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Specialized Parent/Infant Program

The Specialized Parent/Infant Program aims to provide a neutral and supportive place where parents of deaf and hard-of hearing infants can support each other and reduce their sense of isolation as they make critical decisions about communication and development for their child.

Our Objectives are to provide parents with opportunities to support one another and discuss their concerns and issues, to provide a welcoming environment that will offer opportunities for social interaction for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, to provide parents with individual assistance in acquiring information and implementing goals for their children with regards to communication, behaviour and cognitive and emotional development. Intended for families with a child between the ages of 0 and 6 with an identified hearing loss. Children may have other special needs.

We are providing a drop-in centre where parents can come with their children to participate in a wide range of activities and discussions including:
   *Interactive and imaginative language and communication based activities for deaf and hard-of-hearing infants.
   *Discussions on adaptive parenting and parent/child attachment.
   *Early learning opportunities and sensory stimulation for the children.
   *Assess and identify developmental and language milestones.
   *Guided play-based activities for emotional development between parents and child.

Also available for participants in this program is our Parent Resource Centre and Toy Lending Library, both funded by the Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Resource Centre includes materials about deafness, cochlear implants, audio-verbal therapy, sign language, child development, as well as games and activities for auditory and/or visual ablilty development, publications from deaf service organizations around the world, and more. The Toy Library offers a selection of secialized toys designed for the development of auditory and visual abilities.


Staff are able to communicate in spoken English, French, and American Sign Language.

Drop in centre is located at the Manor beside The Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf.


Additional Service Offered through our Partners:

Infant Hearing Program - on-site Family Support Worker. a Community Screening Clinic and sign language interpreters Toronto Pre-School Speech and Language Services - on-site speech-language assessments OCSD (Ontario Cultural Society of the Deaf) - ASL literacy specialist CHS (Canadian Hearing Society) - on-site speech and language pathology Public and Separate School Boards - speech pathology services Early Years Centres - development of outreach strategies and literacy specialist

The Parent-Infant Program invites families of children with an identified hearing loss to join us in the playroom Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 1:00pm until 3:30pm. The program is open to families with a child between the ages of 0 and 6 years.

Contact Person:
Sari Goldberg,
Early Development Specialist
(416) 449-9651 ext. 105
email: sgoldberg@bobrumball.org


This program has been generously funded by
The Ontario Trillium Foundation