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Frequently Asked Questions

Early Intervention

Early Intervention is a system of services that helps infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. It focuses on supporting children from birth to age 3 to enhance their development and learning.

Children from birth to age 3 who have or are at risk for developmental delays or disabilities are eligible for Early Intervention services.

It’s wonderful that you’re being proactive about your child’s development! Here are some signs that your child might benefit from early intervention:

General Signs (Birth to 3 Years)

  • Regression: Your child loses skills they previously had (e.g., stops saying words they used to know, loses the ability to crawl).
  • Lack of Interest: Shows little interest in toys, interacting with others, or exploring their surroundings.
  • Frustration: Becomes easily frustrated during play or when trying to communicate.
  • Parental Concern: Trust your instincts! If you have any concerns about your child’s development, no matter how small they may seem, it’s always best to have them addressed.

 

Remember: These are just a few signs, and every child develops at their own pace. If you notice any of these signs in your child or have any concerns, it’s best to contact us for a free developmental screening. We can help determine if your child would benefit from early intervention services.

 

Early intervention is most effective when started early! Don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Special Instruction

Special Instruction is a specialized service that focuses on supporting the overall development of infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. Our certified special instructors work collaboratively with families to create individualized goals and learning experiences tailored to each child’s unique strengths and needs.

Special Instruction is provided by highly qualified and certified special instructors who have specialized training in early childhood development and working with children with disabilities.

  • Individualized Learning: We create a customized learning plan based on your child’s specific needs, strengths, and interests.
  • Play-Based Approach: We make learning fun and engaging through play-based activities that keep young children motivated.
  • Family Involvement: We work closely with families to develop goals, share progress, and provide strategies to support your child’s learning at home.
  • Smooth Transitions: Special Instruction can help prepare your child for future transitions, such as entering preschool or other community programs.

While speech and occupational therapy focus on specific skill areas (communication and physical skills), Special Instruction takes a broader approach. It addresses a wider range of developmental areas, including:

  • Cognitive Skills: Thinking, problem-solving, learning, attention, memory.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Interacting with others, understanding and expressing emotions, engaging in play.
  • Adaptive Skills: Self-help skills like eating, dressing, toileting.
  • Motor Skills: Both fine motor (using small muscles) and gross motor (using large muscles) skills.
  • Pre-Academic Skills: Early literacy (letter recognition, sounds), pre-math concepts.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy for infants and toddlers focuses on helping young children develop the skills they need to participate in everyday activities, or “occupations.” These occupations can include:

  • Play: Engaging in age-appropriate toys and activities.
  • Self-Care: Eating, dressing, bathing, grooming.
  • Fine Motor Skills: Using small muscles for tasks like writing, drawing, buttoning, using utensils.
  • Gross Motor Skills: Using large muscles for movements like crawling, walking, running, climbing.
  • Sensory Processing: Regulating responses to sensory information (touch, movement, sights, sounds).

  • Fine Motor:
    • Difficulty using crayons, markers, or scissors.
    • Trouble with buttons, zippers, or snaps.
    • Avoids or dislikes activities that require fine motor control.
  • Gross Motor:
    • Delays in reaching gross motor milestones (crawling, walking, jumping).
    • Clumsiness or frequent falls.
    • Difficulty with stairs.
  • Sensory Processing:
    • Overly sensitive or under-responsive to touch, movement, sounds, or sights.
    • Difficulty calming down or becoming easily overwhelmed.
    • Unusual interest in sensory experiences (e.g., excessive spinning, mouthing objects).

Our registered Occupational Therapists (OTs) can help your child by:

  • Improving Fine Motor Skills: Strengthening hand muscles, improving grasp, developing pre-writing skills.
  • Enhancing Gross Motor Skills: Improving balance and coordination, increasing muscle strength, promoting independent movement.
  • Addressing Sensory Processing Challenges: Providing strategies to help children regulate their responses to sensory input, improving focus and self-regulation.
  • Increasing Independence in Self-Care: Teaching skills related to dressing, eating, grooming, and toileting.
  • Promoting Play and Social Skills: Using play-based activities to encourage interaction, turn-taking, and social development.

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy helps children develop the skills they need to communicate effectively. Our certified Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) work with infants and toddlers on a wide range of communication skills, including:

  • Receptive Language: Understanding language (words, phrases, directions).
  • Expressive Language: Using words and sentences to express thoughts, needs, and ideas.
  • Articulation/Phonology: Producing speech sounds clearly and accurately.
  • Social Communication/Pragmatics: Using language appropriately in social situations (e.g., taking turns, starting and ending conversations).
  • Pre-Literacy Skills: Early skills that prepare children for reading and writing (e.g., rhyming, identifying letters and sounds).
  • Feeding and Swallowing: Addressing difficulties with feeding, swallowing, and oral motor skills.

While children develop at their own pace, here are some signs that your child may benefit from a speech therapy evaluation:

  • Not babbling or cooing by 6 months.
  • Not responding to their name by 9 months.
  • Not using any words by 12 months.
  • Not using at least 50 words and some two-word phrases by 24 months.
  • Having difficulty understanding simple instructions.
  • Having frequent tantrums or frustrations due to difficulty communicating.
  • Having difficulty with feeding, chewing, or swallowing.
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