All students receive five therapy services per week.
K-3rd: Students receive up to four pull-out sessions per week of Speech, OT or Counseling. Services are delivered both individually and in dyads. Additionally, each class receives a push-in whole group instruction social skills session.
4th & 5th: Students receive up to three dyad pull-out sessions per week in Speech, OT or Counseling as well as a push-in whole group instruction social skills session.
- Each 4th grade class has a whole group instruction push-in Zones of Regulation session.
- Each 5th grade class receives a whole group instruction push-in life skills session.
Social Skills: Developing social skills is an integral part of everyday life at Aaron School and a formal intervention program has been developed.
- K-2nd: A speech and language therapist conducts weekly classes. Through modeling, role-playing, problem-solving and discussion, students learn the verbal and nonverbal behaviors to interact effectively and appropriately with the people around them.
- 3rd-5th: A School Psychologist/Counselor conducts weekly classes to address more advanced social dynamics of friendships, interpersonal relationships, decision-making and self-reflection.
ZONES OF REGULATION CLASSES:
The Zones of Regulation curriculum, designed by Leah Kuypers, is a self-regulation program focusing on independence in recognizing and modifying students’ emotional and physical regulation. It also addresses perspective taking, in that students’ must consider how their zone affects others and how they are affected by other students’ zones. The program teaches four zones, associating colors with emotions or feelings (Blue Zone – low arousal or alertness; Green Zone – “just right” state of arousal and alertness where students are “ready to learn”; Yellow Zone – a higher or slightly increased emotional state and alertness; Red Zone – an extreme state of emotion and alertness.
Life Skills: The speech and occupational therapy departments developed a 5th grade Life Skills curriculum. Lessons are designed to explicitly teach subjects associated with various topics:
- Strategies for School Success
- Hygiene/Appearance
- Community/Mobility
- Consumer Education/Money Management
- Daily Life Skills/Personal Safety