Description
Since 1984, The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs has provided quality early intervention services in a center-based program in Birmingham. Here, infants and toddlers at risk for developmental delay receive services from transdisciplinary teams which include a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech-language pathologist and an early childhood special education teacher as each child works on specific individual developmental goals.
Children come from throughout central Alabama with a wide variety of special needs and diagnoses ranging from cerebral palsy and Down syndrome to autism and rare genetic disorders. However, children are not required to have a diagnosis or qualifying delay to attend The Bell Center. As a result, The Bell Center also serves many children who were born prematurely or who do not have a specific diagnosis.
The Bell Center offers services following a complete developmental evaluation, often within a few days or weeks after birth. However, older children exhibiting delays can be evaluated up to their third birthday. And while services are provided to the child, the whole family benefits from The Bell Center’s holistic approach.
Programs at The Bell Center are designed to promote growth in gross and fine motor skills, as well as language, cognition, self-help, and social skills. Each child is evaluated annually, and goals are tailored specifically to the child’s needs. The program has provided dramatic results for the more than 1,000 children who have participated since its inception, and currently serves over 100 children every week.
