The Child Development Unit:

 The Child Development Unit operates in the Marianne Center and provides professional services which include: identification, prevention, evaluation, training and paramedical and psycho-social treatments for children aged 0-9 aimed at helping them realize their potential.

The Unit targets children and their families and takes into consideration the child's family and educational environment.

The Unit has been operating for the past 14 years, is recognized by the Ministry of Health and the various Health Insurance clinics and operates as a therapeutic branch of the Child Development Unit in the Barzelai Hospital in Ashkelon, under the professional supervision of Dr. Shoshana Habkin.


Children are located in the following ways:
Referrals from the various child-development agencies.
Identified by the teachers and assistants in the educational frameworks.
Identified by a pediatrician in the local clinics.
 
Available Services:
  1. Para-medical Field:
 Occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, emotional therapy and psycho-social therapy.
Occupational therapy diagnosis.
Psychological diagnosis services – only for children referred by the Barzilai Hospital Child Development Unit.
  1. Rehabilitative Day Care Center:
 Rehabilitative educational frameworks for children with special needs aged 1-3, who are recognized by the "Rehabilitative Framework Law". The children receive professional educational care combined with paramedical treatments aimed at nurturing, promoting and rehabilitating them according to their individual needs, while also addressing the needs of the families.
  1. Library:
 Rental of games and books to children who are treated at the Center in order to maintain continuity between the progress made during therapy and at home.
  1. Special Projects
 Diagnosis and Prevention Programs: diagnosis, prevention and advancement programs at the day care centers and kindergartens in Kiryat Gat implemented in cooperation with the Educational Department: Yaniv Project and PACT Project. There is great significance in early diagnosis and treatment in order to ease the functioning of the child at home and in the educational framework and in order to help each child reach his/her full potential and independence.
Operating Hours:

Diagnosis and therapeutic services are provided Sun-Thurs. between 8:00-19:00.

The Rehabilitative Day Care Center operates Sun-Thu between 7:30-15:45
                                                           and on Fridays between 7:30-12:30.

Coordinator: Ms. Meirav Ziner.