All students are on Individual Education Plans, a program that is tailored to their unique individual needs. Depending on the needs of the student, the program can be predominately academic based, life skills based or a combination of academic and life skills. Our learning programs are aligned to the WA Curriculum.
Depending on the needs and abilities of the student, all subject areas are taught. The main pedagogies used are;
ABA focuses on teaching small, measurable units of behaviour in a very systematic way, called discrete trial training (DTT), initially with physical, verbal or visual prompts. A task is broken down into small steps and taught in a one on one situation. Teaching trials are repeated many times, initially in rapid succession, until the student performs a response readily without prompts. To maximise a child’s success, emerging skills are practised and reinforced in many less structured situations (generalised) e.g. group activities in class, on excursions, and at home.
ABA helps children develop their social, academic, self-help and behavioural skills needed to interact with others and to cope with the challenges of everyday life. It is a highly structured program designed to meet the individual requirements of each child, while building the foundations for life-long learning including reading, writing, mathematics, and communication, gross and fine motor skills, and daily living skills.
The TEACCH programme offers individualised instruction emphasising skills appropriate for the child’s age and developmental level in a highly structured learning environment. The curriculum is developmentally sequenced and functionally based. General domains for skill development are communication, socialisation and practical skills. The learning environment is clearly defined with concrete physical boundaries. Separate areas are designed for specific activities including independent work stations, play areas, and group work areas.
A personal schedule is designed for each student. The daily routine is displayed visually through picture symbols, photographs, line drawings, and written words in a top to bottom or left to right progression. The student is taught to manipulate the schedule independently.
Direct Instruction is a method of teaching that is based on behaviour analysis techniques and mastery learning:
Because the wording is unambiguous, lessons are structured in such a way that student errors are minimised and learning is maximised through repetition.