Special Education

AUTISM SERVICES

"Autism itself is not the enemy... the barriers to development that are included with autism are the enemy. The retardation that springs from a lack of development is the enemy. The sensory problems that are often themselves the barriers are the enemy. These things are not part of who the child is... they are barriers to who the child is meant to be, according to the developmental blueprint. Work with the child's strengths to overcome the weaknesses, and work within the autism, not against it, to overcome the developmental barriers."

-- Frank Klein, autistic

Hammitt School (Challenges Program) and Hammitt Junior-Senior High School offer specialized classrooms for students with severe Autism and other Developmental Disabilities. This classrooms are designed to meet each individual student’s needs in preparation for vocational and social opportunities as they move from the traditional educational experience to adult life in the community. The core curriculum provides the students in the classroom with opportunities to learn and practice life skills that will assist them as they become more independent adults. In collaboration with several business partners, the students in the Autism Program are able to experience real life work experiences through job shadowing with a job coach in community based settings or by performing simulated job tasks on-campus. As the students develop more employability skills, some of them may have jobs in the community with job coaches helping to facilitate successful employment.

Programming for each student is individualized with accommodations that meet their unique needs. Accommodations may include visual supports such as picture schedules, picture sequences for teaching skills, social stories, choice boards, as well as augmentative communication devices. The Speech and Language Therapist works closely with classroom instructional and support staff in developing strategies that will facilitate and enhance learning and skill acquisition. Data is collected on a regular basis to determine program effectiveness and student progress. Our goal is for students to develop enhanced skills that will result in greater independence and self-sufficiency as they transition from school based to adult centered services.