Infant and Toddler
Children are exposed to an environment that promotes intellectual growth through exploration and play. Activities and routines provide endless opportunities for developing children’s imagination, critical thinking processes, and sense of belonging. Our environment supports the immersion of children in age-typical settings at the earliest suspicion of developmental, social, or language delays or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Each day holds exciting new experiences that support all areas of development in children from birth to three years old. Small classes of approximately twelve children allow for individual nurturing, which is so important for this age. One licensed teacher and one to two qualified child care workers facilitate children’s interaction with the environment and each other.
Our youngest learners with ASD are immersed in our age-typical daycare classrooms and receive intense intervention that is systematically embedded within the normal routine and activities. Teachers provide the needed support to ensure children’s success as they grow and learn beside their typically developing peers. Empirically-based strategies are used to target the core deficits of ASD and enhance the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of skills in a variety of settings, including the child’s home. The family-based intervention and facilitated play therapy provided is individualized to meet the child’s needs and the family’s goals. Speech and occupational therapists work collaboratively with the classroom teacher and provide weekly consult in the classroom. Supplemental home programming is recommended and is provided in collaboration with CCDE Therapies.
We are a licensed daycare center and comply with all state daycare regulations. For each child with a confirmed or suspected delay, there is at least one typically developing toddler in the group.
A sample daily schedule:
Play
-Many learning opportunities are embedded throughout playtime, such as pretend play (feed a baby, dress up, etc.), fine motor activities (puzzles, iPad, coins in a piggy bank, etc.), problem solving, social interaction (turn taking, initiating play, asking for help, etc.), language development (push/pull, up/down, requesting toys/songs, etc.) and time management (following a play schedule, transitional cues to clean up).
-Learning activities in literacy, math, science, and social studies are also embedded throughout playtime.
Literacy time
-Story time and book time promote awareness of books and print. Different books are introduced weekly to follow along with the class themes.
-Literacy-based activities are woven throughout the class routine, including art, sensory activities and play centers.
Motor and Movement
-Motor and movement are addressed in informal settings such as during music (dancing, clapping, stomping), play time (push/pull, cars and trains, building/crashing towers), and outside time (slides, teeter totters, etc.).
Music
-Music is used for preparing children for transitions, exploring learning concepts, promoting movement and imitation, and encouraging language development.
Art
-Art is a medium that encourages exploration, creativity, imagination, and sensory experiences. Learning concepts such as following directions, using utensils properly, and many more are creatively embedded in art activities.
Schedule
-Intervention programs for our young learners operate two to three hours per day, two to five days per week.
-Family-based Intervention and parent support/instruction are offered on an ongoing basis and are based on the family’s schedule.