Early childhood intervention is most commonly defined as a support and educational system for very young children with developmental disabilities or delays. Its purpose is to maximize their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.

K-TIME Early Intervention Center (KTEIC) offers a variety of therapeutic and developmental services to children with special needs. To distinguish itself from other centers, KTEIC is taking a holistic approach to early childhood intervention that aims to address children’s special needs and, at the same time, help them realize their full potential. The people behind KTEIC hope that someday all children with special needs or developmental disabilities would become productive and contributing members of society.

“KTEIC accepts all children with mild to severe developmental disabilities, be it autism, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive development disorder (PDD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disorders, mental retardation and other similar or related conditions,” said Garry Louie Sabado, RN, senior ABA therapist and KTEIC managing director. Ideally, intervention should start at a very early age or before a child turns five years old, because it would play a pivotal role in children’s development. But it is not only children KTEIC works with; the center also provides education and counseling to parents or guardians of these kids.

The first step to early childhood intervention is assessment. “The purpose of this assessment is to obtain a holistic picture of the child. This entails the use of objective assessment procedures and some interviews,” said Edren Daeniel Santos, OTRP, a board topnotcher from the University of the Philippines Manila and head of the OT Department of KTEIC. Once done with the assessment, the children are given a tailored program that aims to help them overcome whatever developmental disability they may have.

While addressing children’s special needs through a tailored program, KTEIC also looks at other aspects of the children’s well-being. To carry out this holistic approach, the center also offers ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy, ESL (English as a Second Language) program, occupational therapy, playgroup therapy, speech and language therapy, SpEd assessment, tutorials and workshops.

“In effect, it is not only a tailored program that the children would receive at KTEIC, but they will also be introduced to a wide variety of fun activities—all designed to teach children different skills and develop their interactive social skills as well,” said Sabado.

Communicate

For example, it is not enough for children with learning disorders to be able to grasp what is being taught. It is imperative that they are also able to communicate the things they learn and apply those principles in daily life. KTEIC ensures the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of a child is taken care of.

A song once said that children are our future. The same is the case for children with special needs. We must not let their disabilities hinder them from becoming productive members of society. If we really want them to succeed, then intervention should start early. The positive effects of early intervention may take some time but, in the long run, it should be worth it.

KTEIC is at 20 Pangustura St., Midtown Subd., Phase 3, San Roque, Marikina City (beside Burger King and 20 Studio Hotel-Marcos Highway); tel. 0925-3558463 or 2749284; Facebook: K-Time Early Intervention Center; visit https://ktimeeic.wix.com/kteic; e-mail [email protected]