HomeInfant Development Program
(Ages 0 - 3)
Our Infant Development Program is part of the Early
Intervention Team. This team consists of Infant Development
Consultants, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech-language
Pathologists, Physicians, Public Health Nurses, and Supported Child
Development Consultants.
Infant Development Program serves infants who are at risk for any type of
developmental delay. In addition a number of supports are in place for
families of infants who have a developmental delay.
Children are not required to have a diagnosis for families to access our
services. Referrals to the program may be made by parents,
health professionals, or other community members.
Interventions for children with behaviour concerns, developmental delays
or disabilities may be most effective if begun early in the child's life.
Infancy is an important period of life and delays in development during
this period may have long-lasting effects on the development of the child
as well as on the patterns of interaction between the child, family and
community.
The Infant Development Program is a home-based service. Consultants
assess children's development through play, and offer suggestions and
activities to families to assist with their child's development
The Infant Development Consultant and Speech Therapist shown here are
members of the Early Intervention team. This team works closely
together to encourage each child to reach their full potential
The Infant Development Program works with families to optimize a child's
development to:
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become more independent
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discover his or her abilities
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learn new skills
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The Infant Development Program can help you to:
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learn ways to help your child's progress
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learn more about your child's development
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meet other parents
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learn more about supports and services available to you in the community
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Referrals made by parents, physicians, public health nurses and other
community professionals assess developmental concerns in young children.
Infants can fall within one or more of the following risk factor
categories:
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Established risk - Infants who have diagnosed medical disorders.
An established range of developmental disabilities may be associated with
these disorders, which include genetic and chromosomal syndromes;
neurological disorders; congenital malformations of the nervous system;
sequellae of infections of the nervous system; metabolic disorders and
others.
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Biological risk - Infants who have a history of prenatal,
perinatal, neonatal, and/or early developmental events that may have
affected the central nervous system and may result in developmental
difficulties for the child. Biological complications may include:
birth asphyxia or trauma; prematurity; physically disabling conditions;
increased genetic risk for disability; apparent global developmental
delays.
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Psychosocial risk - Infants who have a statistically increased
probability of delayed development because of individual susceptibilities
that are aggravated by environments in which there may be inadequate
response to the infant's physical, developmental and/or social-emotional
needs. Parental inexperience/developmental delays or mental health
problems, attachment difficulties, non-organic failure to thrive and child
neglect or abuse are included in this category.
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Services provided are tailored to child and family need and may include:
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Home visits
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Informal and child assessment and family needs assessment, using a variety
of tools
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Support to enhance parenting skills and increased understanding of child
development
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Sharing information on typical and atypical child growth and development
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Intervention to promote positive parent-infant interactions and support
for the relationship
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Planning interventions to promote secure infant attachment
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Early intervention in all developmental domains (gross motor, fine motor,
social and emotional, language and cognitive)
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Assistance to families in connecting with other families for parent to
parent support
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Assistance to families in accessing more specialized services and
information about additional community resources and supports
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Assistance to parents in obtaining information about their child's
condition or diagnosis
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Support to the family when a diagnosis of developmental delay or medical
condition exists
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Acting as service coordinator or supporting a family member or other
professional in this role
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Advocacy for and with families in their relationships with health, social
and community services
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Provision of parent-child group programs (Parents & Tots) or support to
families in accessing community programs
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Community-wide planning with other service providers to prevent
duplication or fragmentation of service and to identify gaps in service
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Public education to promote the benefits of early identification,
intervention for child and families at risk
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Infant massage
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Within a family-centered philosophy, the infant development consultant
supports families in the identification of their needs, resources and
service requirements. The family's involvement and participation is
a recognized key factor in the achievement of successful outcomes.
Collaboration across individual professionals and agencies is also key to
ensure that family life is strengthened rather than stressed by
intervention.
Parent & Tot Program
This group meets on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:00 at the Health Unit,
and provides learning and social
opportunities for families and their children. During the group we
try to ensure that our activities meet the individual needs of each child.
We have an age range of children from newborns to 5 years.
We ensure
that the babies have a safe place to explore on their tummies, space for
toddlers to explore both gross and fine motor activities, and the
preschoolers to experience art activities, water play, science and more
Infant Massage Classes
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Relaxes the child and helps to decrease
stress for you and your baby
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Relieves discomfort from constipation, gas, and
colic
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Helps normalize muscle tone and improve blood
circulation
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Helps baby sleep better
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Stimulates brain development and improves
sensory awareness
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Babies cry less, as the parent is more
responsive to babies' cues
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Promotes bonding and attachment
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We also have a Toy Library and a Resource
Library available.
For more information about the Infant
Development Program, call
More information on the Infant Development
programs of British Columbia can be found at
Infant Development Program of BC.
Home
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