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Early Childhood Education, pre-school program
The preschool program focuses on cognitive, language, physical, social and emotional development. The preschool is open to any student, regardless of disability or delayed development.
We offer a fully licensed and NAEYC accredited developmental preschool for the children. Our students learn and play side-by-side in an inclusive, all-abilities learning environment. Inclusion offers invaluable benefits by increasing every child’s understanding of others’ needs, their acceptance of differences and their self-esteem. We have a four star quality designation from the Quality Counts for Kids Program assessed by the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County.
UCP provides physical, occupational and speech therapies during the school day for our children who need therapy. This is a big plus for working families so they don’t have to take kids to therapy at the end of a school/work day. Also, free discipline-specific screenings are available.
Rates for the Early Childhood Education preschool program are as follows:
$190/ per week for those aged six weeks to 12 months,
$175/per week for those aged 13 months to 23 months,
$165/per week for those aged 24 – 47 months,
$155/per week for those aged 4 and 5 years old.
Also, there are seats available for the VPK program, or voluntary pre-kindergarten. Those children aged 4-5 years-old and who qualify can join the program for free from 9 a.m. to12:00 p.m. If you’re interested in all day VPK, that cost is $80 per week.
To enroll in the preschool program, please call UCP at 813-239-8538 and ask for Ann Michalski.
Early Childhood Education Center for Autism
This brand new program provided at our center in Tampa is a therapeutic classroom environment for children, ages 3 to 4 years, with autism. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and the program runs until 3 p.m. Aftercare is available until 6 p.m.
The therapeutic classroom is a small, language rich environment with a maximum of 10 children and a teacher / child ratio of 1:4. The classroom will use systematic instruction that will include individual goals for each child. Augmentative and alternative communication tools will be used in the classroom to enhance the student's communication skills.
The classroom's curriculum will include elements to address the specific needs of children with ASD. Key areas will be: language comprehension, use of language, appropriate play, social interactions, attending to elements in the environment and imitating others. Children enrolled in our therapeutic classroom will be provided the opportunity to interact with typically developing peers during regularly scheduled opportunities throughout the day. These opportunities will include outside time, small group time, snack time, arts and crafts and/or circle time.
Enrolled students will be screened by UCP's on site, speech, occupational and physical therapy staff. If therapy is warranted, parents will be offered the opportunity to enroll their children in UCP's onsite Therapy Program allowing both a student's educational and therapeutic needs to be met during the day under one roof.
The cost is $225/per week. Aftercare is available at an additional $7 per hour, until 6 p.m.
If you’re interested in enrolling in the Early Childhood Education Center for Autism please call Laura White at (813) 239-1179 Ext: 4148.
Therapy
Reaching children from birth through adolescence who are at risk and/or have disabilities, Therapy Services provides evaluation, consultation and treatment services at Henry Avenue in Tampa and in Sun City. Licensed pediatric therapists offer comprehensive speech, physical and occupational therapy in a center-based or community-based environment. The program is accredited by The Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities or CARF, a designation that recognizes the program’s commitment to quality and consumer satisfaction. Download Scope of Services for a document that outlines the full scope of therapy services. For more information about therapy at UCP or to begin therapy services, email Therapy Intake or call 813-239-1179, ext. 4140.
Physical Therapy:
The goal of physical therapy is to identify and treat problems with movement and posture or body position. The physical therapist helps young people through postural correction, strengthening, balance and coordination training and/or by using adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes or orthotics.
Occupational Therapy:
Occupational therapy addresses skills needed to perform an individual’s life "occupations." For children, this means being a student, completing basic self-care activities such as feeding or dressing, and playing/interacting socially with friends and family. The focus is on movements involving smaller muscles in the arms, hands and face and on processing and using input from the senses such as sight, hearing, touch and movement.
Speech Therapy:
Speech Therapists help children express themselves and understand what is said to them. Where possible, therapists teach children how to articulate specific sounds, follow directions and eat/drink safely. When children are unable to produce sounds or words, therapists help them communicate through alternative methods such as sign language, switches and computers.
Early Intervention:
Early Intervention provides emotional support, guidance and coaching to help families of developmentally delayed/disabled children age 0-3 years to meet the goals they develop which promote healthy family relationships, independence, and community inclusion. Referrals for Early Intervention come from the Early Steps Program and services include eligibility evaluation, assessment and home and community based intervention.
Hernando Early Intervention services are based out of our Brooksville satellite office. A licensed Physical Therapist provides home and community based services in Hernando and Pasco counties. United Way of Hernando helps fund the program in Hernando County. For more information email Hernando Early Intervention or call 352-796-4469 or 800-749-1311.
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