Descriptions of

Early Intervention Program, Preschool Program,

and Early Intervention and Preschool Therapy Program

Early Intervention Program—(0-3 yrs.)

The Pioneer Center Early Intervention Program is designed to assist infants who have mental retardation or developmental delays, and to assist the parents of these infants. An Early Intervention Specialist is assigned to each infant to provide ongoing development, assessment and evaluation in each of 6 developmental areas: cognitive, language, gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional and self help. The Early Intervention Specialist regularly updates parents on their infant’s progress and provides them with activities, information, and assistance on how best to help their infant’s development. The Early Intervention Specialist offers these services according to the convenience of the parents; either in their homes or at the Child Development Center.

The staff is available through the enrollment of infants, and through the transition process when the child, just prior to his/her third birthday, is to be placed in a preschool setting.

Some infants are able to “catch up” on their development through these intervention services and are able to transition to regular school programs. Other infants, who have more severe delays, may need to stay in special programs or developmental preschools, but will be better prepared through the benefit of Early Intervention Programs.

Early Intervention Specialists Lisa Liston, Sue Kniceley, and Cathy Frazier can be reached by calling (740) 772-7360, or by email to: lliston@rossdd.org, skniceley@rossdd.org, jbunstine@rossdd.org, or cfrazier@rossdd.org.

Preschool Program:--(3 to 5 yrs.)

Pioneer Center’s preschool classrooms consist of eight children with handicaps and up to four typically developing children. The program stresses self-help skills (eating, toileting, dressing and personal hygiene), language development, gross and fine motor skills, and primary academic skills. Also built into the daily schedule are opportunities for peer/social interactions, art and music activities, and organized play. Pre-school is in session Monday through Thursday from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Please call Bev Billett at (740) 772-7360 or bbillett@rossdd.org for more information.

Early Intervention and Preschool Therapy Programs-- (0-5 yrs.)

Pioneer Center’s Early Intervention and Preschool Programs offer full developmental evaluations by a staff of trained therapists. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and music therapy are provided by these therapists for infants and preschoolers who qualify. For more information, please contact Physical Therapist Diane Corcoran at dcorcoran@rossdd.org, Occupational Therapist Darlene Shively at dshively@rossdd.org, Speech Therapist Nell LaRock at nlarock@rossdd.org, or Music Therapist Kris Ramsey at kramsey@rossdd.org. The phone number for all therapists is (740) 772-7360.