Our Vision
Our goal is to ensure that every child in our community receives timely, comprehensive and compassionate early intervention services at no-cost to families. We embrace children with diverse abilities to help provide the best possible services in their natural environments and empower parents to help support their children as they learn through play and enjoyment of each other.
Meeting children where they are to provide no-cost early intervention services and
empower caregivers to support developmental growth through play and connection.
Our Mission
Services
Comprehensive Developmental
Evaluations
Evaluations
At Kaleidoscope Kids, we believe in the importance of providing comprehensive developmental evaluations to all infants and toddlers who come through our doors. While there may just be concerns in one area of development, we know that when one area of development is not progressing as it should, there are increased chances of delays in other areas of development as well. Our comprehensive developmental evaluations are provided by a team of therapists including a Speech-Language Pathologist, and either a Physical Therapist or an Occupational Therapist. We use a high quality standardized assessment tool paired with informal measures to thoroughly examine all areas of development including, communication, motor, cognitive, social emotional, and adaptive skills. The evaluations are play-based and conducted through a combination of direct testing, observation, and parent report. We ensure that all families leave the evaluations with an understanding of the results of the evaluation and strategies to start working on immediately. We prioritize getting families in quickly so that if services are recommended, we can get families started right away with ideas to incorporate into their natural environment.
Ongoing Therapy Provided in the Natural Environment
Therapy
We provide therapy in the natural environment, which refers to delivering therapy services in settings where children typically live, learn, and play—such as at home, daycare, or community spaces. By providing therapy in the natural environment, and integrating therapy into the child’s daily routines and activities, we make it more functional for the child and family and reduce numerous barriers to accessing therapy (e.g. financial, transportation, working parent schedules, etc.). Providing therapy in the natural environment is also evidence based for the 0-3 year old population. At Kaleidoscope Kids, we prioritize a play-based therapy approach, incorporating strategies with a strong emphasis on parent coaching and support. Research shows that change is not made in the 60 minutes a week the child spends with a therapist, but through the ongoing interactions children have with their caregivers throughout the day. By empowering and supporting caregivers to become the primary agents of change, we foster greater progress and significantly enhance therapy outcomes for infants and toddlers.
Free Developmental Screenings
Screenings
Early identification of developmental disabilities and delays is critical! Developmental screenings are a great way to determine if a child’s development appears to be on track, or if they would benefit from further evaluation. Parents, we know it can be hard to determine when your child might need more support, but we’re here to help! Developmental screenings look at key skills across all areas of development including motor, language, cognitive, social emotional, and adaptive skills. They are not meant to diagnose a child with a developmental delay, their purpose is to help identify when a child’s skills should be more thoroughly examined by professionals. Kaleidoscope Kids provides developmental screenings at daycares and in the community free of charge. Contact us at kaleidoscopekidsdc@gmail.com to schedule a screening event.
