Laureate Day School Program Descriptions

To provide a structured learning environment for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), using educational and therapeutic best practices to maximize success in the areas of emotional regulation, communication, social relationships, academic performance and independent functioning.

Laureate Day School has adopted the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) model of structured teaching for students with ASD. Structured teaching provides a system for organizing the classroom environment and developing appropriate activities that allow students to understand what is expected of them. This decreases anxiety and frustration and addresses challenging behaviors in a proactive manner by creating a meaningful environment that feels predictable and safe. Structured teaching has three main goals:

1. Provide developmentally appropriate supports

2. Increase academic and social understanding and skills

3. Foster maximum independence

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

Every classroom at Laureate has three basic areas:

Work Area: Where students work with the teacher 1:1 or in small groups to learn new academic concepts in all subjects.

Independent Area: Where academic material the student has been taught and mastered will be reinforced through the use of structured activities.

Leisure Area: Where students have access to structured leisure activities and/or may engage in sensory regulating activities that will help them prepare for the next academic task.

Appropriate Activities: Children with ASD have a strength and preference for visual communication and learning. To take advantage of this fact, Laureate uses visual schedules, to-do lists and structured activities to support our students throughout the entire school day.

Utilizing visual structures answers three key questions for students with ASD: Where do I go? What do I do? When am I finished? By addressing these questions, our students are able to negotiate the school environment with minimal disruption and maximum independence.

The best thing about the structured teaching model is that it works! It can be easily adapted for all age levels and provides appropriate support for students with disabilities other than autism.

Counseling services are an integral part of the school day at Laureate and focus on addressing the social-emotional needs and deficits that are common with ASD.

Individual counseling is provided once per week. Intervention strategies are eclectic, tailored to each student’s developmental or functional level and targeting issues of emotional regulation, joint attention, sensory regulation, behavioral rigidity, and executive functioning. Emphasis is placed on developing a strong therapeutic relationship with students that not only provides a better understanding of their internal experiences but also allows counselors to best support them in the school milieu.

Students also participate in a daily social skills group with their classmates. These groups use many of the same structured teaching techniques seen in the classroom and focus on a wide variety of social skills from sitting with peers at a table or taking turns during a game to conducting conversations or managing conflicts with others. Students also have the opportunity to learn and practice independent leisure and social leisure activities during group therapy sessions, which can then be used in the classroom.

In addition, some students may be eligible to participate in Peer Counseling sessions, which pair two students together to meet with a counselor for structured social activities. Counselors may provide lessons related to social skills but the emphasis of these sessions is on learning to negotiate positive peer interactions through a variety of hands-on, interactive activities or games. Participation will be determined on an individualized basis based on such factors as readiness, emotional/behavioral regulation, and attendance.

Counselors are also available to parents to offer support and guidance regarding home and community issues impacting their child. Providing similar structure at home and school is of critical importance for a student with ASD and parents who are willing to collaborate with the Laureate team will greatly enhance their child’s growth and independence in both settings.

In addition, the counselors use the Zones of Regulation and Social Thinking models to support students with increasing self-regulation and social connections. These curricula will be taught in group and reinforced both in counseling sessions and the classroom milieu and are considered to be the interventions of choice for students with ASD.

Laureate Day School offers a year-round program and anticipates each student’s participation in the summer session, unless otherwise stated in the IEP. The extended school year (ESY) focuses on two goals: the retention/remediation of academic skills and the application of social/emotional skills in a variety of social settings including field trips, when available. Counseling, OT, and speech/language services continue uninterrupted during the summer. 

During the summer session, students attend school on a shortened-day schedule:

Monday – Friday 9:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M