Early Learning Programs in Sitka

For Infants and Toddlers

The Early Learning Program is committed to children under the age of three. Early Learning provides evaluations for children to check on developmental progress—physical, emotional, and intellectual development. Early Learning provides services for children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. We value the family’s primary relationship with their child and work in partnership with the family. We work to enhance the child’s development and support the family’s knowledge, skills, and abilities as they interact with and raise their child.

Services will be provided in the child’s natural environments. These settings are unique to each family and might include the home, a child care setting, or other community settings.

If a child is eligible for the program, a service coordinator works with the family to see that the family and their child receive the services and supports they need within the family’s natural environment.

The service coordinator and other early intervention staff meet with the family to discuss the child’s developmental strengths and needs. This team, including the parents, determines what services and supports would enhance the child’s development and prepares a plan to provide the supports and services within the family’s typical routines and activities. This plan is called an Individualized Family Service Plan or IFSP.

Some of the services and supports that might be provided to meet the developmental outcomes identified in an IFSP include:

• Family Education
• Developmental Education Services
• Speech/Language Services
• Related Health Services
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy

A parent-completed child development monitoring system for all children birth to 3 years old.

Watch Me Grow! provides an opportunity for parents and caregivers to monitor their child’s development with the support of a developmental specialist. The Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) series is a quick, easy and convenient way to see how your child is progressing and also see what is coming next in his or her development. After completing the screening appropriate for your child’s age, you will receive information and recommendations based on the results.

There are two different questionnaires you can choose to fill out:

Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3) covers all areas of development: gross and fine motor development, communication, cognitive and personal-social skills.

Ages and Stages: Social Emotional -2 (ASQ:SE-2) covers a development of a child’s social and emotional skills such as how well does your child regulate their emotions and manage their social interactions with other.

The Early Learning Program offers free vision and hearing screenings on the last Friday of every month. For an appointment, please call 966-4231.

“Everything changed in a moment…when our daughter was born with Down Syndrome. Through the hospital, we were referred to [The Early Learning Program, a program of Center for Community].

We started services immediately…physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

I cannot stress enough how Early Learning taught us…the correct steps….Starting when our daughter was 2 days old, a therapist worked with me on the correct way to nurse…to train her mouth to function normally… which kept her free of feeding problems that would have hampered speech development. Today at 6 (years old), her speech is off the charts for a Down Syndrome child. We are deeply indebted and forever grateful to the Early Learning staff.”

Screening and evaluation services are provided at no cost to families. There may be a fee for some Early Intervention services. However, eligible children will not be denied services due to an inability to pay.

The Early Learning Program also offers:

Community Events for infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers

Gail Trujillo, Early Learning Program Coordinator

gtrujillo@cfc.org