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Established in 1952, the Parent-Infant Program (PIP) offers
a unique combination of services for families with infants and
toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. A nationally recognized
program, PIP serves families living in King and Snohomish Counties |
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Our Services |
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Home Visits |
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Weekly home visits are a cornerstone
of the program. These sessions take place either at home, childcare,
or a combination of both. Sesssions focus on promoting the natural
development of your child's communication and development in
the areas of language, speech, and auditory development. |
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Parent Support Groups |
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Parent support groups provide an opportunity for families to
discuss any concerns and experiences with other parents. A counselor,
who is also a teacher of the Deaf and specializes in working with
families with deaf and hard of hearing children, facilitates these
groups. |
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Communication Playgroups / Sibling Playgroups |
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Playgroups provide an opportunity for Deaf and hard of hearing
children, their siblings, and adults to interact in a language-rich
setting with an emphasis on visual and auditory communication in
group and individual activities. The professionals who facilitie
the group are fluent signers and experienced with young children. |
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Sign Language Classes |
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With evening classes specifically designed for parents of deaf
or hard of hearing children, as well as other family members and
child care providers, we offer a foundation in American Sign Language
(ASL) and incorporate strategies for a total communication approach.
Our instructors are experienced in parent-child communication with
a visually based language. These weekly classes coincide with Communication
Playgroups for the young children. |
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Individual & Family Counseling |
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Our staff works to support the entire family so that they can
provide the best life for their children. As part of this mission,
the program offers private sessions with a licensed marriage and
family therapist who specializes in working with deaf, hard of
hearing and deaf-blind children, adults, and their families. |
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Audiology Services / Speech Therapy / Occupational Therapy |
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Having a range of integrated services under one roof is one of
the unique strengths of HSDC. Families who attend PIP may choose
to receive speech therapy or occupational therapy from our Speech,
Language & Learning program. Our Audiology services include hearing
evaluations for all ages and a Trial
Hearing Aid Program. |
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Lending Library |
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We have a number of resources to offer through our lending library
of books, videos, and CDs that focus on Deaf Awareness, enchancing
communication, and issues facing deaf children and their families. |
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Transition to Preschool |
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Under Washington State law, your child is eligible for school
(special education services) at the time of his or her third birthday.
Most PIP graduates enroll in a preschool program for deaf and hard
of hearing children offered in the Edmonds, Seattle, or Highline
school districts, which host the largest programs locally. Offers
enroll in local communication classrooms, the Northwest School
for Hearing-Impaired Children (a private school in north Seattle),
or smaller programs in other school districts. |
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Additionally, HSDC now offers a Family
Preschool as part of our
own continuum of services, involving all of the same family-based
components as PIP |
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Where your child attends school depends on a variety of factors,
including your home school district's practices, the degree and
extent of your child's hearing loss, the type of environment and
communication you desire, and your family's beliefs and preferences. |
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Six months before your child's third birthday, we will begin
to prepare for the transition to school. Together we will develop
the transition plan, which will include such activities as: contacting
your home school district to make your child a "Focus of Concern",
covering information about your legal rights, learning about IEPs
(Individual Educational Plans), and observing/evaluating one or
more of the school programs mentioned above. |
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Once you have enrolled in a preschool program, we would like
to celebrate your child's third birthday at PIP. You are welcome
to bring a special birthday snack and we will conduct a graduation
ceremony, including an official diploma and graduation hat. We
will talk with children about riding the bus and going to school.
This is our way of providing some closure for children and celebration
this big event. |
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Putting your three year old on a school bus those first few days
is always difficult, but remember that you have a lot of say in
how this transition process works for your family. It may help
to know that 99% of three year old quickly adapt to preschool and
beg to get on that school bus! Let us know how we can accommodate
you during this time. |
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You will not be “cut off” from PIP when your child
turns three. You and
your parent-infant specialist may arrange to continue periodic
home visits as part of the transitional period. Individual counseling
continues to be available, free of charge, for one month following
graduation. And, you are welcome to participate in parent support
groups whenever
you like - many parents do return to check in and share their experiences
with this next phase of life. |
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Funding |
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PIP is primarily funded by United Way and federal, state and
county
early intervention funds. There is no charge to families for this
program.
Supplementary services such as audiology and speech-language or
occupational therapy are billed through insurance or Medicaid if
possible. |