Early Intervention
The Value of Early Intervention
The early years of a child’s life are a time of rapid growth, development, and learning. During this crucial stage, early intervention plays a powerful role in supporting each child to reach their full potential — emotionally, physically, socially, and academically.
Early intervention focuses on identifying and supporting developmental, emotional, or learning challenges as early as possible. When support is provided early, children are better able to build strong foundations, develop confidence, and engage positively with their environment.
At Bright Light Montessori, we believe in supporting the whole child. Through trusted, professional interventions offered within a familiar and nurturing school environment, children are able to receive the help they need while continuing to feel safe, supported, and understood.
Play Therapy
Play therapy provides children with a safe and natural way to express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Through guided play, children can work through emotional challenges, develop self-regulation skills, and strengthen their ability to communicate and cope. Play therapy is especially beneficial for children experiencing anxiety, behavioural challenges, emotional overwhelm, or changes at home.
Kinderkinetics
Kinderkinetics supports physical development through movement-based activities designed specifically for young children. These sessions help develop gross motor skills, coordination, balance, strength, and body awareness. Strong physical foundations are essential for classroom readiness, focus, confidence, and overall wellbeing.
Speech Therapy
Speech therapy supports the development of communication skills, including speech clarity, language understanding, expression, and social communication. Early support can significantly impact a child’s ability to connect with others, follow instructions, build friendships, and succeed academically.
Working Together for Your Child
By integrating early intervention services such as play therapy, Kinderkinetics, and speech therapy into the school environment, we are able to work collaboratively with families and professionals to support each child’s individual needs.
Early support leads to stronger outcomes — and every small step taken early can make a meaningful difference in a child’s lifelong learning journey.
Elmarie Joubert Play Therapy
Our team of therapists will be joining us from January 2026
Play therapy – Elmarie
Elmarie Play Therapy offers a gentle, play-based approach that helps children feel emotionally safe, confident, and understood during the school day. Every therapist on the team works with the same warm, child-centred philosophy: first we play, then we heal.
This support will be available to all children and will focus on:
- emotional overwhelm
- friendship or social difficulties
- anxiety or sensory stress
- transitions or big changes at home
- behaviour that feels “too big” for them to manage alone
The goal is simple: to create a safe space where children can play, express their feelings, and feel supported in a way that’s natural and comforting.
About Elmarie
Elmarie is the founder of Elmarie Play Therapy. She is trained in Play Therapy, Psychology, Montessori teaching, and Genetics, with over 15 years of hands-on experience working with children.
Click here to find out more: www.ejplaytherapy.com
We asked Elmarie some questions to help you decide whether you want this option for your child:
1. Why is emotional intelligence important?
Emotional intelligence helps children understand their feelings, express themselves safely, and cope with daily challenges without big emotional outbursts. It builds confidence, resilience, and healthier relationships at home and school.
2. Why or when is intervention needed?
Intervention helps when emotions feel too big for a child to manage, or when parents and teachers feel unsure about what to do next. It offers children a safe space to process feelings and gives adults practical tools to support them.
3. How Elmarie Play Therapy can assist with daily challenges/trauma at school
Our therapists will be working with children, on-site x days a week. So we’ll be able to support through overwhelming moments. From friendship conflicts to sudden emotional distress. Helping them feel safe, calm, and grounded during the school day.
4. What social–emotional milestones do children need to reach, and how we help
Children need to learn how to express emotions, connect with others, problem-solve, and build confidence. We support these milestones through gentle, play-based sessions that help children practise these skills naturally and at their own pace.
Elmarie
Kinderkinetics – Jaide
I studied Sport Science at Stellenbosch University and went on to pursue my honours in Kinderkinetics.
A Kinderkineticist is an exercise scientist with a passion for little humans! I am passionate about making a difference in children’s lives and aim to equip children with the movement skills that are essential to leading a physically active and healthy lifestyle. I have experience working with both neuro-typical and special needs children from birth to 13 years.
I believe in the importance of play and my approach to therapy is centred around encouraging the child to play and learn through movement. It is important that children are active in their daily life, reach their gross motor milestones and build a strong foundation of movement skills so that they can succeed academically, overcome any motor performance challenges and reach their full potential and that is what I’m here for!
Jaide
BA Sport Science & Psychology (Stellenbosch University)
BSc. Hons Sport Science [Kinderkinetics] (Stellenbosch University)
Speech Therapy – Angela
Angela completed her community service year in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal where she was actively involved in the rehabilitation unit and various community projects after which she was a locum for a private practice at a school in Cape Town. She then returned to Johannesburg where she worked as Senior Speech Therapist and Audiologist at South Africa’s largest hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
After completing her Masters in Audiology, she practiced at a specialised centre for autism, research and education. She also supervised students at the University of Witwatersrand. She went on to open her own practices in 2014, all from special needs schools and paediatric therapy facilities. The practices focused on a range of speech, language, communication, feeding and hearing difficulties that children of any age may experience. With several interventions used to help children reach their speech, language and communication goals. These include FLOOR TIME, Prompt, Whole-Language Approaches, LARSP approaches, early intervention, myofascial release, NDT principles, TEACCH interventions as well as language-based learning and feeding principles.
Angela believes in an eclectic and child-specific approach that provides skilled therapy services in a welcoming environment for children with special needs.
My passion lies in:
- Early intervention and language stimulation with delayed and/or at risk infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers
- Special needs conditions such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, genetic conditions and syndromes
- School-aged language and academic support, such as reading and phonics as well as language specific difficulties
- Auditory processing and aural-rehab therapy
- Speech therapy for articulation, stuttering and apraxia
- Feeding therapy for any feeding related issues, both structural and functional
Angela
Want to know more?
Please feel free to contact us should you want to know more about us and what we can offer you and your child.