As a child comes of preschool age, they need the opportunity to participate in intensive specialized education. The Foundation, in cooperation with the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind, provides daily classroom for children, both singularly impaired and multi-handicapped.
Specialized teachers, counselors, and therapists work with parents to plan individualized programs, which will best meet the child’s needs.
Research has shown the first five years of life are the most critical developmental period, affecting all future growth and development. The child learns how to relate to the world, how to move in the world and how to understand the world around themselves. The child develops attitudes and aptitudes that will affect them the rest of their life.
*Orientation & Mobility Services, as well as therapy are provided to our students.
Provide a learning environment that fosters independence and maximizes the students’ potential in order to achieve a smooth transition upon returning to their neighborhood school.
Facilitate education expectations to parents and caregivers to promote equal growth and learning at home and school.
A team model of various appropriate disciplines address the whole child in planning and implementing each child’s educational program.
Provide individualized attention from a teacher of the visually impaired to address each child’s learning within the core curriculum and the expanded core curriculum.
Related services are an integral part of education programs. When a child has limited or no vision, facilitating this development through therapy, is very important.
FBC’s team of experienced therapists work together to give children the widest range of possibilities for growth and achieving their fullest potential.
Occupational therapy helps children function at their best in major life roles (or occupation). This could be learning to sit, to play with a new toy, to feed themselves or to understand the sensory input (touch and movement primarily) they are receiving from the world around them. Occupational therapy with young children tends to focus on play skills, hand skills, self care skills (such as eating and dressing), sensory processing and motor skills (both gross and fine).
The physical therapist tends to focus on large motor abilities such as mobility and balance, gross motor skill acquisition, postural alignment and appropriate use of adaptive equipment. Activities are provided in the context of functional play/school activities as well as providing the child with the appropriate sensory and motor experiences to enable them to develop or enhance their skills and develop their maximum level of independence.
The ability to communicate is a vital part of a young child’s development and subsequent interaction with the world. Speech and language pathologists in pediatrics work with children to enhance their expressive and receptive language, feeding and oral motor functioning, cognition. They can also use augmentative communication, such as sign language, high and low tech adaptive devices or tactile and/or textural communication boards.
Keys to Success
- We believe any child can learn.
- Allow student to staff (1:2) ratio and small class size.
- The classroom teacher is a teacher of the visually impaired so that the development of skills is addressed throughout the daily routine as well as monitoring the child’s functional use of vision.
- A longer than typical school day offers intensity of instruction that includes repeated opportunities, balance of activity and therapeutic services.
- Unique auxiliary services are provided in the program to all children including pet therapy, music therapy, and gymnastics to facilitate body awareness, communication skills, social skills and sensory processing skills.
- Therapy staff offer the expertise of their discipline yet also become knowledgeable on the unique challenges associated with vision loss.
- We value a partnership with the child’s family.
- A collaborative effort is maintained with community agencies, public school districts and other appropriate resources.