Sewall was established in 1944 when Dr. Henry Sewall, a Denver physician, deeded his Capitol Hill home to the cause of helping children and adults with physical disabilities. In its earliest years, “Sewall House” provided rehabilitative services to those impacted by polio, cerebral palsy and other disabling conditions.
In the early 1960s, Dr. Sewall’s home was replaced by the building we still occupy today. The new facility, named Sewall Rehabilitation Center, continued to provide physical therapy and rehab services to children.
Sewall’s mission evolved in response to changing needs in our community. In 1970, Sewall was selected to create one of the nation’s original Head Start programs for children with physical and cognitive disabilities. Because of this program’s success, federal funding was granted for the Sewall Early Education and Development (SEED) project – a federal demonstration project to assist children with physical and developmental disabilities.
To launch the project, Sewall established a cutting-edge service delivery model: Teams of educators and therapists joined together to holistically address all developmental areas, and to provide therapeutic services within the natural setting of the preschool classroom. This transdisciplinary approach, considered revolutionary in the early 1970s, continues as a hallmark of Sewall’s service delivery today.
The SEED project’s success in promoting each child’s individual development, coupled with the movement to “mainstream” children with special needs, guided Sewall’s evolution. Today, Sewall Child Development Center is dedicated to meeting the needs of all children by providing early childhood education and transdisciplinary support in inclusive environments.
