Posted by Therapeutic Nursery Programs, Kaplan JCC on the Palisades

A Place For Parents And Children Together

This unique program for preschool children with special needs is a developmental multidisciplinary treatment center that addresses the cognitive, linguistic, behavioral, social and emotional needs of the children. It also meets the needs of parents, who attend classes on a daily basis and play a central role in their child’s treatment. The Nursery model was developed at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1978by Drs. Doris Allen and Lois Mendelson.

The Nursery serves preschool children with developmental problems, including communication disorders, learning disabilities, attention deficits, high functioning autism, as well as selective mutism and other emotional difficulties. Children accepted into the program have at least average intelligence, and many are extremely bright, despite their developmental delays or difficult behaviors. We provide a warm, enriching environment that helps develop socialization and interpersonal communication skills, as well as cognitive skills and behavioral control.

Central to our curriculum is a rigorous, social skills program. We devote a significant part of our curriculum to helping the children develop their play skills and their capability to socialize with other children. The Nursery encourages and facilitates mainstream experiences for children in the program. Since the Nursery provides a half day program, many of our children are able to attend regular nursery schools during the other half of the day. A high percentage of our children attend regular public or private schools after graduating.

Individual speech/language therapy and occupational therapy, as well as parent counseling and parent support groups, are offered during class time. In addition to the Special Education teachers, Speech/Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists are part of the classroom teaching team, creating a fully-integrated multi-disciplinary treatment approach.

The Therapeutic Nursery is a nationally-recognized, non-sectarian preschool program and operates a ten-month program with a six-week summer session for 3to 5-year-old children. Classes throughout the year meet daily for 21⁄2hours (morning or afternoon).

Referrals to the Therapeutic Nursery come from physicians, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, nursery schools, early intervention programs and child study teams. Parents may contact us directly. Many local NJ school districts pay tuition to send their students to our program. Parents can also pay tuition privately. Scholarship funding comes from the generous support of private philanthropy.

HALF-DAY PRESCHOOL CLASSES AGES 3-5
Mon-Fri,  Ongoing,  9-11:30am or 12:30-3pm

Toddler Socialization Mommy & Me Group

For children who are experiencing delays in language acquisition or socialization skills. The goal of this class is to facilitate age-appropriate play and social interaction with peers. Parents are an integral part of the program. Nursery staff and parents work together to develop strategies for dealing with behavioral difficulties at home and in the community. Guidance for entering the preschool years will also be provided.

The class will include structured group activities such as art, music, story time and other sensory-motor activities.

AGES 2-3
Tue & Thur, ongoing,  9:30-11am

Contact Us: 

For more information, please call 201.569.7900, Lois Mendelson, Ph.D. ext. 1797, Director, or Anita Miller, M.S., OTR, Assistant Director ext. 1498.  jccotp.org