Hand In Hand Family & Child Development Center: Center-Based Services

		Center-Based Services Speech/Language Services Speech and Language therapy addresses communication skills. This includes comprehension and expression of language, non-verbal communication, sound production and articulation, as well as oral-motor function for speech. Occupational Therapy Occupational Therapy services address general physical functioning of the upper extremities, the ability to perform tasks of daily living, fine motor development, and sensory processing abilities. Physical Therapy Physical Therapy covers all areas of physical functioning including balance, posture, range of motion, muscle strength, muscle tone, transitional skills, gross motor skills, functional mobility, endurance, gait analysis and safety awareness. Feeding Therapy Feeding therapy involves posture and positioning for feeding, status of oral structures, reflexes related to feeding, oral-motor muscle strength and tone, and underlying oral motor skills necessary for successful management of food and drink. Evaluation and intervention procedures include clinical observations with and without food, and are conducted by a Feeding Specialist who may be a licensed Occupational Therapist with a feeding credential or a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. Counseling Individual, couples and family counseling services are available to address the emotional response to childrearing. Services are intended to assist parents of children with special needs in: Increase self-awareness to understand what drives their own behaviors, thus impacting their parenting abilities. Working through emotional responses of having a child with special needs Self worth and questions of why my child? Improved organization of time and energy to be productive Early Intervention Groups Small groups of 2-6 toddlers are matched based on goals, developmental levels, abilities and opportunities for peer modeling. Curriculum facilitates increased comfort with transitions, sharing space with others and peer interaction, as well as opportunity to help each child develop or generalize motor, speech, sensory, social-emotional and cognitive skills within a group setting. A small ratio of one highly trained clinician from the field of Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and/or Education for every 2-3 children assures that each child receives the prompting, modeling and coaching they need for success. Through the small group experience children learn behavioral expectations for the classroom setting, increase confidence and develop a sense of pride by actively taking a role in engaging activities and routines. Preschool Transition Groups Your child will enjoy fun and interactive activities led by our experienced and caring staff of Early Childhood Specialists, teachers and therapists to promote sensory, motor, problem solving and communication skills with peers. Class Information Registration Form Social Skills Training Groups Hand in Hand Family & Child Development Center offers a unique approach to building social skills in children who have difficulty making and keeping friends due to sensory, attention and/or language issues. Areas addressed through fun, interactive activities include: Reading non-verbal cues Developing peer relationships Becoming more flexible & expanding interests Increasing behavioral understanding of self and others Participants, ages 3 through age 12 are screened and matched with peers into groups of 4 children based on age, developmental skills and needs. Individualized goals are developed through the screening process and quarterly progress reports are provided. Our curriculum runs through the school year, for three cycles of 12 1-hour sessions with each cycle building on skills achieved in the previous cycle. A core ingredient to our Social Skills Programming is the parent! While children work on their goals parents meet with our Director of Parenting and Group Services to acquire the tools they need to establish and maintain positive behaviors at home and in the community through our innovative Power of Parenting Skills, POPS, curriculum. In Home Services In Home services offered by Hand in Hand help parents learn how to understand their children's cues so that they are better equipped to adjust the environment, expectations and/or own behavior. This is done to maximize the child's growth, independence and compliance at home. In home services addresses parent-child interaction within the context of each child's sensory, motor, attending, social-emotional, communication and cognitive abilities in their own natural environment. With recognition that the core to a solid social-emotional foundation begins with a strong bond and positive experiences with parents, this program seeks to "bring home" the skills that each of our clients develop within center-based activities and foster learning throughout each child's day (and night!). Floor Time Floor Time services focus on the parent and child interaction through play and unstructured activities. This program addresses foundation skills needed for optimizing social emotional development. This program is based on research by Stanley Greenspan and is targeted at helping children achieve: Increased initiation of play and social behaviors. Increased flexibility and variety of play behaviors. Decreased frustration at home and during periods of transition. Increased interaction for others for longer periods of time. Increased interest in toys and play for longer periods of time. Increased awareness and purposeful exploration of environment. Parent Training In home Parent Education services are also available. This program focuses on the parenting strategies for establishing routines, achieving greater compliance and addressing behavioral concerns at home and in the community. This program is custom tailored to meet the needs of each unique family and with the goals of helping parents: Better understand their own parenting style, as well as their child's learning style. Better understand what drives their child's behavior and how to address behavioral issues. Recognize their choices of parenting tools and how different parenting techniques influence their child's development. Increased confidence as parents. Better understanding of the role of sensory processing and how it relates to behavior and social-emotional development.