Blog

Relationship building takes time and effort. Parents must work hard at developing a strong and dynamic relationship with each of their children. Our children grow and change with each new stage of development, which challenges us to adapt to new rules and circumstances. Strong parent-child relationships, however, have certain qualities that remain constant. They are […]

Pediatricians follow a schedule of recommended visits for children from 0-18 years of age. At each visit, the doctor pays attention to the child’s development, growth and general health. But when it comes to developmental milestones and sensory integration a lot can be missed in such a short visit. In a perfect world, every child […]

What do you think of when you hear the term self-regulation? Parents usually envision a well behaved child: calm and obedient. For a therapist, self-regulation sits at the intersection of a child’s neurological and biological function, emotional regulation, and cognitive and social abilities. These abilities allow a child to function appropriately socially, emotionally and intellectually in […]

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. CDI’s speech therapists work with children and their families to improve communication, reduce auditory delays, and tackle oral-motor and feeding challenges. Parents often wonder what they can do at home to improve their child’s communication skills. Here are ten activities to promote your child’s speech and hearing skills: Treasure […]

Occupational therapists love to come up with clever ways to help their young clients thrive. Tapping into a child’s motivation is the key ingredient in our recipe for therapeutic success. Our sessions can look a lot like simple playtime: your little one’s therapist may be on the floor playing with your child, or pushing him […]

Family dynamics can make a parent feel invisible. All families are complex and rich with unique patterns that get created early on. A dominant parent can emerge because of personality differences and family habits. Both parents, however, have an important role to play in their child’s development. Research shows that children benefit greatly when their […]

Imagine for a moment a baby sitting on the floor. He looks up and sees a colorful object on the other side of the room. He gets on all fours, applying pressure through the palms of his hands all the way up to his shoulder-girdle, and thereby receiving sensory input through his knees and into […]

Attunement is our ability to be aware of and respond to our child’s needs. It is deeply connected to emotional attachment. Some children may have a very different temperament than that of a parent, or may not communicate affection in the same way, which can interfere with the quality of their emotional relationship. Parents can […]

Psychology experts, from David Elkind, Ph.D. to Peter Gray, Ph.D., all agree that the role of children is play. Free, unstructured play especially promotes learning in ways that structured activities cannot. Imagination is unleashed during freeform activities involving pretend play, movement, problem solving, and scenario exploration. So, should parents play with their kids? Should they […]

 Technology is all around us. Children are taught at a young age to use devices for entertainment, education, boredom, and regulation. Opinions are divided on whether the use of iPads or cell phones is an acceptable form of reward or break-time for all children, especially the ones with developmental delays. Hand held devices, such as […]

One of the questions we get asked regularly is: How come you don’t always bring toys with you when you come for an in-home session? Although there are times when it is appropriate for a clinician to bring some tools/toys from our clinic into your home, there are at least 5 good reasons why your […]

Your Child’s Brain and Healthy Development The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development – especially the brain. By age 3, 85% of the brain has been developed by developing trillions of connections (synapses) between billions of brain cells. March 10 – 16 is […]

Babies these days get a limited amount of opportunities to explore their bodies and their environment. Parents, rightfully, follow the APA guidelines for sleep positioning and place their little ones on their backs. Children also spend many of their waking hours strapped in devices such as car seats, strollers, or bouncy chairs. This can unfortunately […]

Communication begins with relationships.  It is through back and forth social interactions that we all learn to communicate in a meaningful manner.  So what do we do when a child isn’t learning to communicate in the typical manner?  Typical intervention starts with speech therapy.  It is an outdated belief system, however, that a child needs to […]

Dillan Barmache, age 15, recently gave a speech at CDI’s 20th Anniversary Gala on March 21, 2015. Dillan has autism and uses a letter board and keyboard to type his communication. His words were spoken via his iPad. Mom: In preparing for the Gala, Dillan had some conversations during which time he reflected on his […]