Our Therapy
At CH.I.L.D. we firmly respect theories of child development. Developmental icons including the works of Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and David Elkind have been instrumental in the field of Psychology and Education and in their contributions to play. At CH.I.L.D. we take these highly respected theories and infuse them in our work.
The contribution that play makes in child development in fundamental to their growth and learning. It has been preached in the literature that play is a child’s work. It is essentially how they learn, grow, practice and acquire fundamental skills. It fuels their mind, it teaches them social skills and permits the child to create his/her sense of self as human beings and fulfil their potential.
The first 8 years of a child’s life is a critical stage of development where outside experiences help form and support neural connections.
Play allows a child to practice self regulation, to separate thoughts from actions and gestures with the use of symbolic props and to gratify their desires through imagination.
A Chinese proverb best surmises the power of play and its effect on children’s growth: “Tell me and I’ll forget; Show me and I may remember; Involve me and I will understand”
With children with special needs, play requires a careful balance of child led and adult led activities depending on the child’s functional ability. A good formula for play should be 90%child and 10% toys. The best toy is the adult interacting with the child not so much directing the child. The adults role is to act as an extension of play to help guide the child unobtrusively. This permits the child to explore and make sense of the world. It is essential that as adults working with children with special needs, they need to remember that ideas in play can and should originate from the child.
Behavioral theorists such as Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson and Skinner have made tremendous contributions to how children learn. Behaviorists generally focus on observable behavior that is well documented and measured. Contemporary theorists such as Ivar Lovaas has popularized behaviorism and packaged the theory eloquently for its application with children with special needs. Applied Behavioral Analysis has been well documented in the literature with individuals with special needs as a teaching approach.
CH.I.L.D. has delicately balanced these theories and created a unique teaching model that is highly functional. What we do is founded on a solid history of well renound researchers and clinicians in the field of child development, behavioral research, social learning theory, play and language research and the expertise of parents. Our therapy is certainly not defined by any ONE popular method of teaching. It is simply the convergence of what exists in the research and what works best for your child.
Our commitment to you requires working with your child’s professionals in a multidisciplinary team that will offer a comprehensive treatment plan for your child. We recognize and respect that as dedicated professionals working with your child requires us to converge our treatment objectives and work collaboratively.
That is why we know that in order to help your child reach the next level, we need to work alongside your child’s Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Early Interventionist, Educator, Psychiatrist, Social Worker and Psychologist and most importantly you.
Therapy commences with a full developmental assessment to evaluate and assess your child level of functioning. Once your child’s skill levels are determined, we communicate with all team support personal and most importantly the parents to devise an individualized treatment program.
Goals are broken into short and long term objectives and measured to assess progress and growth. Comprehensive daily data collection and analysis provides us with a clear indication of how your child is doing in our program and permits us to make necessary program modifications and amendments.
Working on all aspects of development, we teach your child to communicate, address their sensory needs, relate to others, become independent, function in educational settings and in the community, support their motor skills and to manage their behaviors.
We help children learn to become as independent and cooperative participants in their family, school and community that they can. Our goal is to help support your child so that they reach a greater potential in life and enjoys every minute of it!
Every parent wants the best for their child. Every child needs to feel supported, understood and respected.
At CH.I.L.D. we speak the same language, understand their learning and recognize their uncertainty.
As a team of dedicated professionals, we are certain we can make a significant impact in your child’s future.
We do not promise in any way that we will cure your child nor that we are the panacea for your child’s condition. But we do promise that we try very hard in offering your child the experiences and opportunity to enjoy learning and to enjoy what they experience.
For more detailed information look under MDIM.
