Empowering families
with evidence-based knowledge.

Clay Stories

Calm Down Bag

Calm down bags can be a helpful tool for toddlers to use when they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, as they can provide a sense of control and a way to express and cope with their emotions in a healthy way.

Read Story →

Letter for Evaluation Through Public School District

A 3-5 year old may be evaluated for special education services through their public school system if there are concerns about their development or learning. For example, if a parent or teacher notices that a child is having difficulty with developmental milestones, such as speaking, walking, or interacting with others, they may request an evaluation to determine whether the child may have a disability that is impacting their development.

Read Story →

Script for Early Intervention

Early intervention is a program that provides free support and services for families with infants and toddlers (birth to 3 years) who are at risk of a developmental delay or currently not meeting milestones in one or more areas such as cognitive, physical, communication, social-emotional, or adaptive skills. Early Intervention is designed to help children develop the skills they need to reach their full potential and participate in activities with their peers.

Read Story →

Kindergarten Readiness

Foundations of learning, including cognitive and social skills, are built in the early years of a child’s life, and children who are well-prepared for kindergarten are more likely to have a strong foundation on which to build their future learning.

Read Story →

Helpful Tool: Routine Charts for the School Transition

The back to school chaos felt harder this year. In the mix of all the school forms, back to school activities, and endless fall scheduling – the anxiety for both my kids and I crept in. Although not a complete fix, creating morning and bedtime routine charts helped so much! In this article we share sample routine charts you can use to create your own.

Read Story →
child therapy preparation

7 Steps to Prepare for Child Therapy

Preparing for child therapy is an anxiety provoking experience for the child and their parents. Many parents wonder how best to prepare for the appointment and how to tell their child about therapy. In this article we share 7 tips on how to set you and your child up for success.

Read Story →
parental burnout

6 Strategies for Parental Burnout

A recent study by researchers at Ohio State University suggests that 66 percent of working parents met the criteria for parental burnout. Thank goodness for identical twin sisters Drs. Amelia and Emily Nagoski, who’s research and book “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle” teaches us 6 evidence-based strategies for completing our body’s stress cycle.

Read Story →
Executive functioning

Why Executive Functioning Skills are Important for Children

Executive functioning skills are often compared to the CEO of your brain. They include starting tasks, planning, organizing, working memory, flexible thinking, impulse control, self-monitoring, problem solving, and self-regulation. In this article we share some tips on how to exercise your child’s executive functioning skills from an early age.

Read Story →
SWYC

Introducing the SWYC

The SWYC is an age-specific, comprehensive, first-level screener developed by researchers at the Tufts Medical Center for children ages 1 month to 5 1/2 years old. The SWYC combines developmental and behavioral questions with screening for autism, parental depression, and other family risk factors. It is designed to be sensitive enough to identify any child who may be at risk and encourage parents to have conversations with their physician.

Read Story →