Wissahickon High School sees positive results from new autistic support classroom
The Autism News | English
Wissahickon High School debuted its new autistic support classroom this fall, and the district is already seeing positive results from the program.
The school board received a report on the new classroom during its Jan. 23 meeting.
“The district is very proud of our special education programs and most notably the autistic support program,” Assistant Superintendent Christopher Marchese said.
While there are autistic support classrooms at the elementary and middle school levels, the high school opened its first classroom this September, according to Kelle Heim-McCloskey, director of student services.
Previously, students with autism had received academic support outside of the district. The district made the decision to return an autistic support program to the high school both because it believed it could provide better education in-house and could provide services at a lower cost than an outside provider, according to district officials.
The classroom opened with four students taught by a certified teacher and two classroom aides, according to Heim-McCloskey. The district estimates two to four students will enter the high school program each year.
Classroom programming centers on academics, vocational training, transitional living skills, community-based learning and related special education services through the use of applied behavioral analysis and direct instruction, according to Heim-McCloskey.
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