Language Development
Language is the foundation for learning. In everything we do, we must listen, process, organize our thoughts, and express our wants, needs and emotions. At Stepping Stones, we work to integrate all aspects of language into any and all activities. Whether the child is following an obstacle course, creating an arts and crafts project, cooking in the kitchen or learning how to do karate, our language specialists work with the children to help them learn to listen and follow verbal directions, process information, learn and understand new vocabulary and communicate their thoughts and opinions. Our Speech-Language Pathologists are trained to incorporate a variety of visual supports and other tools to augment communication and facilitate language and learning.
Gross Motor
Gross motor activities are important to help a child develop coordination, balance, flexibility, motor planning, skill development, and spatial relationships. Motor activity also facilitates language and learning. At SSTC, gross motor activities will be incorporated into most sessions. The children will have opportunities to move during music, sign language, yoga, drama, gymnastics, sports, obstacle courses, climbing on the climbing structure, and jumping on the large air trampoline.
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills involve the ability to efficiently use the small muscles of the hand and forearm to grasp and manipulate small items. Fine motor skills are important for activities such as managing and manipulating fasteners and utensils during dressing and eating, holding pencils and using tools in the classroom, opening containers, and manipulating toy pieces. Fine motor activities will be incorporated throughout the sessions at SSTC such as making props in the dramatic group, rolling out dough during cooking, keeping score during a basket ball game, or identifying objects in the sand with tweezers during a language group.
Sensory Exploration
Being exposed to a variety of sensory input is important to help children organize their nervous systems, to develop skills, and to adapt to the world around them.
“Just as a child needs certain relationships with parents and peers to develop normally in the interpersonal domain, he needs certain sensory experiences to develop intrapersonally. Sensory integration provides a child with a better foundation for learning as well as for emotional development.” ~ Ayres.
Children with Sensory and Learning Disorders who attend Stepping Stones Therapy Center will have frequent opportunities to experience a wide variety of sensory experiences throughout every session. They will touch, smell, see and taste during cooking, will participate in a variety of multi-sensory experiences in arts and crafts, will jump, crash, and crawl through obstacle courses, and will listen and move to a variety of sounds during music.
Social Skills Groups
Social and emotional skills are important to healthy child development. Poor social skills often preclude children from establish meaningful relationships. Children with weak social skills are at risk for developing problems in school and later in the workplace. We will deliver a violence prevention researched-based curriculum called Second Step. Children will be exposed to three units of study: Empathy Training, Impulse Control and Problem Solving, and Anger Management. Impulsive children are taught to respond to social situations thoughtfully rather than impulsively. To do this, they learn problem-solving steps that promote a neutral rather than hostile orientation toward peers. Art will be incorporated into the social skills groups to further express the connection between emotions and the senses. It is a physiological processing that encourages the emotional pathways to physically express themselves and show a more positive approach to releasing emotions. At Stepping Stones Therapy Center, Social Skills and emotional development will be emphasized throughout each session. Turn taking, sportsmanship, social pragmatics, body language, facial expressions and communication skills will be reinforced at every opportunity.
Vocational Training
At Stepping Stones Therapy Center we believe that developing work-related skills is critical to a child's self-confidence, self-reliance, and independence. Children will learn pre-vocational foundation skills such as following verbal or written directions, discriminating between objects, sequencing activities, using small tools such as a three-hole punch and hammer, socially acceptable behaviors, problem-solving, counting, improving time on task behaviors for productivity, and work preparation skills (set up and clean up). They will also have opportunities to explore and be trained in a variety of occupations such as simple food preparation, waiting on customers, grocery clerk, maintenance, assembly, packaging, clerical jobs, carpentry, and stocking shelves.
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Birthday Parties for Children with Special Needs 