Our Program Options
Home-Based
The home-based program offers services of a special education teacher and support staff in the home. Home visits are a major part of the Infant Program. Every child learns the most from his/her parents. You know your child better than anyone and are the closest to him/her. We are here to assist you with many aspects of raising a child with special needs. Together, parents and teacher discuss the family needs and spend subsequent visits working on meeting those needs.
Home visits may have many purposes:
Before services begin there may be a home visit from a Regional Center Service Coordinator and a teacher from San Diego Unified School District. The purpose may be assessment for eligibility or it may be to develop an IFSP.
You may receive a regularly scheduled visit from your Infant teacher. She may bring other members of the Infant Program team if you wish.
When the Infant Program teacher visits you, you will have an opportunity to talk about the use of the home visit time, develop goals and brainstorm possibilities to try in the days to come. Home visits may also be held in other natural settings, such as childcare, preschool or in the park.
When your child is close to turning three years old, some of your home visits will be time used to talk about what will happen after the Infant Program.
School-Based
The school-based program may be available to children at age 2. Children typically attend class two mornings a week. A special education teacher and other support staff work on the goals set forth in your child's IFSP in an enriched social setting. We focus on socialization with same age peers which can include children without special needs.
Our program is designed to promote independence and to build social skills among peers. Each class has an established daily routine that incorporates important developmental skills throughout the day. Activities are in the areas of gross and fine motor, cognition, communication, oral motor, self-help, social and sensory integration. Each classroom is unique and focuses on each child's individual goals in the classroom routine. A typical day may look like this:
9:00-9:30~ Toddlers arrive, potty training, free play (self-help and social skills)
9:30- 10:00~ Snack Time (oral motor games, independent feeding and drinking)
10:00-10:30~ Motor Lab (gross motor games: jumping, climbing, ball skills, balance games)
10:30- 11:00~ Circle Time (songs, imitation, gestures, sign language, turn-taking games)
11:00- 11:30~ Outside Play (push toys, bikes, wagons, play structure, water play, balls)
11:30- 12:00~ Centers (fine motor, art, sensory, dramatic play, cognitive games)
12:00- 12:30~ Lunch Time (independent feeding, communication skills, self-help skills)
12:30- 12:40~ Potty Training, diapers and clean-up time