“You brought back light into the face and heart of Paloma. I am so grateful for all your teaching and for the times you listened to my concerns. I like what you have left me behind “my beautiful Palo-ma.” For the hundred of hours and years left behind I thank you very much. “

– Araceli Salas

“Amigo Baby was heaven sent, you truly were. You provided your knowledge and experience to help and support the intellectual and emotional development of our children.

Us as parents learned so much from you. You taught us how to become closer as a family and how to make and spend more quality time with our children. You helped us grow.

With much love, thank you Amigo Baby and may you continue helping children with needs. May your program last forever.”

-Gonzalez Family

“We would like to express our gratitude to Amigo Baby. We have seen huge improvements in her com-munication abilities. Not only is she more effective in communicating , but her vocabulary has in-creased tremendously. Finally specially thanks to you for you assistance and rapport that established with our daughter and I from day one.”

– Jimmy and Milagro Chow

Dear Amigo Baby,

I would like to thank you and your staff Kelly Thomas, Denise Ortiz, Josefina Sanchez, Tayde Levant, Amanda Lauber, Ankur Patel, and Pablo Valez for their time and dedication they provided for my son Oscar Ortega. They have given us an incredible experience and have helped my son grow and learn how to be himself, and as parents we have learned to discover new teaching techniques to help our son develop as a child. The staff was very professional. They were always on time and when they spent the time with our son they were very attentive to him and his needs. We are first time parents and have had trouble with our son and his developments and we found this program to be very effective and helpful. From the bottom of our hearts we are grateful we had the help from Amigo Baby and your staff, without it we would be lost. Once again we are thankful.

Sincerely,

Priscilla Trejo

1 month –

• Stops crying when picked up.

5-6 weeks –

• First smile response.
• Starts making sounds to express pleasure or discomfort.

2 months –

• Smiles, kicks, and swings arms at the sight of parents.
• Responds with sounds when talked to.

3 months –

• Will look up at parent when being fed.
• Shows excitement when sees bottle.
• Shows enjoyment of being with parents, meeting new people, and watching other children by looking at them, smiling, making sounds.

4 months –

• Turns head away from unwanted things.
• Starts to develop a variety of facial expressions.

5 months –

• Looks at face in the mirror but does not recognize self.
• Babbles when content.
• Affectionate to parents – pats them, gets excited when they approach.

6 months –

• Loves playing with parents.

7-8 months –

• Aware of strangers – looks at them seriously.

9 months –

• Clear signals for likes and dislikes (stiffens body to resist for example)
• Communicates through a variety of noises.

10 months –

• Starts using gestures to communicate (holds arms out to be picked up for example)
• Stranger anxiety develops.

Compiled by Sara Torten MS, OTR/L

1. Look at books and point to pictures.
2. When taking a walk point to things in the environment – a tree, a flower, a squirrel…
3. Play ball – the child has to watch the ball go close and far from him/her and track its movement.
4. Clean up – spread toys around the room and have the child find all the items that need to be picked up and put away. Initially you can help by pointing but then try encouraging the child to scan the room independently.
5. Bubbles – popping bubbles requires visually tracking the bubbles.
6. “Hide and seek” – either the traditional game with one person hiding and another person has to find him/her or by hiding a toy the child has to find. Toy does not need to be completely hidden – if a child has a visual problem he/she may find it challenging enough finding a toy on a table in a busy room.
7. Draw 3 to 5 circles on a piece of paper and have the child place stickers or toys in the circles. For older children, make the task harder by making circles in different colors asking the child to place a toy in a specific color circle.
8. Have child find a specific item on a crowded shelf (in a full fridge, in a full draw…).
9. Crayons and paper – scribble and color pictures. Age expectations: before 24 months scribbling only. Ages 24 months-30 month copy circle and vertical line. Age 30 months -36 months copy horizontal line. Age 36 month and older some kids can copy a cross.
10. I spy – have child find a specific item in a picture in a book or a magazine picture. You can use the following phrase “I spy with my little eye a…. (name item)” then have your child look for it, take turns naming an item and looking for it.
11. Draw the child’s initial in a big letter and have child place stickers on the lines of the letter. Child could also use glue to stick beans or pasta on the initial.

Compiled by Sara Torten MS, OTR/L

The Center for the Partially Sighted: Pediatric Services

Tarzana, California

“Getting and Keeping Glasses on Young Children”

Good Fit: To ensure success in getting your child to wear glasses it is important that you purchase the glasses from someone who is experienced in fitting a young child. Make sure that the nose and earpieces are not too tight and fit well. If the fit isn’t right the first time, the shop should be happy to adjust them, or they can possibly provide a glasses strap or curved earpieces to help to keep the glasses on.

Looking good! Let the young child choose new frames for their prescription glasses. Whenever a young child picks their own frames it helps them take pride in their ownership. Parents can assist their child by providing several suitable choices. They should be supportive and compliment their child by telling them they look good wearing their new eyeglasses. This helps the child’s self-confidence.

Parents should consider price, style, and fit when helping their child choose new eyeglass frames. They should also take into consideration that young children frequently break or lose eyeglasses. In some instances parents may decide paying a little more, for better durability or for free warranty replacement, is worth the additional cost.

Desensitization: Prepare your child for glasses by massaging temples and bridge of nose and behind the ears to get the child used to having the glasses touching in those areas. Desensitization is the goal. Other activities for desensitization: Rub the areas gently with cotton balls, various fabrics (i.e. Velvet, Terry Cloth), tap the above-mentioned areas with the eraser of a pencil or your finger, or use an empty roll-on deodorant bottle or a mini-massager, as tolerated.

Practice pair: Let a young child adjust to wearing new eyeglasses with a “breaking-in” period to establish the habit of wearing glasses. Wearing sunglasses or even toy “dress-up” glasses can help a young child get a “feel” for wearing eyeglasses before actually doing so. After new prescription eyeglasses are picked up, allow the young child some adjustment time until they feel comfortable wearing their new eyeglasses full time. Be patient with a young child as this may take a few days.

Slow: Once the prescriptive pair is available, start slow with short increments of wearing that you gradually increase. Encourage your child to wear their new eyeglasses; praise them for doing so, especially until they get into a regular, routine habit of wearing their new eyeglasses.

Special time: Have the child look at a book with you, watch T.V. or participate in a close-up activity to help them appreciate the importance of wearing their new eyeglasses. Parents can use these experiences to actually demonstrate to their child the positive difference wearing eyeglasses can make in improving their vision.

Physical and verbal cue: If your child attempts to take the glasses off, gently hold his/her hand and say “glasses on”.

Glasses strap:  Use of a strap for the glasses is the best friend of many parents. Of course, they help to keep the glasses securely in place and your child can’t flick them off easily.

If they help they will wear them: Many parents report that once the child notices that the glasses help them see better they wear them without complaint.

If after several days a child is still having difficulty adjusting to wearing their new glasses try and determine why. Ask them why they won’t wear their new eyeglasses. Try to resolve the child’s issues and concerns. Children may offer various complaints. Do take it seriously if they report not wearing their eyeglasses because they hurt their eyes or can’t see. As parents you know the opposite is supposed to be true, but take this complaint seriously until proven otherwise. There is always a chance your child is telling you the truth.

A simple eyeglass adjustment is fairly easily resolved, but there may be other possibilities to consider. Laboratories can and sometimes do make mistakes. The prescription lenses you ordered might not be the ones your child received. Whenever in any doubt, have your child’s eye doctor double check the eyeglass prescription. There may even be other potential possibilities to consider as well.

We all have daily routines. Routines might be different from person to person but we all use them to help us get through the day. Routines for the most part do not mean things happen in the exact same time every day, but rather an activity is sequenced in the same way (for example – we wash hands before eating, we sit at a table, we eat together, we then take our plate to the sink) Routines provide many benefits for young children –

1. Security (social emotional development) – knowing that certain activities happen in a certain way every time provides children with a sense of normalcy and safety in a world that is mostly unpredictable to them. It helps them develop trust that an adult will provide them with what they need.
2. Reduces behavioral problems – when a child knows what the routine is they will follow it more easily than a constantly changing routine, as they have a better sense of control. Routines also anchor the day with predictable activities, the more predictability a child has the better he is able to emotionally manage unpredictable events.
3. Support health and safety – Many routines are developed around health and safety issues (tooth brushing, eating, holding hands when crossing the road, hygiene, sleep). It teaches children healthy habits.
4. Support social development – many routines are developed around social interactions (greeting someone, eating with the family, play dates). Children learn how to interact socially in a safe, familiar routine.
5. Transitions – routines help children cope with transitions. Picking the toys up at the end of a play date, placing the dirty dish in the sink after a meal, undressing as preparation for bath time and bed time routine, these routines all help children move from one activity to another. Routines can also help a child transition from one caregiver to another.

Based on “Routines and Why They are Important” from Zero to Three

Today, three years ago our little one, Kamilla was born. We want to thank God, our family, and Amigo Baby. Our team consisted of therapists, coordinators, and services. Together we all took on a journey, in which we have gone through frustrating moments and hope. We took a stroll down beautiful moments, and although some were darks ones; Kamilla brightened those moments with her contagious smile and her ambition to learn. Kamilla has filled our lives with happiness. She has demonstrated to us that any obstacle no matter how difficult can be accomplished. Oh, and how could we forget every time Kamilla hit a milestone, we as parents together with her sisters would jump up and down out of excitement. Just like that, as Kamilla’s parents we can say, and be an example to the entire world. A child is capable of showing their abilities as long as we, as parents are there. As for us, we will continue our journey. As for our team, the therapists, coordinators, and services all we have left to say is NOT goodbye but a see you later. Thank you so much for accompanying us from the very start of this journey.