Is your child not quite ready for preschool or kindergarten? Does your child appear to be behind in some skills when compared to other children their age? Has your child had difficulty being accepted into the preschool of your choice because your child is not talking enough, is not understood by others enough, is not focused enough, is not potty trained, or is not able to play with other children well?

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If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the New Beginning PreK Preppers program may be the transition program you need to prepare your child for the preschool or kindergarten of your choice. Our Spring 2020 Session begins January 13, 2020.

 

Sessions are led by licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists with Master's degrees. Program specifics include:

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• children ages 2-5, with mild to moderate delays in speech, language, hearing, oral motor, fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, behavioral, and/or social/pragmatic skills

• 9am-12pm or 1pm-4pm daily, Monday through Friday

• all programming is taught in both English and Spanish, on alternating days. The program follows research-based evidence of childhood bilingualism for all children, including those with special needs, to allow them to be full participators in our bilingual community. ALL children CAN be bilingual! Children do not need to already be bilingual or come from bilingual homes to participate in the program, as the same thematic concepts are taught in both languages.

• small groups, up to 8 children 

• 3:1 maximum child to adult ratio

• all children begin with comprehensive testing and monitoring throughout. Pre-testing sets individualized goals and sets the baseline for progress monitoring. Monitoring will include standardized assessments, play-based dynamic assessments, and the LENA technology system which automatically calculates child vocalizations, child turn-taking with adults and peers with a body-worn language environment recorder

• curriculum revolves around play-based, daily routines rich in language, movement, mindfulness through yoga practice, social skills, self-care, kindness, and building community and a sense of belonging

• activities include pre-literacy, vocabulary, toileting, grooming, feeding, manners, social skills, empathy, turn-taking, early math skills, music, singing, dance, art, yoga, mindfulness, food exploration, utensil usage, balance, cooperative play, attention and focus

• the ultimate goal will be to allow children to have fun while developing the skills they need to transition to typical preschool or kindergarten settings after participating in one or more of our intensive multi-week sessions         

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Our director, Alliete Alfano, PhD, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, is a multilingual speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of clinical experience working with children with differing abilities in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. She founded The Alfano Center in 2003 to share her clinical skills with the South Florida community. She is a tenure-earning assistant professor at Florida International University where she teaches graduate students how to assess and diagnose communication disorders  and how bilingualism develops in both typical children and children with special needs.

 

Dr. Alfano conducts research in bilingual children’s speech and language development when they have hearing loss and conducts research on the outcomes of parent and child language when parents speak their native language versus a language they are not fluent in. She has also published articles about bilingual children with hearing loss and has published several Spanish adaptations of a variety of assessments for Spanish-speaking children with hearing loss.

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During her 20+ years as an SLP, Dr. Alfano has worked with bilingual children in many different preschool settings and has seen first-hand how important early and intensive therapy is for children with delays to succeed in typical inclusion settings. She has also seen how mindfulness and social skill building help children regulate children’s emotions, giving them the opportunity to learn and relate to others more easily. For these reasons, she felt compelled to develop this program to combine her years of clinical experience and research experience to help children reach their ultimate potential.

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