Early Intervention Program
for Infants and Toddlers
Our early intervention program provides the most effective treatments for complex conditions affecting infants and toddlers. We offer developmental assessments and integrative treatments for young children with attachment issues and regulatory concerns. In our innovative program, licensed clinicians guide and stimulate a child's cognitive, relational, and motor development. Our approach takes into consideration the needs of both the child and the family and gives parents the tools they need to become therapeutic agents for their children. We encourage multiple sessions each week to improve the treatment's effectiveness and ultimate success.
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Assessment
Our assessment phase lasts one month, but may be extended if we need more time to diagnose a child's condition and formulate a treatment plan. The steps in our assessment process includes:
History: At the initial meeting, a psychologist will assess the concerns that prompted the family's decision to seek treatment. We pay special attention to the medical, psychological, and behavioral aspects of the pregnancy and birth and the child's development to date.
Psychological testing: The Bayley Infant Scales of Development allow the practitioner to gauge and understand a child's motor and cognitive abilities. This is a critical part of diagnosis and treatment planning. When an autism spectrum disorder is suspected, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) will also be administered.
Infant-parent observation: This session will consist of a structured and unstructured portion:
- Structured observation: The psychologist directs a set of planned activities to assess the relationship and attachment between parent and infant.
- Unstructured observation: Following the structured observation, infant and parent will play as they wish, on their own terms. The psychologist will observe in order to further assess the infant-parent relationship.
Feedback/interpretation session: Parents meet with the psychologist to discuss our findings, diagnosis, and therapeutic options; the aim is to agree upon a treatment plan. Parents are encouraged to ask questions about their child's situation and may receive support from the psychologist.
Treatment
The following are some of general treatment offered in our early intervention program. Most children receive several therapeutic modalities during the course of a week of treatment.
Relational therapy: Parents meet once or twice a week with a therapist who teaches them how to enhance the relationship with their child. The therapist is present in the room with child and parent during playtime and provides developmental guidance that fosters increased relational activity, such as touching. The goal is to increase and deepen infant-parent interaction and connectedness.
Nutrition for nursing moms and young children: Good nutrition is a crucial element in the healthy physical and mental development of the infant and young child. We focus on what to eat and when to eat it; managing the transition from nursing to solid food; how to create a healthy atmosphere around meal- and snack times; the importance of family meals, and much more.
Parent support group: Bimonthly parent groups are offered with emphasis on educating parents about the developmental and relational needs of their infants and toddlers. Parents discuss their experiences and share coping strategies. Educational topics include nutrition, dietary supplements, massage and parenting strategies for difficult behaviors.
Therapeutic yoga and movement: The program offers a "Baby and Me" yoga group that lets parents connect in a playful and nurturing way with their small children. We also offer individual therapeutic yoga sessions to stimulate developmental growth and integration of the cerebral hemispheres. Parents learn simple movements that help stimulate brain development.
Therapeutic listening: In conjunction with therapeutic yoga and movement, therapeutic listening provides corrective training for children without physical hearing problems who nevertheless experience auditory-processing difficulties. Therapeutic listening can help with auditory desensitization and with improving differentiation of foreground and background sound; it may also help improve posture and relational functioning and have other beneficial behavioral effects.
Parent meetings: Parent involvement is crucial to a treatment plan's success. In addition to keeping parents updated on their child's progress, we teach techniques that extend our work at the clinic to the home environment. In parent meetings we continuously fine-tune our treatment plan to the evolving needs of each child and family.
Speech therapy: Our clinic offers services for toddlers who show marked delays in speech and language development.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA): Our clinic provides in-home services for families whose children exhibit severe behavior problems.
When is an early intervention assessment appropriate?
- When a parent expresses concern regarding their child's development.
- When parents or health care providers raise questions about a child's developmental delays.
- When mothers and fathers experience chronic difficulty in parenting a child and are unsure how to improve the relationship.
- When parents recognize developmental delays but are unsure of where to send the child for treatment.
- When mother and child have a history of traumatic pregnancy or birth.
- When a child experiences difficulty with regulation of functions, including sleeping and eating and quiet alert.
For more information or to make an initial appointment, please contact Dr. Ursula Stehle at (916) 962-0222, ext 1#, or email her at drstehle@therapeuticum.org
Last modified on 01.13.10
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