What is Social-Adaptive Development and Infant Stimulation Therapy?

Infant stimulation offers sensory enrichment as a therapeutic intervention. It’s focused on addressing both cognitive and motor developmental areas for children with suspected developmental delays or delayed milestones, or who are at high risk of delays. Infant stimulation provides supplemental sensory stimulation in some or all of the sensory areas: visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular, olfactory, and gustatory. The activities arouse or stimulate a baby’s sense of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Infant stimulation has been shown to improve an infant’s curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system development. The therapy often requires a child development specialist trained to deliver the infant stimulation portion and a physical or occupational therapist trained in neuro-developmental therapy (NDT). Parents or other primary caregivers may be trained for the daily home implementation of the program.

For more information, see our article Mapping the Journey from Birth to Kindergarten: Therapy Glossary.