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Infant and Toddler Team
The Infant and Toddler Team provides a family-based
diagnostic assessment of very
young children from birth to 3 years of age who have or are
suspected of having developmental delays.
Approximately 275 children are referred to this unit each
year by pediatricians, medical specialists, parents, educators, a
variety of allied health professionals, and the New York City Early
Intervention Program. Evaluation
begins with a diagnostic screening to elicit the family’s concerns
and identify the problem. It
ends with the development of a therapeutic plan tailored to meet the
child's needs. Referral
is offered for early intervention therapeutic services either
on-site by CERC's Baby Team and Miniteam (described in the
Specialized Service Programs section of this brochure) or to infant
and preschool programs in the community.
Follow-up services are offered to all families.
As an official New York State and New York City Early
Intervention Evaluation Site, CERC can complete an evaluation
on all eligible children in this age range free of charge to the
family.
Infant and Preschool Unit
This multi-disciplinary unit provides diagnostic
assessments of children aged 2 years 9 months to 6 years who have
questionable or delayed development.
Each referred child receives an individually planned
evaluation designed to assess his or her intellectual and emotional
functioning, clarify the medical and/or environmental causes of any
identified disabilities, and determine the child's and family's
strengths in coping with these deficits. Assessment of parents’ need for support and child’s need
for intervention is also provided. Appropriate therapeutic
interventions and family supports are arranged for either at CERC,
or in the community through referrals.
School Age Unit
This unit provides diagnostic services to school-age
children, ages 6-14, with learning difficulties, language delays,
hyperactivity and associated behavioral and/or social adjustment
problems. Case
management and treatment services are offered to provide for
continued intervention and family support.
Services available include psychoeducational treatment,
speech and language therapy, social skills groups, parent and
sibling groups, and medication management.
When necessary, referrals are made to community treatment
centers, as well as public and private schools.
Adolescent Unit
This unit provides diagnostic and mental health
treatment services to adolescents and young adults ages 12 to 21 who
have experienced chronic school failure, due, at least in part, to
biologically-based difficulties.
Included in this category are adolescents with learning
disabilities, limited intelligence and/or attention problems. The specific nature of the adolescent's difficulties and the
role they play in his or her psychological adjustment are
identified. Treatment
usually includes individual or group psychotherapy, family
counseling, psychoeducational intervention, speech and language
services, and suggestions that enable the adolescent to better cope
with his or her environment. Consultation is provided to public
school programs and the Montefiore Medical Center’s School Health
Project for youngsters experiencing chronic school failure.
Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit
Individuals from birth to 21 years of age with
developmental and physical disabilities, usually related either to
congenital or acquired neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders,
or to temporary problems of physical function, are evaluated and
treated by this unit. To
enable the client to be more self-sufficient, the Rehabilitation
Unit’s multidisciplinary team designs a comprehensive treatment
plan which includes, as clinically indicated, prescribed braces,
adaptive equipment, seating, transportation devices for use at home
and in school,and an array of interventions including: physical,
occupational, and speech therapy; augmentive communication; feeding
therapies; individual and group psychotherapy; and psychosocial
services. The
Rehabilitation Unit also provides consultative services to all other
CERC units.
Communications Disorders
and Children's Hearing Program
This unit offers an interdisciplinary approach to the
diagnosis and remediation of hearing impairment and other forms of
communication disorders for individuals from birth to 21 years of
age. This comprehensive
program offers early identification and diagnosis, newborn and
infant auditory screening, otolaryngologic and developmental
pediatric examinations, behavioral audiometry, central auditory
processing function tests, speech-language evaluation, and
psychological/educational assessment. The program stresses that no child is too young for a
complete auditory assessment. Medical
and surgical management of ear, nose, and throat disorders are
prescribed when indicated. Remediations
within the Children’s Hearing Intervention Program (CHIP) include:
auditory training of infants and children; amplification strategies,
recommendations and follow-up; speech and language therapy; and
educational recommendations. Additional
information on this service can be found under Specialized Service
Programs in a later section of this brochure.
Developmental and Family Services
This unit provides developmental and psychosocial
services for individuals from birth to 21 years of age affected by
or infected with HIV, and their families.
It helps coordinate services with other programs caring for
these children or families. The
unit’s staff meets weekly to formulate an Individual Family
Service Plan for each child and family, and a case manager is
designated. Careful
consideration is given to the cultural, language, economic and
psychosocial needs of the family.
The plan may include recommendations for psychosocial and/or
rehabilitation services at CERC and for educational services based
in the community. This unit conducts psychotherapy and support groups for
families and children, individual psychotherapy, and
psychoeducational treatment services for school-aged children.
Academic assessment, educational and vocational planning, and mental
health services is also offered to infected adolescents and their
affected siblings. The
unit is a key component of the federal Ryan White Title IV funded
Bronx Pediatric and Adolescent AIDS Consortium (BPAAC).
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