Play program serves families with special needs kids
Do you remember the first time you played peek-a-boo with your child? I bet it puts a smile on your face just thinking about it. After all, who doesn't like playing peek-a-boo with their baby! There is an extra special, hearty belly laugh that babies seem to reserve just for that little game.
More than a game though, playing peek-a-boo is an important milestone that demonstrates cognitive growth for a baby. It also creates a connection with parents and fosters some of the earliest bonds in a child's life.
As they grow, toys begin to hold more of a fascination for children. With the bright colors, sights and sounds, children learn that each time they press a button or move a lever they cause an exciting reaction. These too are important learning opportunities because they are at the very foundation of early emotional, social and cognitive learning.
Play is innate to children from the moment they are born. It is quite literally the mechanism through which they learn and begin to establish relationships. But what happens if your child's innate impulse to play peek-a-boo or to play with toys is blocked as a result of a disability? Will they be able to reach the developmental milestones that are key to their growth?
Enter Lekotek. Lekotek has been helping families for over 50 years. Lekotek is a family-centered play program designed to help families in the development of the very youngest children with special needs.
“Play is the rocket fuel of a child's development,” says Jean Bailey, director of the National Lekotek Center. “Play is the fuel for physical, cognitive, communicative, sensory and social/emotional development.” At the heart of Lekotek is the creation of purposeful play to help meet the developmental milestones of children birth to 8 years old.
Lekotek offers family play sessions where parents learn to capture their child's attention and engage them in meaningful interactions during a one-hour, customized, play session designed to meet their child's developmental goals. As Bailey says, “Toys are a no brainier to get a child's attention,” so a variety of toys are used during the sessions. They are matched to each child's individual skill level, interest and goals for that session.
“A certified play specialist is there to guide families,” says Bailey, “but it is a delicate, choreographed path where the child is in the lead.” The journey is one where the child will eventually be initiating the play. Along the way, the child finds courage and builds self-esteem.
They also find that they can interact with others. Bailey recounts the delight seeing two brothers connect with each other because it was the first time they were really able to play together. This is powerful and has a profound impact on a child's development.
During the play sessions, parents learn strategies to relate to their child and to engage them. Bailey says she hears all the time from parents that they are so focused on taking care of their child's needs, especially a special needs child, that sometimes it is difficult to remember how to relax and relate to their little one. She goes onto explain that the family-focused nature of the play sessions gives parents the tools, time and permission to learn to enjoy their child. That goes a long way in strengthening the family bond.
Another key to the success of the Lekotek program is the toy-lending library. It goes hand-in-hand with the family play sessions. Families take home the very same toys used in their play sessions so they can continue their play strategies at home. Families rotate toys monthly to keep the learning fresh and appropriate to each new skill level achieved.
Siblings, grandparents, caretakers and anyone else the family would like to include are encouraged to be a part of the play sessions so they too can forge those emotional connections that every child needs and be a part of that child's developmental growth.
Bailey believes that it is the play-based, child-led, family-focused formula that is crucial to the Lekotek success. “Research tells us that what is modeled in the home is a key influence for children,” says Bailey. The Lekotek model works because parents learn how to play with their child, follow their child's lead and then are able to continue reinforcing that model at home.
Beyond the family play sessions, Lekotek offers monthly webinars and other enrichment opportunities for families. While the sessions are geared for children with special needs, families who don't yet have an official diagnosis are welcomed too.
There are four Lekotek sites in the Chicagoland area (two in Chicago, one in Franklin Park and one in Skokie) with a fifth site opening in the fall in Carol Stream through the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association. You can learn more about the Lekotek philosophy at their website www.lekotek.org.
• Sherry Manschot is the marketing/public relations manager at Western DuPage Special Recreation Association. She can be contacted at sherrym@wdsra.com. More information about WDSRA can be found at www.wdsra.com.