Infant/Toddler Services Overview
Rainbows’ Infant/Toddler Services (ITS) are available for children birth to 3 years old at no cost to families. Kayla Cary, Sedgwick County ITS Coordinator answers questions about the program and how to connect for services.
How many children are served in Sedgwick County ITS?
We are currently serving1046 children birth to 3 years old.
Tell us about your staff.
Our team includes 36 providers (Occupational Therapists, Speech/Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Early Childhood Special Education Teachers, Social Workers, and an Audiologist) along with 4 support staff of family case managers and an administrative assistant.
What kinds of services you provide?
We serve infants and toddlers birth to three years old, providing occupational and physical therapy, speech services, hearing, resources for caregivers, including general support for improvement of their child’s developmental needs such as potty-training, introducing new foods, sleep training, etc. all while being in the child’s natural learning environment through home, childcare, or community.
Our ITS program collaborates with other programs here at Rainbows through the Mental Health team, Sound Start for deaf/hard of hearing kiddos, and Kansas School of the Blind for our low vision kiddos that are all able to come into the child’s natural learning environment with the primary service provider to help with additional resources.
Some of our providers are specialized in different areas as well, such as vision, feeding and autism to give their team members additional support during joint visits or Teamings.
With the support of the family’s primary provider, we can set up a Transition Conference to design a written Transition Plan to see if the child is eligible to transition from our program to a school-based program. We always make sure the parent feels that they are an important member of the transition planning team.
How do families get connected to services?
Most of our referrals come from doctor/physician’s offices and parents. Others include Early Learning programs such as other Tiny K programs across the state, Child Start and Head Start. Other referrals come from NICU doctors and nurses, public agencies such as DCF or Saint Francis Ministries, social service agencies such as Healthy Babies, KCSL, DCCCA, etc. Local Education agencies such as schools, Parents as Teachers, and Screen for Success or more specified clinics such as Speech Swallowing Voice Center are also referral sources.
A child does not need a referral to connect with Rainbows.
What are the top concerns (developmental milestones) from parents?
The top concerns always seem to be talking, walking, and feeding, but we are hearing a lot more from parents about sensory seeking and challenging behaviors coming out of the pandemic.
What is your favorite thing about your team and the work you do?
I love the passion everyone on my team has for the families they work with. I love to hear success stories, big and small, from all the providers of something one of their kiddos accomplished or the caregiver did that made them excited.
Listening to all the different team members contribute different perspectives, and the energy they bring to the table when coming up with new, creative, and productive ideas for the program is incredible. The different, unique skill sets each team member has and how they all work together to provide what the children and families need is inspiring.
What do parents need to do to connect with Rainbows?
Parents or caregivers can always share concerns with the child’s doctor or contact us directly at 316.945.7117 ext.134 for a free developmental evaluation. Another option is to contact Connecting Point at 316.267.5437 for a free developmental screening.
