Our services are based on the philosophy that to improve the quality of life for a child with special needs we need to focus on the whole child, including their mind, body, and spirit, their family, and their connection to the community. This concept of one child, one family, one community has led to the development of a program that supports children with special needs and their families through healing retreats, ongoing care, continuing education and networks of support. The first layer of our services, which we call the First Healing Circle, begins with a week-long healing retreat.
The first step for all participants in Integrative Touch for Kids' programs includes participation in a week-long healing retreat. These retreats are held in Tucson, Arizona, at a beautiful guest ranch that provides a private, natural environment. Children with special needs, their caregivers and siblings experience integrative healing services, education and support groups over the course of the week. Families also form relationships and bonds with other families. Family members participate in the program together, strengthening their relationships and fostering communication and understanding. An integrative healing team of more than 50 providers deliver a range of services including:
Once families have participated in a healing retreat and returned to their home communities, Integrative Touch for Kids continues to support them through education, support networks and ongoing trainings. We offer retreat participants the opportunity to regularly engage in online educational workshops, designed to promote learning and further support the integration of healing services into their daily routine. Through webinars, families can ask questions, practice new skills, and enhance their learning. When planning our retreats, we look for families that are from similar geographic locations to help foster the development of new networks of support within their home community. These networks include host families that do not have children with special needs to promote integration into the broader community and break down the stigmas and isolation that families often face. Our services strive to create integral communities that work torward supporting and empowering children with special needs and their families.
Our organization also engages in ongoing education, training, and resource development for integrative healthcare professionals. We provide community gatherings, trainings and opportunities for informational exchanges to take place amongst medical professionals. Healing arts practitioners, nurses, doctors, physical and occupational therapists and others have opportunities to be introduced to the new model of care that Integrative Touch for Kids is developing so that some of these ideas can influence and inform their practice.
Integrative Touch for Kids values the relationships we create in our communities and takes great care to form partnerships and to provide necessary resources. The ongoing support of our programs is dependant upon an investment from the communities that we impact. Similarly, to substantiate the effects of our services, Integrative Touch for Kids conducts research and evaluation that can be shared with the community at large, the medical community, families and corporate partners. The integrative nature of our work encourages integral communities where children with special needs and their families are full participating members of the society in which they live.
See Us Healing Families In Action
“Daniel” was a special boy. He had been born with a rare genetic anomaly that caused his body to be overtaken by cholesterol. He was only four years old, but his health was rapidly declining.
Whole-Child, Whole System
To enhance quality of life and promote comprehensive healing, we believe that it is necessary to treat the whole child - mind, body and spirit. Our whole-system, integrative approach is based on the domains provided by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine division of the National Institutes of Health, to foster individualized care and create choices for families in their child's healing.