Giant Steps School Program
When our son started at Giant Steps we were without hope. Now we have all kinds of hope!
Students come to Giant Steps because they need intensive support to make academic progress. How do we make that progress possible?
Creating the Conditions for Learning
Giant Steps is an autism-friendly environment. Ball boxes, swings, jumping mats, therapy balls and tactile materials are readily available throughout the school to help students calm their bodies and focus their minds. Classrooms are small and self-contained to minimize distractions.
Everyone at Giant Steps understands autism. All staff have specialized training in educational and therapeutic techniques before they start work and periodically throughout each year.
Trust is essential. Children with communication challenges can get anxious in school. Giant Steps keeps staff assignments consistent and the staff-to-student ratio low. Close working relationships relieve anxiety and confusion, clearing the way for learning.
We work as a team.Teaching and therapy staff meet daily to share updates, address problems, and keep students moving forward. Each student's daily log book is a running record of therapy and instructional notes. The book goes home each evening, so parents can contribute their own observations and concerns to the ongoing discussion.
Academic Curriculum
Giant Steps' K-12 Essential Skills Curriculum is aligned with state and national standards. The curriculum describes hands-on, multisensory learning activities for the skills and sub-skills needed to reach Language, Communication Arts and Math objectives. Science and Social Studies broaden students' knowledge and reinforce their reading, writing and problem solving abilities. Academic instruction takes place in individualized sessions and small groups. Giant Steps teachers select and build their instructional materials to engage students through high visual appeal and concrete presentation of concepts.
Music Therapy
Starting, stopping, moving in rhythm. Looking, listening, give-and-take. Children with autism respond to music and readily engage in musical "conversation" even when language development is delayed. Music Therapy helps students develop the fundamental rhythms of communication.
Speech Therapy
Addressing the range of communication delays on the autism spectrum, Speech Therapy makes sure every child has a way to make himself understood. Speech Therapists work intensively on both expressive and receptive language, enhancing students' ability to acquire new information and to show what they know.
Occupational Therapy
Whether we are reading, listening to music or distinguishing between hot and cold, information first enters our minds through one or more of our senses. Sensory integration is the process of receiving, processing and interpreting sensation and information. This fundamental system underlies all communication and activity. For many children with autism, sensory integration is delayed or disrupted. This gives rise to difficulties with motor planning, coordination and fine and gross motor skills. Occupational Therapy focuses on improving sensory integration and developing the physical skills needed for everyday living.
Social Skills
What does a smile mean? What about an abrupt tone of voice? How can I ask directions? How do I start a conversation? Difficulty with social interaction is one of the core characteristics of autism. The Social Skills program builds skills for interpreting and reacting to facial expressions and body language, tone of voice and other clues to meaning. Students practice greetings, question-asking, conversation and play skills in small groups and with high school volunteers.