CLASSROOMS FOR PRESCHOOL STUDENTS

TEACHER WORKING WITH STUDENT

Hawkswood School offers unique options for preschool students with disabilities. Our Preschool Program provides a rich student to staff ratio and emphasizes communication skills, fundamental learning readiness, social growth, and behavioral development.

All preschoolers participate in physical education, music, and art programming throughout the school week.

Each program provides unique individualized language-based activities within the natural context of the school day to facilitate communication growth. Hawkswood uses a collaborative teaching model that incorporates therapy into the classroom setting, allowing for both acquisition and generalization of all skills learned. Occupational therapists, speech-language specialists, and physical therapists work together with the classroom staff to help each child master his or her individual goals. Teachers develop creative instructional activities around each of the student’s preferences, interests, and items, so learning is enhanced. Both programs focus on utilizing a child’ strengths and natural desire for social connection to shape behavioral needs.

Hawkswood School offers a specialized preschool program designed to meet the needs of our youngest learners on the autism spectrum. With a staff ratio of 2:1, our program emphasizes communication skills, learning readiness, and social development in an enriched environment that utilizes the principles of applied behavior analysis. Our preschool program also utilizes a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to related services to promote the generalization of skills and education of the whole child.

Our preschool programs are individualized based on the child’s strengths, needs, and interests. We focus on promoting functional communication skills across all settings and environments to increase the child’s ability to express needs and wants and promote self-advocacy skills. Learning readiness skills include sitting appropriately, following daily routines, attending in both small group and whole group settings, and transitions. It is our goal to help our students become not only available for learning but also actively engaged in the learning process. Our emphasis on social development builds upon a child’s receptive and expressive language skills, interaction with others, and functioning as a member of a group.

Even our youngest learners can exhibit challenging behavior. Our preschool staff works collaboratively with the school’s board certified behavior analyst to conduct functional behavior assessments and ensure that all students have access to individualized behavior supports to promote positive growth and development. 

Our Beliefs about Student Behavior