What is the Bridges School at The Therapy Place?
The Bridges School is a collaborative transdisciplinary approach to child development and early intervention. It is a preschool for children with a wide variety of developmental delays.
What does transdisciplinary mean?
Transdisciplinary means that whole team works together to discuss goals, progress, and problem solve. This approach ensures that the whole child and all of their needs are being met. This team includes the child’s therapists, early interventionist, teachers, and especially parents. We want parents to be an active member of the team and making decisions about your child’s education. Transdisciplinary goes a step further than people from multiple disciplines working with your child. It is actively and constantly adjusting methods, exercises, and approaches to meet your child’s individual needs.
Is my child right for the Bridges School?
We accept children with developmental delays that need help with independence and getting ready for kindergarten. Children in the program have delays in one or more of the following areas: gross motor, fine motor, language, cognitive, and adaptive skills. Diagnoses include Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Angelman Syndrome, Down syndrome, and global developmental delay.
How long is the Bridges day?
Children in the school can attend under two scheduling options (first time is preschool, second is elementary):
Full-Time Preschool: 8:3-2:30pm Mon-Fri
Full-Time Academy 8:15am-2:45pm Mon-Fri
Part-Time Preschool Only: 8:30-12 Mon-Fri
Do I provide food and snacks?
YES, Due to each child’s individual needs, allergies and likes/dislikes, parents provide food for snack and lunch. We have utensils, refrigerator, and a microwave. At times, your child’s therapist may provide food for therapy purposes.
Does my child need to be potty trained?
NO, It is not required that your child be potty trained. We work on potty training when the child is showing signs of readiness and when the parent agrees to address the behavior at home as well. Check out The Potty Journey: Guide to Toilet Training Children with Special Needs, Including Autism and Related Disorders for more information and resources on help with potty training children with special needs.
Do children nap during the day?
NOT USUALLY, Because we have children of different ages, we do not offer an official nap time. There is a quiet time after lunch. Some children may doze off and are allowed to continue their slumber. This is something that can be specifically discussed with the Bridges staff.
Can my child continue therapies outside of The Therapy Place?
NOT PT, OT or ST as those we provide on site and are highly responsible for the success of the Bridges school: the collaboration between teachers and therapists, the availability of therapists to consult on your child’s individual needs, and the carryover of your child’s goals as agreed upon in the team. If your child attends a therapy other than the ones we provide, please let us know in case their are billing issues and so that we may discuss goals with these other therapists as well. Example would be hippotherapy (we do not provide) but could be using PT/OT codes. If two clinics are billing the same codes on the same day, one will not be paid. In addition, your child will run out of units quicker. Knowing this is helpful for our billing department.