Kodem Kol

The Kennedy Krieger Institute's Child and Family Support Center, the Baltimore City Infants and Toddlers Program and the Maryland State Department of Education have partnered to provide outreach, training and service coordination in the Baltimore City Orthodox Jewish community for infants and toddlers who are eligible for early intervention services and their families.

The first three years of a child's life are the most critical time for learning. To assist families in focusing on a child's developmental needs and capitalizing on his or her natural ability to learn, the Baltimore Infants and Toddlers Program has a family-centered system of early intervention services for young children who may be experiencing a delay in development or who have a diagnosed condition that has a high probability of delay.

Early intervention service coordinators at the Kennedy Krieger Institute assist families in securing early intervention services in areas of the child's and family's identified needs.

These services may include:

• Service coordination
• Family education, counseling and support
• Special instruction
• Speech pathology
• Audiology
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Psychological services
• Medical services for diagnosis
• Health services related to other early intervention services
• Other services may be available as appropriate

In addition, the program offers training in the "Social Pragmatics of Orthodox Jews" to provider and community agencies who wish to learn more about working with this population.