Therapist walking down hall with child in walker

Therapeutic Preschool in Kansas City

Therapeutic Preschool & Outpatient Services

Build Your Plan

Early Childhood Therapeutic Preschool and Outpatient Services

Ability KC’s early childhood programming provides two settings to choose from when planning for services that best fit your child’s and family’s needs—the Mary Shaw Branton Therapeutic Preschool and our pediatric outpatient medical rehabilitation services.  Both programs provide highly qualified professionals to assist children with complex disabilities in developing their physical, social, communicative, emotional, and cognitive abilities.

 

 

The Mary Shaw Branton Therapeutic Preschool

Nationally accredited by NAEYC, and state licensed, our early education therapeutic preschool classrooms  offer a caring, inclusive environment that provide children ages 1 to 5 years old with a wide range of medical, therapeutic, and educational services. By delivering therapeutic services within an age-appropriate and natural environment, our highly experienced team can help young children of all abilities maximize their potential. Ability KC’s inclusive classrooms  pair children living with disabilities together with typically developing peers, with a ratio of 1:4 teachers to students to support every level of need. Additionally, therapists join the classroom teams to provide a holistic experience specific to each child’s goals.

Teacher at preschool pushing children on swings on playground

Early Education Outpatient Services

CARF accredited, Ability KC’s early education outpatient services provide the same level of expert care for families who are navigating life with a disability in a play-based, one-on-one setting. In this specialized program, children from birth to 8 years of age are provided with physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy.

These therapy services provide the perfect adjunct to school or home-based therapy sessions. Ability KC therapists will set up a plan for each child that will complement and reinforce their current therapeutic intervention for gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and speech and language.

With outpatient therapy services for physical, occupational and speech rehabilitation available at the Ability KC therapeutic preschool there is no need to juggle multiple therapy appointments at different locations.

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5%

Re-hospitalization rate (11% below the national average)

Children’s Center Campus wall
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3,000

Over 3,000 patients and families served annually

$5 Million

$5 million in uncompensated, at-cost services for under-resourced individuals and families.

Photo of Preschool Founder Mary Shaw Branton
Outdoor Ability KC sign on Baltimore Avenue with flowers behind

250

Medical and vocational professionals

Photo of crayons lining outside of parking lot at preschool
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Program Handbook

Get more details about the program and other services offered through Ability KC by reading through one of our available program handbooks.

Open Program Handbook

Our Process

What You Can Expect

Our Approach to Therapeutic Preschool in Kansas City

Our Approach

Our teachers utilize a variety of research-based approaches when working with your child.

Our classroom structure follows the Creative Curriculum. This curriculum is closely aligned with the Missouri Early Learning Standards to ensure that children who transition from our program to the public school system are ready to meet the challenges of school-aged curriculum.

From a social-emotional-behavioral perspective, we implement the Conscious Discipline approach, which promotes developmentally appropriate practices for children of all abilities. All of our practices are trauma-informed and our children benefit greatly from these varied approaches, ensuring a rich learning environment for every child.

View Our Approach

Therapist with green ABKC shirt with Brain Injury patient
Therapist with little boy in pool smiling
zoomed in shot of people using bikes in Adult gym
patient in pink shirt playing game in group therapy
“When the need is great, the ideas need to be greater” quote on wall in peds gym
Dr. Kolessar (neuropsychologist) smiling/talking with patient
Shot of full Med Rehab adult gym/shot of facility

People We Serve

A Brighter Future Starts Here

Start your journey with Ability KC by using our online “Build Your Plan” tool, or feel free to reach out to our team regarding any questions or comments you may have.

little boy with teacher
  • Case Study

    Emmanuel

    Through physical, occupational, and speech therapies, as well as the Applied Behavior Analysis program, Emmanuel began making progress toward all of his goals.

    His speech and communication skills increased tremendously, taking Emmanuel from being nearly non-verbal to being able to put words together, sign or use his assistive device when appropriate.

  • Case Study

    Emmaus

    Emmaus was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex just before her third birthday.

    At three years old she was also diagnosed with Autism. Emmaus then started the therapeutic preschool program at Ability KC. Things that had been overwhelming like scanning a room to find an object, and knowing routines and rhythms, are now possible because of the ABA program.

  • Case Study

    Harper

    With a diagnosis of a rare and severely progressive epilepsy condition, Ohtahara syndrome, Harper was never expected to make it to his first birthday.

    He was not expected to communicate with his family or move independently. This year, Harper will turn nine years old.

    Benefits of Therapeutic Preschool

    2023 Preschool Graduation, kids with hands in air

    High Success Rates

    100% of students successfully transitioned to their next educational setting and 95% of children gained the skills to play with friends their same age.

    Ability KC's Years of Experience/Accreditation

    Ability KC’s Therapeutic Preschool is a NAEYC-accredited and state-licensed Peer Model preschool with a rich history of serving children of all abilities.

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    Student/Teacher Ratio

    With a 1:4 student-to-teacher ratio within the Therapeutic Preschool in Kansas City, children are assured valuable opportunities for one-on-one development from a highly qualified instructor.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Learn More About Ability KC

    With a rich history that spans over 75 years, Ability KC has provided services that have helped change and shape the lives of thousands.

    Our organization is proud to serve over 3,000 individuals with disabilities and their families annually, and we’ll continue to work tirelessly to help the members of our community reach their greatest potential.

    Our History

    Therapist Alison smiling at adult med rehab patient
    patient picking up colorful blocks