In a sense, all therapies are educational for your baby, but some fall into a more traditional education category. These are the therapies that focus on skills you might associate with school learning — color identification or counting, for example.

Developmental Therapy

This education of infants and toddlers is often called developmental therapy. The person who provides this service may be a special education teacher or other closely related professional trained in working with children with special needs in the birth-to-age-three population.

Each therapist who works with your baby will make suggestions for practice activities you can do at home. A developmental therapist will incorporate those suggestions into the activities she has planned for your baby. For example, if the occupational therapist is working with your baby to pick things up with a weaker hand, the developmental therapist might use a shape-sorting toy. Your baby would learn how to match shapes at the same time he practices using his weaker hand.

Services for Babies Who Are Deaf or Blind

If your child is deaf or blind, there are additional options for help. Because of the unique, overall needs of these children, education and therapy must be presented in a specific way. For example, a child who is blind is not able to look at a picture book used by a child with normal vision. Rather, the educator might use a variety of tactile items to go along with the story.

Contact your state's early intervention program or state/private schools in your area to find out about programs available for your baby. Often an educator specially trained in teaching the deaf or blind can come to your home. Some schools offer classes on site for babies and their families.