20 Years of Supporting Kids, Families & Our Community—thank you for helping make these 20 years so meaningful. San Diego Kids First began with a vision of helping just one child at a time—and now, 20 years later, that vision continues to grow stronger every day. FROM OUR VERY FIRST FLYER (CREATED BY DR. PONTILLO HERSELF!) [...]
New! Walk-In Office Hours with Our Clinic Intake Coordinator, JENAYA Have Questions? We’re Here to Help! Whether you're exploring services for the first time or need assistance navigating your options, we’re here to support you. Every Wednesday from 10 am to 12 pm and Thursday from 10 am - 1pm new clients and families are [...]
We’re excited to introduce two new sessions of our social skills groups that are designed to support your children in building confidence and strengthening their social skills! Our social skills groups are separated by age and limited in size to ensure that each child will have their own individualized goals to work on within the group setting! Here’s what we’re offering: Ages 4-5 Ages 6-8 Throughout [...]
I’m excited to announce that we are now offering new openings and appointments for our clients! Our specialized behavior interventionist will provide these targeted services within the community through our sister clinic, San Diego Behavior Solutions. New Availaibities include Social Skills Group Training, In-Home Behavioral Interventions, Classroom/School-based Interventions, and OCD Treatment/Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). [...]
We are thrilled to share a huge round of applause for Heidi Joachims, OT, OTR/L, for her outstanding parent presentation last Friday at a local elementary school! Heidi captivated an audience of over 20 engaged parents, diving into the fascinating world of regulation from an occupational therapist’s perspective. Her insightful guidance and practical tips empowered [...]
Due to the high demand for our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) services and our commitment to making them widely accessible, we’re excited to expand our availability by offering additional low-fee, in-office SEL sessions. We are pleased to expand our low-fee Social Emotional Learning (SEL) sessions with Jenaya Vasquez, B.A., under the supervision of our Director [...]
We are excited to welcome Dr. Anna Basanty to our San Diego Kids First team! With extensive training and experience in psychological assessments and therapeutic interventions, Dr. Basanty is passionate about helping children and adolescents (ages 10 - 18) reach their full potential. She specializes in working with youth facing social and emotional challenges, including [...]
Dear SDKF families, colleagues, and friends, Here at SDKF, my colleagues and I are often asked for tools and strategies on how to help our children (or teens) regulate their emotions. Our wonderful occupational therapist, Dr, Heidi Joachims “Dr. Jo” has written an exceptional article on co-regulation, or the ability for a parent, guardian, teacher [...]
If you’re parenting a toddler, you know firsthand that transitions can be some of the hardest parts of your day and often lead to tantrums. Take a look below to see what techniques our early childhood mental health specialists recommend trying at home! Here are five favorite preventative, aka “let’s try to get ahead [...]
We are excited to share the highlights from our recent talk at Beth Alm, where our very own occupational therapist, Heidi Joachims, OTD, delivered an insightful presentation on sensory regulation! Heidi provided training to various teachers, staff, and administration about how sensory experiences impact student’s behavior, learning, and overall well-being. Heidi covered: Understanding Sensory [...]
