana Kay would prefer for Elaine to keep her distance. Other strong

supports would one of Sara’s close friends Emily, Nana’s mother, her sister Leslie, her brothers

Danny, Michael and James and Carlie’s maternal brother James who is 10 years old. Carlie’s

brother James lives with his father but visits Nana Kay, Carlie and John every weekend. Carlie

also has an additional 8 other siblings from her father. Nana Kay tries to keep an open

relationship with two of those siblings as well as Carlie’s father.

 Informal supports: Nana Kay has several informal supports that help her with Carlie’s

health, welfare and development. Nana has Carlie’s developmental specialist Melissa and her

home visitor Kayla. She has a neighbor Mavis who Carlie likes to watch for in the window in

the afternoons. Mavis is also someone Nana can talk to and get advice from. Nana also has

Sharon her CSB caseworker and Maddie her guardian ad litem who helps her navigate the

juvenile courts for her efforts to obtain permanent custody of Carlie. During this process of

getting to know the family better and helping Nana Kay to identify how truly supported she is,

we discussed what she would like to see Carlie doing in the future. Nana Kay knows that Carlie

has some possible struggles due to her drug exposure. Nana Kay has already begun to see signs

of the exposure, for example possible seizures. The bigger picture for Nana Kay is to see Carlie

receive all of the possible help that is available for her so that she can be her best Carlie. Nana

Kay is optimistic that Carlie will hit all of her milestones with assistance from early intervention

but she is also realistic that there is a chance that she Children are eligible for early intervention

if they experience significant developmental delays, that is, have a disability resulting in a

significant developmental delay or have a diagnosed physical or mental condition that carries a

high probability of causing a significant developmental delay and will need services and possible

accommodations. [ CITATION Tur15 \l 1033 ]

Works Cited
Turnbull, A. A. (2015). Family Characteristics. In A. A. Turnbull, Families, Professionals and Exceptionality
(pp. 3-28). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Turnbull, A. A. (2015). Family Interaction. In A. A. Turnbull, Families, Professionals and Exceptionality (pp.
29-51). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Turnbull, A. A. (2015). Public Policies and Family and Professional Partnerships. In A. A. Turnbull,
Families, Professionals and Exceptionalities 7th ed (pp. 127-155). Upper Saddler River: Pearson
Education.