Portage is a family centered intervention program for children with developmental delays from birth up until the age of six. The parents are active participants and actually work together with the therapist to achieve instructional goals in the following areas of development: socialization, self-help, language, as well as cognitive and motor skills.
The program is usually implemented in the home environment, but it can be adapted and applied in therapy centers with multidisciplinary teams.
A special education program usually includes different types of intervention, such as speech therapy, special education and occupational therapy. There may be cases where other specialists are also needed, according to the needs of the child and the family. In cases of young children with problematic behavior, short attention span, or communication difficulties, the therapeutic goals and interventions of the different specialties often overlap. So it may be better for the parents of young children to start with a program such as Portage to assist, train and guide them through the therapy process. The parents will come to understand how they themselves can help their child. It is possible that children will also be referred to other specialties to enhance their progress. In that case the therapists must communicate and collaborate with each other. An experienced therapist can also combine various therapeutic approaches so as to use their most effective tools.
