Keep Up-To-Date With EiSMART Monthly Newsletters

Our newsletters include guest authors; news from around the world; topical publications, and upcoming events. You can also find articles, practical tips, and free resources from our passionate team.

  • September 2024

    We are delighted to bring you news of our latest activities, including a link to our newly published paper on an evaluation of Ei SMART training, new Hindi translations of our leaflets and our new Reading leaflet. 

  • August 2024

    It’s that time of year when people think about holidays, relaxing and spending time with family and friends and so it seems a great moment to introduce the topic of self-care.

  • July 2024

    We published our screen time leaflet this month in partnership with the Brazelton Centre UK as part of their annual Baby communication week. 

  • June 2024

    Our special feature on the use of screentime with very young children in our April and May newsletters aroused great interest so what better way to follow on than focus on the importance of play. 

  • May 2024

    Our second newsletter on screen time in the context of early intervention. We’ve dedicated this edition to the direct voice of parents and practitioners.

  • April 2024

    In this month’s newsletter we are focusing on the insights we gain on screen time.

  • March 2024

    We have devoted this month’s newsletter to letting you know about the content of our upcoming study days and to share feedback from previous participants.

  • February 2024

    In this month’s newsletter we reflect on working with babies, families and participants on the Early Assessment and Early Intervention Infant Course

  • January 2024

    In this first newsletter of 2024 we share our news about Ei SMART in Vietnam.   

  • December 2023

    In this final newsletter of 2023 we reflect on the role of co-production within the Ei SMART framework

  • November 2023

    This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the recent Ei SMART Early Assessment and Early Intervention course that took place in Jordan

  • October 2023

    This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the R in Ei SMART – Relationships.

  • September 2023

    This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the A in Ei SMART – Attention & Regulation.

  • August 2023

    In this month’s newsletter we’re talking about the challenges the summer holidays can bring.

  • July 2023

    This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the M in Ei SMART – Motor.

  • June 2023

    This month’s newsletter is dedicated to the S in Ei SMART – Sensory.

  • May 2023

    This month we talk about our amazing Study Day.  We had incredible feedback from all involved.

  • April 2023

    This month we are very excited to be launching our new Ei SMART study day on 27th April.  Not only will the team be presenting lots of new content suitable for doctors, nurses, therapists and anyone involved in delivering early intervention we also have a whole new approach to giving a presentation on ‘Patterns of Damage in Preterm and Term Infants’ – the amazing Dr. Angela Huertas is going to co-present this in conversation with 2 of our Ei SMART parents Laurence Galland and Natalie Shamash.

    To our knowledge, this has never been done before and is an Ei SMART FIRST!

  • March 2023

    This month we have a special feature from mothers for whom the expected joy of the birth of their child was interrupted by trauma, shock, grief and uncertainty. 

  • February 2023

    This month we are delighted to bring you a special feature on our Ei SMART Infant course which is hosted twice a year by the quite brilliant, family focussed multidisciplinary team at Cerebral Palsy Cymru, in Cardiff. 

  • January 2023

    In this first issue of 2023 we reflect and share our aspirations for the future. We have new leaflets and we say a thank you to a management team member plus lots more! 

  • December 2022

    This month we have a special issue which is devoted to early communication, particularly parent-infant communication. 

  • November 2022

    This month we have a very special feature on food, feeding and family.  Food is one of the basic necessities of life – we need food to live and what we eat matters.  Yet many of our infants born prematurely or with developmental challenges often have feeding difficulties.  

  • October 2022

    In this Issue we have an overview on the recent BANNFU study day – look at the great range of speakers and talks – we urge everyone interested in early intervention to join BANNFU if you haven’t already done so.  We also highlight the important new poster campaign from Action Cerebral Palsy and are thrilled to announce that EI SMART is presenting at NANT 2023 plus lots more! 

  • September 2022

    This special newsletter has been written by and for grandparents of babies born too soon or sick.

  • August 2022

    In this newsletter we provide an update on our Ei SMART training programme for NICU staff including new posters and resources. We also introduce Prof Topun Austin who joins our Board of Trustees and include an article from Topun on Early Intervention.

  • July 2022

    In this issue  Prof Nick Embleton describes The Butterfly Project. We also  present a parent’s perspective on preparing for hospital appointments. In addition we describe six principles of the Ei Smart Model of co-produced interventions and include recommended reading.

  • June 2022

    In this month’s issue, we continue our hugely popular nursery theme with Harriet Brennan, mother of Finn, born at 24 weeks, giving us an overview of her experience. 

    We are also delighted to introduce part 1 of a series of articles written by Ei SMART psychotherapist Neela Basu – this one focuses on Emotional Support in NICU and beyond. This article is followed by a profound and moving article from a parent. 

  • May 2022 Newsletter

    This month’s newsletter continues with our nursery theme and we have a very moving contribution from Katie, a NICU parent and mentor at Leo’s neonatal charity.
    It’s clear from the correspondence we have received, that we all need to do more to raise awareness of the needs of children and families who have had a NICU stay – and to support nursery staff to address those needs.

  • April 2022 Newsletter

    This month’s issue continues our education theme so brilliantly introduced last month by Ei SMART expert panel member Professor Samantha Johnson. We hope you have been able to introduce your schools to PRISM, the invaluable free resource made available to us by Sam and her team.

    This month we focus on nurseries and are indebted to our parents for sharing their experiences and tips for other parents.

  • March 2022 Newsletter

    This month’s issue is dedicated to education and we are delighted to have an article written by Prof Samantha Johnson, on Improving School Support for Children Born Preterm and PRISM, a free resource. 

    Then we have a really helpful and insightful parent perspective from one of our parents who has 2 school-aged children who were born preterm. 

  • February 2022 Newsletter

    This issue is devoted to one of our important senses – sound and hearing. We are focussing specifically on sound in the NICU from a parent’s perspective and our special feature is from a parent of twins born at 28 weeks gestation.

  • January 2022 Newsletter

    Welcome to our January newsletter – Happy New Year to you all.  Our newsletters are now being co-produced with the parents in the EiSMART group – you can find details of our team at the end.

    This issue is entirely devoted to communication. By communication, we mean all the gestures, words and sentences that surround each child.
    We have lots of great tips and ideas for supporting communication and promoting language.

  • December 2021 Newsletter

    In this issue we are asking what you would like to see in the EiSMART newsletter in 2022.  We welcome Prof Andrea Guzzetta – our new expert panel member and invite you to join our EiSMART webinar in the RSM on 25 January 2022

    Dates have ben released for the Early Assessment and Early Intervention Baby course – this long-established neurodevelopmental baby course, now in its 22nd year, uses the most up to date evidence for early intervention for infants at high risk of developmental challenges.

    Dates have also been released for the next UK GMA course.  We have also shared details of how you can get involved and help us at EiSMART

  • November 2021 Newsletter

    Welcome to our November newsletter. In this issues wes share with you Gabriel’s story. Gabriel had in utero repair for his spina bifida at 25 weeks of pregnancy. He was born prematurely at 33 weeks and spent 5 weeks in NNU. We are so grateful to his mother for sharing this wonderful piece with us.

    Congratulations to EiSMART members, Phill Hariness, Anna Basu and Deanna Gibbs (expert panel member) for winning 1st prize at the UCL Collaborative Social Science conference for the poster, ‘Parental Engagement in early physical and occupational therapy for infants with cerebral palsy via video calls’.

    We also have recommended reading, news of the latest UK GMA Course, details of the early assessment and early Intervention baby course and details of the EiSMART webinar in the RSM.

  • October 2021 Newsletter

    In this issue, guest author Janice Pearse introduces us to TEDEI – Training in Early Detection for Early Intervention.

    TEDEI is relevant to everyone working with young infants, particularly those new to the field.

    We share with you news from Australia, an Action Medical Research update on new clinical trial for twin-twin transfusion, recommended reading, updates on our new leaflets and events and details of how you can get involved and help us at EiSMART.

  • September 2021 Newsletter

    Our newsletter for September is dedicated to the perspective of parents. A number of parents affiliated with Ei SMART have written about what they have learned from supporting their babies at various stages, what insights they have gained regarding their own role and what advice to give to other families and therapists. As always, we welcome your feedback and would be particularly interested in your thoughts on our parent’s edition. 

  • August 2021 Newsletter

    This month, EiSMART welcomes: Mari Viviers, Natalie Gonn and Patricia Flynn. We have new NICE guideline published:  (NICE guidelines describes good patient experience for babies, children and young people, and makes recommendations on how it can be delivered. )

    We also have an update on our special leaflets and Booklists, new reading recommendations and a new podcast.

  • July 2021 Newsletter

    In our July newsletter we feature a message from para-athlete, Anthony Bryan, para-athlete. EiSMART also welcomes Professor Mijna Hadders-Algra to the Expert panel

    We share news from around the world  – this month we are delighted to hear from Canada. We also have an update on our special leaflets, reading recommendations and a new podcast.

  • June 2021 Newsletter

    This month we are delighted to hear from Dr Raye-Ann deRegnier, M.D.  Chair in Neonatal Development and Director, Early Childhood Clinic, NICU-Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program, Medical Director, Neonatal Outreach
    Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Also, don’t miss this month’s recommended podcast and newly published  articles by EiSMART members.

  • May 2021 Newsletter

    In this issue we share with you Lindsay’s Top Sensory Tips for working with infants and families, a letter from a mother in Brazil to EiSMART, details of our events for May and June and coverage of EiSMART presenting at at EACD – 27th May.

  • April 2021 Newsletter

    In This Issue, EiSMART shares it’s new vision and mission statement. Sally shares her top tips  – Speech, Language and Communication is in the spotlight this week: Pandemic has impacted young children’s language skills. We share with you New EiSMART developmental play leaflets. We also introduce our new volunteer and have more dates for early assessment and early intervention course, as well as EiSMART accredited courses.

  • March 2021 Newsletter

    In This Issue,  Expert panel member Dr Gillian Forrester explains why EiSMART is such a revolutionary early intervention therapeutic approach. Health Visitor Catherine Grant introduces us to the Circle of Security. The Early Years Healthy Development Review – ‘The Best Start for Life – A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days’ see link for report and Youtube.

  • February 2021 Newsletter

    Welcome to our latest newsletter.  Already Spring is in the air and we are looking forward to the longer days and better weather to come! In this issue. We have come to the last of the Ei SMART threads; it’s the turn of the all-important T (Together). This month’s top communication tips from our very own Janet from the Ei SMART team.

  • January 2021 Newsletter

    This month we have lots of exciting news to share with you – read on! Please see our very own Emily’s top tips for therapists working in neonatal units during the lockdown. We are excited and honoured to introduce 2 new expert advisors to the EiSMART panel. We also welcome many new members to our EiSMART community this month, including 18 paediatric Occupational therapists from Northern Ireland.

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