(ISP) – 2 months to 2 years old
Babies with Down Syndrome will join the Infant Stimulation Programme (ISP) when they first enroll in any of the KDSF Centres. Students in ISP is from 2 months – 24 months. ISP is a therapy-based programme solely handled by qualified Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. Session is conducted on a weekly basis for 45 minutes to one hour.
The main goal is to provide parental education wherein therapists will work closely with the parents to ensure proper guidance on handling, positioning and many other important skills that parents need to acquire to support their child’s development at an early stage. It is compulsory for the parent/caregiver to attend the Infant Stimulation Programme with their child.
Stimulation of the Sensory and Infant Reflexes are given emphasis in this programme because we believe that these are the foundation of learning. Therapists will assess and give guidance to support infants’ Suck-Swallow-Breathing (SSB) pattern which is critical to their nutrition and feeding skills, oral motor skill, sensory regulation, motor development, etc.. Therapists also use HELP (Hawaii Early Learning Profile) Curriculum for their assessment and they provide holistic approach where therapies are conducted in a play-based approach working on the infants’ gross motor skills, fine motor skills, socio-emotional development, cognitive and play development, language and independence skills.
Parents will be taught how to make use of different therapy techniques and exercises such as infant massage, neuro-developmental techniques, Sensory Integration and many others. Therapists use different equipment and therapy modalities such as the vestibular ball, swing, wedge and wobble boards, bolsters, etc. These are used during the therapies to help the infant reach their developmental milestones such as rolling, crawling, walking, reaching, grabbing, and other foundational skills crucial for the years ahead.