Up to 3 Offers LEAP Frogs Class

The Up to 3 Early Intervention program at the CPD offers a variety of classes for their children and parents to attend that focus on specific developmental goals. One innovative class that is currently offered is the Let's Eat and Play Group, known as LEAP Frogs.

LEAP Frogs was developed to meet the needs of children who have a limited variety of taste and textures they will eat or who often refuse to eat at all. This can often turn mealtime into a battlefield. The class meets twice a month and focuses on giving children positive experiences with food and learning mealtime routines and cues for eating that parents can use with them at home. The goal is to help family mealtimes become an enjoyable experience for everyone.

A team of experts at the Up to 3 program work together to make it all happen. The team consists of an Occupational Therapist, a Registered Dietician, and a Behavioral Specialist. Prior to class time, the children and parents meet in the gym for 20 minutes for a desensitization period to calm them down and prepare them for eating. During class, nutritional snacks are built around specific textures and tastes, and combined with fun activities that encourage the children to try them out in a positive environment. Ten children are currently enrolled in LEAP Frogs. Parents attend with their child so that they can learn the techniques used to help their children enjoy eating.

LEAP Frogs is just one more way that the Up to 3 program meets the varied developmental needs of the infants and toddlers they serve.