STRIVE Program
The STRIVE Program, Structured Teaching Reinforced In a Visual Environment, is a program designed for students with Aspergers, autism and PDD. Students range in age from 5 to 21 and are provided services in a 6:1+2 classroom ratio. The basic format for classrooms is modeled after the TEACCH program in North Carolina. Students are provided with a highly structured setting through the use of individual daily schedules, structured 1:1 teaching and the utilization of an independent work area. In addition, the incorporation of visual strategies assists in building skills in the areas of communication and language, social skills, academics, sensory integration and generalization into the community setting. Support services are provided in accordance with the IEP both in the classroom and in a separate location in the school building.
A major focus of the program is to develop independence in all skill areas. Students work daily on activities of daily living which may include dressing, toileting, hygiene, setting tables, cooking, cutting their food, organizing their belongings or negotiating the school building with minimal supervision. Small steps towards independence are begun at the youngest level to help ensure the highest level of independence as students reach graduation. Community outings have assisted students with generalizing their academic, language and social skills into everyday activities in the community. Students have the opportunity to go into the community with the support of visual strategies that will enable them to understand where they will be going and what they will be doing. Trips have included restaurants, the mall, the dentist, grocery shopping, the farm stand, the hairdresser, visits with Santa and the Easter Bunny, the bakery, the post office, the fire house and other community agencies.
Parents are encouraged to work collaboratively with the staff through the use of a daily log system. There is a parent group that meets monthly to discuss their concerns, learn about a variety of strategies, discuss current issues and support each other in their day-to-day struggles with raising a child with autism/PDD. Parents also have the opportunity to utilize the various strategies, such as schedules, that the child has learned at school to help to organize the home environment.
The 6:1+2 STRIVE classes follow the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and other Communication handicapped Children) program model out of North Carolina. Students use individual schedules to tell them what is expected throughout the day. They are transitioned between activities to allow time for the child to process that one activity is over and to understand what will come next. New skills are taught one-on-one and when a student demonstrates understanding of a concept, the skill is moved to the student's independent work area for continued practice and generalization. Group activities are used to teach communication, interactions with peers and adults and overall social skills.
In addition to the general TEACCH model, we have added the use of integrated visual teaching strategies throughout the program. These include the use of picture symbols in conjunction with a variety of instructional materials to teach language, cognitive concepts and social interactions.
Instructional materials include adapted books and songs, super symbols, greeting cards, core symbol strips/placements and adapted academic tasks. Tasks are primarily hands-on and multi-sensory. Students in these classes have classifications which include autism, asperger's syndrome, PDD and speech impairment.