Get Ready! Assessments
It’s not always easy to tell if a child is falling behind his or her peers. Many parents recognize differences in their young child, but are unsure if there is genuine reason for concern or where to turn for help. We help by offering concerned parents a developmental assessment for children ages six months to three years. A complete assessment involves parent and primary caregiver interviews as well as direct observation of the child in his/her natural environment. Once this evaluation is complete, our staff creates an intervention program tailored to meet the child’s specific needs. Our fun, play-based intervention sessions are interactive and family-friendly, conducted in the child’s home with parental participation.

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Get Set! Intervention
It is generally accepted that a great deal of brain development happens in a child’s first three years of life. Early intervention ideally begins as soon as there is any suspicion of developmental delay, as much can be done to get a child back onto a typical developmental track. Our Get Set! program is designed specifically for infants and toddlers determined to be at-risk for or those showing early signs of developmental delay.

Our Get Set! program provides parents with strategies for stimulating and enhancing the communication, social-interaction, and play skills of their children. This program provides parents with information regarding typical infant development, and shows them how to incorporate play-based “teaching opportunities” using daily activities and routines, such as bath time or meal time to encourage skill development in their children. The goal of the Get Set! program is to help children showing delays to get back on track with their development as quickly as possible so that they will be ready to participate successfully in preschool programs.

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Go! Playgroups
It has become increasingly recognized that the development of early play and social skills are a crucial part of children’s success in school and with developing early friendship skills. Being able to negotiate social interactions is a difficult task for all children. Having these foundational skills help give children a boost over their peers in ensuring their success.

Go! playgroups were developed to help give children that extra support and to be a step ahead in their social and play skills so that when they enter typical preschool environments, they will have positive school experiences. Parents are also taught how to encourage prosocial skills using the teaching methods they have learned through our Get Set! program in a small group setting with other parents and their children. This creates a positive environment where parents can support each other in helping their children develop these skills.

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Parent Learning Groups
Our Parent Learning Groups were developed with the understanding that when parents feel comfortable and competent helping their children grow and learn, their children gain skills more quickly and parent/child relationships will be happier and more fulfilling. Parental participation, therefore, is a key part to the success of each child’s Racing Ahead program.

Racing Ahead offers parent training classes that show parents how to teach their children skills that enhance and encourage development. Each class provides parents with “hands-on” skills that they can immediately use with their children. These easy to use skills are based on the most current research on effective instructional strategies that have been proven to enhance child development and learning.

Parent Learning Group classes meet on a weekly basis and include “homework” activities for parents to try at home. The goal of our Parent Learning Groups is to help parents feel confident in their own ability to enhance their child’s development. Whether a child participates in our Get Set! or Go! Playgroups or not, all parents benefit from learning the key skills that enhance their child’s development and help them feel more confident in their role as parents.