What does a programme look like?
A programme consists of two parts as follows.
- A 20 - 30 minute series of structured activities individually tailored to your child's developmental needs. Each activity lasting between 1 and 5 minutes in length. This entire structure is then repeated for the prescribed amount of time.
- A set of developmental recommendations, again uniquely tailored to your child's needs, which are not suitable to be incorporated into a structured programme, but can be incorporated into the general 'lifestyle changes' which will be necessary to help your child develop. Such recommendations might concern nutrition, or exposure to an adapted sensory environment, amongst many others.
How intensive is a programme?
Neurodevelopmental problems have drastic effects upon children, which require more than a thirty minute session of physiotherapy / speech therapy to combat them. Parents should be prepared to work with their child for 2 hours per day, six days per week. Any family who cannot commit to this, should not apply to enrol their child on a Snowdrop programme. My experience is that this is the optimum amount of time required for maximum progress to be acheived as it attains the right balance between providing the child with an enriched developmental environment and the amount of 'down-time' needed by the brain in order to embed information.
I would repeat that parents who cannot commit to working with their child at this level of intensity should notconsider a Snowdrop programme.
What are the logistics of the programme?
Most activities which will be prescribed for your child will be able to be carried out by one or two people. However, certain activities will require three people. You may therefore need to recruit volunteers to help you from within the family or your circle of friends. I find that the inclusion of friends and family to assist with the programme can be beneficial to your child in terms of his social development.
As you can see, there are several issues which parents should consider carefully prior to enroling on a Snowdrop programme for their child.
