Child Development

Clements Centre for Families child development provides services for families and their children from birth to the age of five years old. In order to meet the needs of the people we serve these services can be provided in various settings, from your home to preschools, playgrounds, clinics and in the therapy rooms located in the Clements Centre for Families. Our goal is to provide the best possible care to you and your family wherever you are.

Services we Provide

Early Intervention therapies include Physiotherapists (PT), Occupational Therapists (OT), and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP). Early Intervention therapists help families with questions about their child’s development.

Physiotherapy

Gross motor skills enable children to explore and learn from their environment. Physiotherapists at Clements observe how children move and play, and assess any difficulties your child may be having. In consultation with the family, the PT sets goals for functional movement and develops strategies to achieve them. Physiotherapists often use fun games and activities to help promote learning and development. Recommendations will be made for a home program of activities, exercise, or positioning to help your child’s development.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapists (OTs) on our team look at functional areas of children’s development where they need additional support. These areas include:

• Self-care (e.g. bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, sleeping),
• Productivity (e.g. participating in group settings, coloring, cutting, and playing with blocks)
• Leisure (e.g. play, social interactions)

OT’s work on a consultative model of practice aimed at providing family-centered care. This means that your child will be seen for an initial consult to determine the level of OT support as well as a follow-up consultation every 1-3 months or as needed. OTs work with families/caregivers to establish family-prioritized goals for treatment and develop ways through play or games to help the child improve their skills.

Speech and Language Pathology Services

All areas of children’s communication.

Communication includes speech sound development (pronunciation), expressive language (talking), receptive language (understanding), social communication (interaction with others), play, fluency (stuttering), voice quality, hearing, feeding, and swallowing (jointly provided with OT).
SLPs at Sundrops provide:

• Initial consultation (up to 3 visits)
• Wait-list consultations (phone or in-person)
• Assessments (typically done before starting therapy)
• Preschool and daycare visits
• 1:1 and group therapy (provided in 6-week blocks)
• Parent Coaching
• In-services, workshops, presentations

Supported Child Development

The Supported Child Development (SCD) program
provides a range of consulting and support services to children, families, and child care centers so that children with extra support needs can participate in inclusive childcare settings of their choice.

The SCD Program can provide funding to daycares, preschools, and after-school care programs so they can hire staff to provide 1:1 support for a particular child. The child first needs to be referred to the Sundrops SCD program, then an SCD consultant will determine the need for 1:1 support through observations and assessments. Whether or not and how much funding a child will get is dependent on their needs and the funding we have available. Sometimes the child will have to be put on a waitlist.

Infant Development Program

The Infant Development Program (IDP) at Clements Centre serves children from birth to three years of age. The IDP Consultants can be a support to families in a variety of ways, depending on the support needed. 

They can:

• Help you learn ways to encourage and monitor your child’s development 
• Discuss Parenting Challenges and Successes 
• Work collaboratively with your family, other Clements team members, and other professionals involved with your child
• Help you access community resources and activities
• Make referrals to other programs at the Clements Centre for Families
• Offer playgroups and encourage peer-to-peer support among parents 
• Offer annual Circle of Security Parenting series

Click here to fill out the current Child Development referral form