Why CDF ?

Why choose Connecting Dots Foundation?

At CDF, we aim to foster a lifelong love for learning in the children in our care. The renowned Reggio Emilia philosophy supports this goal, offering children an opportunity to learn through play and exploration, developing valuable skills in the cognitive, social-emotional, fine and soft motor areas with the environment as their third educator. Despite the amazing benefit and tangible impact incorporating this philosophy into children’s programming can have on a child’s development, the philosophy is far too often misunderstood or misused. 

At CDF, small class sizes allow your infant to develop among fellow peers and educators in an intimate setting. The primary goal of our educators is to ensure that your child’s individual needs are met, as they create an environment in which your infant is stimulated and encouraged through age-appropriate learning experiences. Infants have the opportunity to observe and interact with the physical world around them. Our daily infant program features experiences through light, water and other sensory activities. It also includes creative arts, dramatic (pretend) play and story/music time. Such activities develop skills in your infants, including cognitive, language, fine- and gross-motor, and social emotional skills.

Following the infant room, your child will enter the toddler stage. At this point in their lives, curiosity and learning will become more prominent. The toddler program is designed to guide children as they develop a greater sense of curiosity and understanding. Your child will be exposed to a quiet reading area. In this area, your child can choose to participate independently in a range of logic games and puzzles, and many more stimulating activities that allow them to develop. Learning self-help skills is an important part of the curriculum. Our main focus in the toddler room is to ensure the safety and development of your child, and prepare them for the preschool classroom, in which there is a more academic approach to learning.

The preschool/kinder program is the final stage of childcare at CDF. In this stage, children will continue to develop and enhance many of the skills they learned in previous stages. The focus here, then, is on teaching them to communicate in an effective way and to regulate their emotions for their next stage of early years. Our educators focus on developing skills through daily experiences. Children will engage in experiments, activities, discussions, and projects throughout the day. They have the freedom to guide their own curriculum through their own unique interests. Educators will take on the challenge on tapping into your child’s interests to create more meaningful play.

Our service was established in 2021 by parents, after their own experiences of a life-changing pilot program when their son was diagnosed with autism. While CDF has now grown to support more than 180 children each year, it is underpinned by the same grassroots values and commitment. At CDF, you’ll be part of a community. 

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CDF can offer your child:

An individual learning plan, developed with input from families and CDF’s team around the child, which guides your child’s journey at CDF to meet their needs, build on strengths, work towards their individual development goals and foster inclusion.

A minimum of 15-25 hours of evidence-based early intervention each week: most children will receive up to 30 hours of autism-specific education and early intervention, where ‘evidence-based’ means we use strategies which are proven to be safe and effective through rigorous research.

A warm and play-based naturalistic environment, where children are also supported to socialize and maintain connection with their peers, learn how to initiate play and develop relationships with other children in the classroom, as well as other skills that foster their confidence and independence.

A highly skilled transdisciplinary team, comprising Early Childhood Educators, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Behavior Analysts and Early Intervention Specialists. All of our team members are trained to deliver autism-specific therapy and education.

A high staff-to-child ratio: when you combine the early childhood education, therapy and care team, there is about triple the number of staff to children in each classroom, all working together with a comprehensive understanding of autism, each child, and how they can support their individual goals.

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CDF can offer your family:

A center-based environment, where your child is accessing a combination of therapy supports in one location and is building their social skills as they meet and play with different children while maintain connection to their core pod of peers.

A long day care setting which allows parents to access the workforce, study commitments, tend to family commitments, or an element of respite, if needed.

Parent engagement sessions where you can meet with your child’s therapists, better understand your child’s learning journey and learn skills to build your child’s capacity at home and in the community.

Access to education workshops that will help you further scaffold your child’s learning.

Community experiences: opportunities for excursions or incursions for local attractions in your area, which are always linked to learning outcomes and fostering inclusion.

A consistent curriculum, which is informed and guided by evidence, research and highly skilled professionals, complemented by strategies tailored to your child’s individual needs.

A quality service which offers value: CDF provides a full-time, quality, highly individualized service that is delivered by therapy, early intervention and early childhood education specialists in alignment with Ministry of Children Service’s guidelines.

Dedicated support: CDF employs in-house Support Coordinators who can help you with any access and funding questions you may have as you navigate the Ministry of Children Services website.

For more information about how we can help your family, call us and talk to our friendly team today on 780 782 7051.