What should be done when symptoms of developmental delay present?
If you suspect that one of your patients is experiencing delays in development, then a referral to the state regional center is usually your best option. The regional center in your area conducts comprehensive assessments and screenings for children with suspected delays. All assessments and services are provided free of charge to the families.
The regional centers closest to SmartStart are listed here.
 
What is a Developmental Sensory Relationship-Based Model that includes Floortime (DIR) and how is it different from traditional models of intervention (ABA)?
SmartStart provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and supporting children’s development. It is ideally suited to children with developmental delays, including speech delays, motor delays, sensory integrative dysfunction, autism spectrum and related disorders, Downs syndrome, cerebral palsy, as well as rare syndromes. It focuses on helping children master the building blocks of relating, communicating and thinking, rather than on symptoms alone. The most striking difference between DIR and ABA is in DIR’s strong advocacy that relationships are critical to a child’s development. More details here.
 
I thought that a Developmental Model and Floortime was only for high-functioning children and just worked on social skills.
Those are common misconceptions about the Developmental Models. But these are much more than social skills programs and focus on more than social development! Our Developmental Model combines essential elements found in treatment approaches like ABA/DTT. But the additional, structured components of the SmartStart Developmental program provides specific objective-based interactions that address the individual needs of each child. More details here.
 
SmartStart at a glance

Specialization in: Autism, sensory integrative dysfunction, genetic sydromes, cerebral palsey, motoric disorders (dyspraxia), speech & language delay, and rare syndromes
 
Ages served: 0-18 years old. Specializing in infants, preschool and elementary aged children
 
All services at SmartStart are eligible for public funding. Our services are vendored by the regional center system and for our children over 3 we are a certified NonPublic School and are eligible for district funding. 

• Infant Stimulation (home-based)
• Fussy baby clinic 
• Center-based early intervention
• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy (Sensory-Integration)
• Floortime (DIR) - funded as Behavior Intervention
• Inclusion Support
• Consultation Services 

 
Contact Us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or call us: 310 452-5437