Programs
Adventure
Week
Choices in Healing
Educational Consulting
Family Communication Program
Head Start Consultation
Infant Massage Instruction
Parents Go First™
Pediatric Rehab
Adventure Week: One Special Week in August for children. The adventure never stops, we explore the outdoors with activities geared towards the age group. Swimming, rock climbing, hiking, and various other activities. All experiences improve the child's development towards personal growth and an awareness of the possibilities we each have inside ourselves. The lessons they learn carry over into adulthood, our potiential as human beings is limitless. Treat your child to an experience they will remember for the rest of their lives! Consider more choice, create more possibility, manifest unique potential, discover Adventure Week! E-Mail for more Adventure Week Information.
The desired outcomes of Adventure Week include improved function in daily skills. These skills include making and keeping friends, thinking before acting, organized memory and retelling of events, taking turns, building strength and endurance, and taking reasonable and appropriate risk.
Adventure Week Instructors: Shelley Vidas and Darby French
We had another successful Adventure Week this summer! Shelly Vidas, Occupational therapist and Darby French, Speech and Language pathologist ran the group and were joined by Barrie Stager, Physical therapist for part of the week. Six children signed up to participate in this annual event. It was really nice to see some new faces, as well as some of the “Adventure Week Veterans”!
For excursions this year, the group went to Lakewood to explore the trails, kayaked at Blunt Pond & Branch Pond. They went to the Bar Harbor Aquarium and got to hold and touch sea stars, lobsters and sea cucumbers. They also dressed up like pirates for a treasure hunt!
We would like to thank Sandy Hutchinson, all the parents, and case managers for their help in making this a successful week for all the kids!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Adventure week, or would like to volunteer your time or resources for next year, please give us a call, or email to join our mailing list!
Administrative Fee: $200.00 Payable in advance. Adventure Week therapy fees can be funded through some State agencies and may be insurance billable.
Please send questions and comments to: dtaus@hotmail.com or call (207) 667-6783
Have you given up hope? Are you too tired and sick to do anything different? These are good reasons to try Choices in Healing. By experiencing more awareness of choice you may become active in your own healing with increased vitality, strength and health resulting in a more joyful life.
Healing is a process of agreement with self in a state of honesty, courage, acceptance, compassion for self and other, and grace in presence and connection.
Healing often involves including parts of ourselves that we shut down at a young age to decrease emotional pain or for survival, then neglected to connect again.
This series is designed for anyone who is looking for more health and well being in their lives by using the insights of Integrated Awareness® and holistic perspective.
People who are dealing with chronic health conditions such as...
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Addiction
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Chronic pain
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Depression
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Anxiety
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Diabetes
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ADHD
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Headaches
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Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
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Fibromyalgia
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Chronic fatigue
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Uncontrollable menopause
...are encouraged to attend. Each class will include movement sequences that may be explored in standing, sitting, or lying on the floor.
This healing work integrates many dimensions of self, including our emotional, energetic, mental and physical bodies, and our spiritual selves.
Please send questions and comments to: dtaus@hotmail.com or call (207) 667-6783
We have expanded our consultations to include school-aged children. Each consultation is tailored to the child and generally includes information on learning style, cognition, sensory processing and factors that impact brain development and chemistry. Specific information and strategies for home and school programs are provided.
The Family Communication Program is an opportunity to address family communication issues. At the initial consultation, a family plan is developed that may include home instructions or follow-up sessions for one or more family members to explore change in patterns of listening, expression and interaction. The format of each session is determined by the make up of the family. Kids of all ages are welcome, and age appropriate activities will be included. We believe that communication and connection are key to healthy families and relationships. We fully appreciate that when we make any moment a little easier, a little safer or a little more fun - healing has occurred.
Information on this program will be posted soon.
Infant Massage is an ancient tradition in many cultures throughout the world which has been rediscovered in the West. Clinical evidence now shows that loving, touching, nurturing contact between caregiver and infant has a positive impact upon subsequent development. Many studies reveal the benefits of positive contact as an integral part of the baby's early life, and the unfortunate results when this early attention is lacking. Infant massage is one of the most pleasant, early positive contact. " The bonds of trust and love, the lessons of compassion, warmth, openness and respect which are inherent in the massage routine will be carried by your child into adulthood. "
The Importance of Bonding
Because it includes the critical elements of bonding - eye to eye contact, skin - to - skin contact, smiling, soothing sounds, cuddling, smell, response and interaction - an important benefit is the quality of closeness between parent and baby that Infant Massage brings about. These benefits extend beyond the bonding period. Parents who have been unable to be as close as they would like to their infants find that daily massage and the interaction it provides is a wonderful way to compensate
The benefits of Infant Massage include the following:
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Helps to strengthen and regulate the respiratory, circulatory, and gastrointestinal functions, often relieving the discomforts of colic and gas through the stimulation it provides.
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Helps the baby to relax and relieves the stresses which build up daily from so many new encounters with the world. We teach specific techniques which help babies to be aware of body tensions and to release them in response to the comfort of nurturing touch.
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Enhances the loving communication between caregiver and baby, and helps parents to keep " in touch " with the infant's non-verbal clues. This is especially valuable for parents with fussy, colicky, or sick babies.
The Parent/Baby Course
This is a four session course for parents and their babies ages three weeks to crawling. Parents learn about the benefits of nurturing touch in addition to step - by -step massage and relaxation techniques.
Individual Sessions
In these sessions each parent and baby receives individualized instruction and attention to address special needs such as colic or prematurity. Parents also learn Vimala Schneider's Touch Relaxation, a technique which enables infants to learn how to relax in response to nurturing touch, and techniques which effectively address discomforts such as gas or congestion.
In-services
Presentation on Infant Massage and its benefits are available as inservices and demonstrations for professional groups and conferences. Individual consultations are also available.
Instructor: Sara Pierce, IA Teacher, PT, CIMI
Sara is an Integrated Awareness Teacher who has been practicing pediatric physical therapy for 18 years. Her special interests have been in infants, parents and communities with a deep appreciation for the unique natures we all bring to our families and communities. To arrange for appointments or to get more information on classes, contact us at:
Offering services in prenatal and parenting classes, Fussy Baby Clinic, Infant Massage classes, Infant Developmental Evaluations, various Integrated Awareness classes and therapeutic services.
Call 207-667-6783 or email Sara
Please send questions and comments to: dtaus@hotmail.com or call (207) 667-6783
Parents Go First TM
Parents teach by example. We have begun offering many of our services to parents, knowing that children learn best from their parents and that change by one member in a family influences all members of a family.
Components
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Parents are exposed to manual techniques and teaching techniques.
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Parents are encouraged to explore their personal belief systems and how these beliefs might influence their children.
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Parents are encouraged to explore their emotional responses to change.
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Parents are taught targeted skills to encourage specific teaching to their children.
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Parents are encouraged to ask questions, become curious and manifest creative solutions for themselves, their children and their families.
PARENTS GO FIRST
Current Classes
The Parents Go First model emphasizes that children look to their parents and other caregivers to learn how to be in the world. This happens whether we are intentionally “teaching” to them in the moment or not (as we know from the imitation of certain verbalizations we prefer they didn’t know). With this perspective in mind, we invite any parent or caregiver interested in learning greater skills and awareness in their parenting to join us in classes offered at DTA Center for Learning & Growing. Each class is open to the general public, however, we’d like to encourage parents to consider these classes for the following reasons:
Connections Class- taught by Karen Hedger and Sara Pierce
This ongoing monthly class focuses on general communication, and relationship
skills and issues. This is an excellent class to better understand how to
have greater self-trust in relationship to your children and in communication
generally. Older children (over 8 years) are welcome to participate with
a parent.
Weekly Integrated Awareness (IA) Class- taught by Faith Perkins, Karen Hedger
and Sara Pierce
This weekly class is an opportunity to come with a “desire”
or “wish” to explore. Classes are 1 ½ hours in length
and very affordable.
Brain Class- taught by Sara Pierce
This monthly class is an opportunity to explore, expand and refine touch
skills with an emphasis on correlating information to the brain. If you
are a parent who is interested in giving your child more touch based support,
this is an excellent class. Babies (under 1 year) are always welcome.
Private Tutorials- taught by Sara Pierce, Faith Perkins and Karen Hedger
You can arrange a private tutorial with any of us to explore any topic or
topics of your choice. How you walk this earth is a model for your child:
your personal work and well being affect your child’s experience and
your parenting. Children are always learning. Tutorials can include gentle
touch and movement, expanded consciousness; touch skills, table work, or
a pool experience. You can choose the length of time (1-4 hours).
Please send questions and comments to: dtaus@hotmail.com or call (207) 667-6783
Physical Therapy (PT)
PT uses physical medical techniques to evaluate and treat people of all ages. At DTA we use the general principles of physical medicine: flexibility, strengthening, sensorimotor function, motor development and functional activities combined with a high degree of hands on work in play, on the table and in the water. Education intended to promote healing and health is a critical component of each session to the client and caregivers as indicated. Go to Physical Therapy
Sara
Pierce Physical Therapist
Speech Therapy (ST)
At DTA, we look at communication as a pyramid based in engagement, with interaction, communication (the sending of signals, verbal or non-verbal), language (an agreed upon symbol system), and speech (the formation of sounds) layered on top. We look at each level, assess contributing factors to success and challenges, and work from there to remove roadblocks and encourage new skills and behaviors. We take a developmental perspective, and work with total communication (using all avenues available for receptive and expressive language, such as sign language, gestures, pictures and assistive technology). Part of our unique approach is our ability to integrate development and learning style across develpmental areas, drawing from our partners' expertise. This allows and encourages a whole child, whole family approach to early childhood function, including communication.
Karen
Hedger Speech Therapist
Developmental Therapy (DT)
Developmental Therapy servcies are designed to enhance a child's overall development by addressing motor, communication, cognitive, social, functional and play skills. Goals are developmed with parents, are outcome driven, and are designed to make positive change in the child's daily life. Services include teaching consultation to parents.
Developmental Therapy can take place in a variety of settings. Along with the direct work with children, therapists at DTA provide training and consultation to programs and aides.
Faith Perkins Developmental Therpist
Please send questions and comments to: dtaus@hotmail.com or call (207) 667-6783
