Early Intervention Day Treatment

The Early Childhood program of Milestones serves children from ages six weeks through

five years of age. Milestones is a licensed EIDT (Early Intervention Day Treatment)

program. We serve over 100 families in Faulkner County every year.

Milestones provides early intervention in an inclusionary early learning setting alongside children who are typically developing, who serve as positive peer models and play partners. Children are divided into classrooms by age, not by ability. Other specialized services are provided including occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech/language therapy, and nursing services.

Milestones provides high quality, developmentally appropriate instruction in the classroom. All classroom supervisors, instructors and assistants undergo extensive initial training and continuing education every year, including first aid and CPR training.

To be eligible for initial or continued enrollment in our EIDT Day Habilitation program, a child must have a documented developmental disability or developmental delay, as shown on the results of an initial or annual comprehensive developmental evaluation. The initial and annual comprehensive developmental evaluation must include the administration of a norm referenced (standardized) evaluation instrument and a criterion referenced evaluation instrument.

The following evaluation scores, per age, indicate delays significant enough for EIDT eligibility.

For ages 0-36 months, a score of 25% or greater delay in at least two areas: motor, social, cognitive, self-help/adaptive, or communication, on both evaluation instruments. Two delays must be in the same areas on both the standardized and criterion instrument.

For ages 3-5 years, a score of at least two standard deviations (-2.00) below the mean in at least two areas: motor, social, cognitive, self-help/adaptive, or communication on

the standardized evaluation instrument and 25% or greater delay on the criterion referenced test. Two delays must be in the same areas on both the standardized and criterion instrument.

The child must also have a documented need for at least one of the following, as

shown on a full evaluation for that service:

Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
Speech therapy
Nursing services

Therapy

At Milestones, our team of occupational, physical, and speech therapists are committed to providing quality services to your child. We provide services for children ages six weeks to five years at our inclusionary yearly childhood facility. We also serve children from birth to three years of age through the early intervention program.

Speech Therapy

Speech language therapy specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of

communication disorders, social communication difficulties, and issues with feeding and/or swallowing. Our team of speech language pathologists provides individualized, play based therapy to children with a wide variety of communication delays/disorders that impair a child’s ability to communicate effectively. Some of these areas include, but are not limited to, receptive language, expressive language, articulation, hearing, oral motor, feeding and swallowing, and augmentative/alternative communication.

Specialized training includes:

PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
SOS Approach to Feeding
S.T.A.R (Strategies for Teaching Autism Research)
Beckman Oral Motor Protocol

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is concerned with helping children become independent with activities of daily living. For a young child, therapy is play based and focuses on the foundation skills needed to reach for and grasp objects appropriately. As the child develops, the skills needed for independence in self-care and school readiness are addressed.

OT assessments evaluate the areas of fine motor skills, visual motor skills, self-care performance and sensory processing abilities. Based on the assessments, strengths and needs are outlined and an individual plan is developed collaboratively with the team. When modifications to the environment are necessary, adaptive equipment is utilized. Sensory integration techniques are commonly incorporated as part of the child’s plan to help them explore their environments appropriately and increase their attention for structured task participation.

Curriculum/Special Programs utilized:

Handwriting Without Tears
PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
SOS therapeutic feeding program
Therapeutic Listening

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy services seek to assist each child in reaching his/her maximum potential. Specifically, our team of physical therapists works to enhance balance and coordination skills, to increase muscular strength and endurance and to improve functional mobility. We promote the acquisition of age-appropriate gross motor skills through play-based therapy and targeted individual treatment plans.

At Milestones, our team of physical therapists:

Develop individualized treatment plans
Engage daily in play-based therapy activities aimed at addressing a child’s deficit areas in a fun environment
Order adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, standers, and ankle-foot orthotics
Assist parents in accessing resources
Utilize evidence based practices

Our therapists have experience treating children with a variety of diagnoses such as cerebral palsy, ataxia, autism, torticollis, and developmental delay.

Nursing

Milestones offers a full range of nursing services, providing medical care to the children in the Early Childhood Program.

Some of these nursing services include:

Gastrostomy tube feeding
Tracheotomy care
Catheterization
Asthma Treatment
Epilepsy Treatment
Monitoring Allergies

Nursing services allow children with medical needs to attend our

program. We work collaboratively with families and physicians to provide this medical supervision, providing peace of mind to the parents that their children are being monitored appropriately.

Transportation

Milestones provides transportation services for the children enrolled in the early intervention program. Milestones transportation department runs several bus routes each morning and afternoon, picking up and dropping off throughout all of Faulkner County.

Each bus has the appropriate car seats for the Milestones children. The car seats are checked regularly for expiration dates and condition.

All drivers must meet qualifications for the vehicle they drive. Along with the driver, each bus has an assistant that rides along to attend to the children.