Early Intervention

The earlier children are assessed and receive intervention, the farther they will go in life!

Early intervention is between 2 and 6 years of age, and can be remedial or preventive; as it helps to either bridge existing developmental gaps, or prevent further delays. A consultation, where our Director of Therapy Services will take a detailed developmental history, will help us identify which areas of development require assessment or direct intervention.

If the child doesn’t talk by the age 2 or not talking enough
If the child doesn’t make eye contact or doesn’t respond when his/her name is called, parents must consider a consultation with a specialist.
If the child has any difficulty playing with peers in a group
If the child doesn’t follow instruction in the play group.

Occupational Therapy

The Occupational therapist’s main goal is to enable the child to participate in all activities of his daily life. OT focuses on engaging the children in purposeful, graded and if necessary, modified activities to improve their cognitive, motor, sensory, and emotional skills. This will increase their self-confidence and sense of achievement. The OT practitioner aids the individual in achieving and maintaining normal daily tasks such as getting dressed, engaging in social interactions, completing school activities, and working or playing. Furthermore, they evaluate an individual’s ability to determine whether he or she has accomplished developmentally appropriate skills needed in such areas as grooming and play or leisure skills and provide interventions to help a child appropriately respond to information coming through the senses. Intervention may include developmental activities, sensory integration or sensory processing, and play activities. OT’s collaborate and work as part of comprehensive, clinical team of providers in conducting developmental and educational assessments and serve as part of a child’s/student’s treatment team

The primary goal of OT is to enable people to participate in the activities of daily life. This is achieved by enhancing the person’s ability or by modifying the environment to support their participation. The focus of OT with children is to utilize their strengths to address their weaknesses by engaging them in purposeful, graded and if necessary, modified activities to improve their cognitive, motor, sensory, and emotional skills. This will increase their self-confidence and sense of achievement.

Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory Processing-Originally called sensory integration. The way the nervous system receives messaged from the sense and turns them into appropriate motor and behavior responses. Sensory integration is a neurobiological process that modulates the intensity of information and discriminates the detailed sensory information by supporting motor control, planning and organization.

Sensory Processing disorder: A condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

Signs of Sensory Processing Disorder:

May cover ears when there are loud sounds such as Vacuums cleaner, hair dryer, may even scream or cry.

May have issues with food textures, gagging is common when trying new things.

Can’t be touched or can’t be touched enough.

May show little or no relation to stimulation, even pain, extreme hot and cold or overreaction to pain, hot and cold.

May dislike hair being brushed or cut

May be sensitive to light

May cry or get upset over clothing tags or textures.

May be an excessive risk taker, crashing into things.

May have poor co-ordinations.

Sensory Integration Therapy helps to increase child’s threshold for tolerating sensory rich environment, make transitions, less disturbing and reinforce positive behavior. Through SI Therapy, Children improve their ability to accurately detect, regulate, interpret and execute appropriate motor and behavioral responses to sensation, so they are able to perform everyday “occupational” in a functional manner.

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)

Hope provides Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) consultation and training services for parents of children with ASD, ADHD, learning difficulties and other development delays, students educators and schools. With our focus on quality, this program services is trained and supervised by BcAba and Registered Behaviour Technicians (RBTs). We work towards personalized, holistic development through individual ABA sessions, social skills group sessions & art sessions. Hope conducts regular ABA training sessions and workshops for parents and care takers working with children, Psychologists and budding Psychologists, learning support assistants, shadow teachers and schools. Our mission is to assist in integration into mainstream society and help our families achieve a higher quality of life.
WHAT IS ABA?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is an evidence-based science universally recognized as one of the most effective methods to bring about positive changes in behaviour, communication, academic & social skills. At Hope, our unique, multi-faceted approach using the principles of ABA (particularly, Verbal Behaviour) and delivered by our qualified interventionists, help our children achieve their full potential.
ABA is advancing effective methodology and behavior analytic treatment to improve outcomes of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Psychological Services

At the Hope Centre, our psychologists are trained in Educational, Clinical and Behavioral Psychology. As an integral part of our multi-disciplinary team, the Psychologist will assess the academic and emotional needs of a child. Our areas of assessment and intervention include, but are not limited to:

Standardized Academic Assessments
Standardized Intellectual Assessments
Diagnosis of Specific Learning Difficulties
Diagnosis of Autism, Adhd
Counseling for children and their families
Behavior therapy
Play Therapy

Speech and Language Therapy

Articulation (pronouncing sounds correctly)
Fluency (flow of speech, which includes stuttering)
Voice (pitch, volume, or quality of voice)
Receptive language (understanding what is being said)
Expressive language (difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or using socially appropriate language)
Auditory Processing ( processing the information that is being said accurately, for example following directions)
Written communication (being able to write down your thoughts)
Dysphagia/oral feeding – drooling, eating and swallowing
Pre-language
Semantics
Syntax
Pragmatics

In speech and language therapy, the therapist works with the child one-on-one, in a small group, or directly in the classroom. It is also vital that parents be involved, to ensure the success of their child’s progress. Children who benefit the most, and the fastest, are those whose parents have been involved. Activities that a speech therapist provides the parents ensure continued progress and carry-over of their newly-learned skills.

Audiology & Hearing Aid

Audiology is a clinical profession that specializes in hearing and related communicative disorders. It focuses on the evaluation and rehabilitation of impairment that result from various hearing disorders. We are committed to provide personalized hearing health care with integrity and innovative hearing solutions. Our licensed audiologists provide comprehensive audiological assessment to determine the underlying cause, type and severity of one’s hearing loss. This includes a battery of tests and procedures with several different components, each providing specific information. The audiologist will then provide appropriate counseling and recommendations as to what options (e.g. provision of amplification devices, appropriate referrals) may be appropriate.

Services:
Pure Tone Audiometry
Speech Audiometry
Behavioral and Conditioned Play Audiometry
Tympanometry (Middle ear analysis)
Acoustic Reflex
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
Newborn Hearing screening using AABR
Custom Earmoulds and ear plugs
In addition to providing hearing evaluations, we also provide digital hearing aid prescription, fitting and programming.

Hearing aid are available at discounted rates and EMI facilities are also available.

Special Education Sessions

Special education sessions are provided on an individual basis for children with Learning difficulties and Special Needs, from ages 4 to 18. Our Special Education teachers cover a range of areas including:
Phonics and pre-literacy skills
Reading comprehension
Word recognition and spelling
Handwriting, including formation, pencil control and legibility
Writing skills, including grammar, sentence structure, and creative writing

Mathematical skills:
Numbers and counting
Shapes and symbols
Arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
Place value
Understanding Time
Measurement
Money
Word problems
Fractions

Pre-vocational and Vocational Training for Students with Disabilities

The transition from childhood to teenager or adolescent to adulthood is difficult for all children, especially for children with disabilities. Hope offers a pre- and vocational training programme for students from 13 to 21years aimed at developing life skills so that the students can be integrated in the community through employment and become productive members of the community.
At first the student will be assessed to determine his/her eligibility for the programme, as well as to establish the baseline to develop an Individual Transition Plan (ITP) and the group placement. The students will be instructed in groups of 3-5 by a special education teacher and teacher’s assistant. The students will receive Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Behaviour Modification according to their needs and to ensure that the goals of the ITP can be achieved. Classroom and therapy staff use well-established strategies, such as community-based instruction, behaviour modification plans, task analysis and incidental learning, in addition to individual and small-group direct instruction. Progress will be documented and discussed with the student’s parents and the ITP will be reviewed annually.
The programme includes seven broad areas:

1. Job readiness skills
2. Arts and crafts
3. Clerical work
4. Retail
5. Food service
6. Grocery and
7. Daily living skills.

There are to be further activities within these categories that will be determined based on the response and interest expressed by the students. The classrooms will contain workstations with the tools and materials to perform the tasks according to the student’s ITP. The student will have access e.g. to the school appliances, e.g. copy machine to complete clerical tasks or the use of the kitchen for household tasks, taking all safety precautions into account. Where applicable, after the students are familiar, e.g. with money management, transfer and implementation of the skills will be practiced on planned trips, e.g. to the supermarket to purchase objects or food items required to complete a kitchen task.

1. Job readiness:

The Job Readiness Module presents the first step in a multi-layered process for introducing and educating young adults in the area of vocation. Module 1 will expose students to and teach them a range of vocation-related vocabulary, such as “time card,” “professional,” “co-worker,” “supervisor,” “uniform,” and “job application.” Based on the recommended frequency of two, lessons per week, the Job Readiness Module is designed to take 5-10 weeks to complete. Students participate in the following prevocational lessons:

Ready to work
All about me –How to introduce myself, etc.
What is a uniform?
Communicating with co-Workers at work
Greetings
Applying for a job
Creating a portfolio
How to act in a work environment
Using a timecard
Job quality

2. Arts and Crafts:

Creating products using different art techniques: cards, gift wrapping, paper bags, material painting, glass and ceramics painting, stencilling, etc.
Needle work, crocheting, knitting, etc.
Plaster objects, sculpting with paper maché, plastiline, clay, etc.
Oil, aquarelle painting, drawings, colouring, etc.
Bead work, etc. according to the students’ interest and abilities.

3. Clerical work:

The Clerical Module is the first of four modules that contain hands-on, activity based plans. It exposes students to and teaches them a range of concepts, vocabulary, and jobs, related to clerical tasks in the workplace. Students participate in the following clerical activities:

Folding paper in thirds
Stuffing and sealing envelopes
Labelling envelopes
Filing by numbers
Organizing envelopes
Stapling papers
Folding papers in half
Sealing papers for mailing
Filing by words or letters

4. Retail:

The Retail Module exposes students to and teachers them a range of concepts, vocabulary, and jobs related to retail tasks in the workplace. Students participate in the following retail activities:

Buttoning Shirts
Pairing and Boxing Shoes
Folding Towels
Hanging Shirts
Sorting Shirts by Size
Matching and Folding Socks
Folding Shirts
Sorting and Sizing Shoes
Sizing Shirts

5. Food Service:

The Food Service Module exposes students to and teaches them a range of concepts, vocabulary, and jobs related to the food service tasks in the workplace. Students participate in the following food service activities:

Folding and Bagging Rectangle Napkins
Sorting and Bagging Utensils
Sorting Place-Setting Materials
Setting a Table
Sorting Coins
Counting and Bagging Coins
Folding and Bagging Diamond Napkins

6. Grocery:

The Grocery Module exposes students to and teaches them a range of concepts, vocabulary, and jobs related to the grocery tasks in the workplace. Students participate in the following grocery activities:

Sorting hard and soft items
Sorting cold and warm grocery items
Sorting food and cleaning grocery items
Stocking grocery store items
Bagging grocery item

7. Daily living skills:

Includes

self-care training,
basic home repair (e.g. light bulb defect)
basic safety and health training,
home economics, indep
endent living training, and
money management.