A developmental, relationship-based curriculum built around the way our students actually learn — woven through every hour of the day, for students ages 5 through 22.
SEA offers an individualized and research-based curriculum with the strongly held belief that all students have the right to access a rich academic curriculum appropriate to their individual learning style and developmental levels, while also supporting functional life skills and vocational job skills. Students receive instruction in accordance with the courses that they are enrolled in and all coursework is aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards. Soaring Eagle Academy has a course catalog listing the courses and program standards offered.
Soaring Eagle Academy’s curriculum and its development were guided by several principles:
SEA takes a developmental approach to curriculum for each student regardless of disability category, that takes into account what students should learn and how they best learn changes with each developmental stage and the experiences that come within their developmental stage. The curriculum used is continuously adapted for each individual student in order to accommodate the students’ current developmental level, their individual learning differences, and their previous experiences around the materials. Learning is maximized through interactive and active processes and by creating meaningful experiences unique to each student profile.
Students are encouraged to develop at their own pace and within their own level. Learning is supported by building on previous knowledge and experiences offering students the opportunity to work on topics over extended periods of time. Student learning occurs in both small group settings and in individual stations. Participating in small group learning gives them the opportunity to be introduced to new skills and concepts with peer model and discussion opportunities in a multi-sensory environment. The students then take what they have learned to their individual stations where they will deepen their understanding by reviewing, practicing, and expanding on concepts taught. Instruction in both small groups and in individual stations are scaffolded to support understanding and practice of curriculum but also is integral to supporting tiered learning and creating opportunities for extension activities.
Each student at SEA receives a highly individualized daily lesson plan that is specific to their learning level, sensory profile, individual strengths and challenges, that also supports their developmental level of emotional and intellectual functioning. Each student’s interests are honored within every learning opportunity. Based on this knowledge, student’s individualized curriculum is generated by interaction of the student’s natural interests, Developmental Language models, principles of the DIR®/Floortime™ approach and Illinois Learning Standards, Individual Goals and Benchmarks all adhering to the Common Core. Soaring Eagle Academy’s philosophy of education is that all curriculum be experienced in the contextual environment, in order to be meaningful and integrated with prior conceptual knowledge. Each student’s interests are honored within every learning opportunity.
Soaring Eagle Academy developed and adopted various curriculum components based on the importance of affect and experience in learning and offers a robust course catalog where classes are chosen for students based on individual needs and capacities. SEA believes that children learn best when they are well-regulated, able to share attention with their communicative partner and/or teacher and are emotionally invested in the learning. When children are interested and emotionally invested in material, their capacity to be present for the experience and to be taught is heightened. Multi-sensory experiences lead to meaningful learning, which in turn creates better comprehension of material and regulation in children.
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Sample SEA Literacy Concept Curriculum
Soaring Eagle Academy’s curriculum encompasses the following areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, vocabulary development, comprehension of written material, spelling, grammar, use and mechanics, expressive/creative writing and a concept group that supports the literacy books chosen each month.
The Superkids reading program is a comprehensive reading and language arts curriculum with phonics at its core. It provides meaningful and engaging content while providing systematic phonics-based instruction. Soaring Eagle adapts Superkids to meet the needs of each individual student’s profile to maximize their learning. Heggerty Phonemic Awareness and Earobics, additionally serve to support our students’ ability to develop phonemic awareness and emerging phonics skills.
To supplement reading and language arts, students engage in a range of novel studies chosen for their developmental level and comprehension capacities. Novels are explored in groups to promote reading and thinking together about the content. Many of the individualized lessons also incorporate news articles, biographies and other forms of informational text as they pertain to the content to be taught and the interests of the student. Spelling Connections is a word study curriculum utilizing print and digital resources to build spelling skills and enhance overall literacy. Spelling Connections emphasizes the idea that spelling skills are interrelated to other language arts skills: word study, phonics/vocabulary, reading, and writing, presented through weekly thematic units. Developmentally ready students also receive vocabulary and comprehension instruction through Word Wisdom. Word Wisdom offers informational text passages to provide context for targeted vocabulary words. The lessons then embed understanding of the context through examples directly related to the students’ own experiences. Students then demonstrate their comprehension of the vocabulary through the application of the words within sentences or short paragraphs. Reading A-Z is also utilized as a supplement to our reading program offering hundreds of titles from pre-k through the high school level. Fiction and nonfiction passages from a wide range of topics provide teachers with the opportunity to weave in the interests and prior knowledge of their students to create engaging and robust individualized lessons. SEA developed Book kits with items related to over 60 fiction and non-fiction literary stories, housed in our Lending Library available for staff to use, bringing the learning to life for our students, with objects they can engage with through all of their senses and act out the story- with a goal of encouraging a love of reading stories, building reading skills and comprehension of material for later use.
SEA additionally facilitates writing instruction using SQ Sentence and SQ Write and Strategies for Writers, depending on each student’s developmental levels. SQ Write/ Sentence uses executive functioning-based learning tools to support the hierarchy of writing following a precise sequence. SQ Write aims to support students in asking themselves effective questions related to writing. These questions then guide the writing process to generate ideas for a complete and organized essay. Students are taught a systematic way to brainstorm ideas and organize their thoughts to create effective writing samples. Strategies for Writers is another comprehensive K-8 curriculum that focuses on the traits for effective writing across subject areas/ text styles (narrative, opinion, how-to, research reports, etc.). For students who are developmentally ready, Strategies for Writers facilitates the writing process and focuses on: introducing a topic clearly, organizing ideas, logically supporting claims, and maintaining a formal text style. Students are also given opportunities to review and edit peers’ work as part of the writing process. Writing progress is measured through assessments at the end of each unit. Students writing samples are scored using a rubric measuring: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation.
The Language Concept Groups centered around children’s literature are unique to the Literacy Concept Curriculum, developed by SEA Co-Founder, Michele Ricamato, used at Soaring Eagle Academy and available to parents and educators for a donation. Taking the literacy recommendations from the Common Core, books are chosen to support a student’s exposure to a range of books and their language development. Each month, a book is explored with students. The books are adapted to teach at the level of the student. Concepts are experienced over the course of an entire week. Early learners will experience the concept in tangible and sensory-based ways. Later learners will learn about concepts while problem solving, making inferences, predicting and critically thinking.
Literacy projects are designed to integrate all developmental capacities. The monthly concept group is based on developmental language theory that seeks to promote deep comprehension of concepts and words that children are exposed to throughout their day. The groups are designed to allow for new conceptual learning across different contexts throughout the week to build bigger and more full experiential meaning. The group dynamic is an important part of this work. We want children to experience the concepts with their peers, to be able to watch and observe others enacting and experiencing the concept and to interact with multiple partners through this experience. If a student already understands the concept, they may serve as a model to others, which is just as important. Students may understand the concept in one context but not in many. In addition, they may “look” as if they understand the concept because they have great comprehension strategies that appear to us, as adults, that they understand. To understand through linguistic means, the child needs many experiences, many matches and many opportunities to explore and act on in their world to make a deeper meaning and a truer connection.
Soaring Eagle Academy’s math curriculum utilizes the ORIGO Stepping Stones Mathematics (ORIGO) program. ORIGO is a developmentally appropriate math program for K-6th grade and is aligned to support all state standards. It was derived from research that points to developmental models of how children learn math in the most effective and efficient ways and designed to engage students in their learning, while helping them to develop a deeper conceptual understanding of mathematics. It allows for hands on experiential learning, which is a key learning principle at SEA, while supporting the understanding of the “language of math” that aligns with our developmental language model thinking. Whole class, small group, differentiation, investigation and problem-solving activities are provided to support thinking and conceptualizing for each unique profile of learning. Math is taught for understanding, not memorization, with meaningful learning at the heart of all activities. Math curriculum is also supported by the work of the late John Van DeWalle, “Teaching Student Centered Mathematics”, as well as Simple Solutions Common Core Math all of which extend through the 8th grade level. Students learning above the 8th grade level enroll in Prentice Hall Common Core Pre- Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II and/ or Geometry. These courses offer units around each Big Idea of Algebra and Geometry (aligned to the Common Core standards) and provide opportunities to visualize, reason and practice the skills through the use of video, interactive learning activities, think and write opportunities, and error analysis and reasoning for strategies. Differentiated Remediation Activities and additional instructional support ideas from the Algebra and Geometry Companion and Student Book support the introduction of new vocabulary, key concepts, and lesson checks.
Each module of ORIGO Stepping Stones offers formative and summative methods to assess student knowledge and skills. Simple Solutions offers quarterly summative assessments to be used as indicators of student progress throughout the course of the year.
Soaring Eagle Academy also utilizes Prentice Hall Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, which provides built in Lesson Checks throughout each lesson to support ongoing, informal assessment. Each chapter offers formal assessment opportunities through Mid- Chapter quizzes, Pull It Together Performance Tasks, and a final Chapter Review to measure student progress.
Soaring Eagle Academy’s social science curriculum is based on the guiding principles and ideas from Every Book is a Social Studies Book (How to meet the Standards with Picture Books, K-6) and Social Studies (All Day, Every Day in the Early Childhood Classroom). The curriculum was developed using the standards set forth by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). These standards guide our curriculum decisions by providing student performance expectations within the ten thematic strands being taught to our students.
The ten thematic strands include:
These ten thematic strands draw from the social science disciplines of anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion and sociology, as well as appropriate content from the humanities, mathematics and natural science.
Utilizing literature books, Soaring Eagle Academy integrates cross-curricular materials to implement the standards set forth by the NCSS. These standards guide what students should be taught, how they will be taught and how their performance will be evaluated. The standards provide criteria for making decisions about what to include in the curriculum each month.
Soaring Eagle Academy’s social science curriculum is designed to support a student’s ability to activate their prior knowledge to learn about the world around them. General goals for the course aim to include teaching students about their role in relation to social and civic matters, helping students think critically, and to help students become concerned citizens and develop a social understanding. All concepts are adapted to each individual student so that learning is meaningful and developmentally appropriate. Concepts learned are integrated into other subjects to create cross-curricular projects and maximize learning.
Teacher assessments are made based on the student’s ability to draw from the text presented and make connections, expand concepts and think critically about social and civic matters on a personal, national, and global level. Progress is measured based on a student’s ability to write, recall, and/ or discuss the content as it directly affects their own experience as a citizen. Teacher assessments include the comprehension of curriculum assessment developed by Soaring Eagle Academy and based on the Clinical Assessment of Language Comprehension by Miller and Paul.
McGraw Hill INSPIRE Science serves as the foundation of Soaring Eagle Academy’s science curriculum. INSPIRE is a research-based science curriculum for grades K-8. The program uses a developmental model of how students think and learn as they grow to choose meaningful topics and ways to explore. Content and experiments lead to discovery and application of the scientific method through the Five E’s: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Teacher assessments are made based on the student’s ability to make connections, expand concepts, apply the investigative process to other unknowns and to act on the objects presented to them. The Student Journals offer records of student progress through writing prompts, reasoning strategies, and detailed explanations of the scientific process through gathering materials, collecting data and forming hypotheses.
Science (High School only – excludes Transition students)
McGraw Hill INSPIRE Science serves as the foundation of Soaring Eagle Academy’s science curriculum. INSPIRE is a research-based science curriculum for grades K-8. The program uses a developmental model of how students think and learn as they grow to choose meaningful topics and ways to explore. Content and experiments lead to discovery and application of the scientific method through the Five E’s: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Teacher assessments are made based on the student’s ability to make connections, expand concepts, apply the investigative process to other unknowns and to act on the objects presented to them. The Student Journals offer records of student progress through writing prompts, reasoning strategies, and detailed explanations of the scientific process through gathering materials, collecting data and forming hypotheses.
Soaring Eagle offers Biology, Physics and Chemistry for eligible students. These courses are taught in daily small group sessions utilizing McGraw Hill curriculum. Students participate in experiments, class discussions, and conduct research related to the topics presented. All content is Common Core aligned. Curriculum- based assessments are conducted after each unit.
Teacher assessments are made based on the student’s ability to make connections to the content, expand upon the concepts, and apply the scientific method. Big Ideas are outlined within each lesson for instructors to make initial and ongoing informal assessments. Lesson Check Ups and Chapter Tests are adapted to suit the individual needs of each student and embedded within the lessons for summative assessments. Students also participate in a Science Fair project that focuses on the development of a hypothesis, gathering materials, testing the hypothesis, taking data, conducting research, and analyzing the information and forming conclusions.
Social emotional development is supported by our SEA Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum that integrates Developmental Language and DIR® based thinking, and based on the Illinois Learning Standards, by utilizing literature from our SEA Social Studies and Literacy curriculum and other books, to support social emotional learning skills. The curriculum is designed to:
The mental health professional (Social worker/Counselor) working with the student/group chooses a book related to social emotional themes that may be more prevalent within the classroom. They may begin with a book that is most supportive to current challenges, with no specific book order. The staff will bridge the book into the learning and individual work stations appropriate to the student’s developmental level, language comprehension, strengths and challenges.
The books and focus areas for social emotional learning competencies include:
ISBE SEL Standard Goals:
As with all children and adults, we believe children with Autism develop friendships around activities of interest to them. Students are offered opportunity to participate in Friends Groups with SEA staff supporting the students’ individual regulatory needs while facilitating peer connections. Each student’s developmental level serves as the starting point for facilitating peer interactions. At SEA, we believe that peer play follows a sequence of development similar to interacting with parents, caregivers, and teachers., 1) being in the same room with peers, 2) being in the vicinity of a peer, 3) sharing attention with a peer, 4) engaging with a peer, 5) subtle response to a peer, 6) initiating with a peer, and 7) sustaining back and forth interactions with a peer. Friends’ groups are led by Staff and are based on students’ interests that are ever changing but may include: cooking group, girls/boys group, play group, sensory group/HS, Early Learning group, film group, food group, games group, music group, books group, dance group, sensory group 1, building group, imagination group, STEM group. Group location, number of participants, developmental level and natural interest of each member is carefully considered when forming and supporting groups throughout the school year. Students attend their assigned Friends’ group on a daily basis and have the opportunity to gain the following: ability to spend time with and form relationships with staff or students of different ages across the school in different contexts, participate in meaningful and predictable daily peer experiences, observe peers and model after them, gives younger students peer models from older students, try new experiences and activities with peers with support, gain more independence and be a leader with peers or take direction from a peer or share with a peer to build a greater sense of self, be an active participant in choosing activities tailored for building friendships, watch, initiate, expand and contribute to peer activities, work collaboratively and share their interests with peers, be part of a peer group with a contributing role and experience dynamic multi-sensory environments at the highest level of their ability to take in sensory affective experiences. It also offers our staff the opportunity to further develop their skills by seeing a variety of student profiles and needs beyond those they serve in their assigned pod/classroom. Friends’ groups are led by Classroom Assistants and Program assistants and supported by the mental health staff (counselor/social worker), occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, behavior DIR® specialist, program and teacher assistants.
Art, Music and P.E. standards are met in accordance with the Illinois Learning Standards through courses offered in the course catalog. The standards under the curricular area of Art and Music emphasize learning through the artistic process. Four artistic processes are addressed in the standards: creating, performing/producing/presenting, responding and connecting.
The MUSIC program is tailored to each student’s interests, incorporating both instrumental and vocal musical experiences. Elements of music are explored and fostered through concepts that include rhythm, melody and harmony. Students learn about different types of music and instruments. Students participate in small groups, in structured and creative learning opportunities, featured to foster interest, appreciation and knowledge. A high school band has been formed to promote musical interest, while building students’ abilities to work as a group toward a common goal.
The ART program offers a wide variety of mediums and recycled materials utilized to promote creativity, self-expression, fine motor skills, meaningful art making, exploration and the use of individual imagination. Experiences offer exposure to a variety of artistic tools, principles of elements and design fundamentals and art techniques. Each child is met at their individual levels in order for them to feel successful. Art history and cultural aspects can be incorporated and explored for a higher learning experience. Art is taught in a group session allowing for the students to engage in social interaction, and at times, have the opportunity to learn from and motivate each other. All students contribute a beautiful hue to our rainbow in which they are allowed to explore and experience art without having anxiety of making mistakes. At our school, we don’t make mistakes but we embrace each other’s differences.
The P.E. curriculum is based on the Illinois Learning Standards for physical education and health set forth from the Enhanced P.E. Task Force. The standards and goals under the curricular area of physical education emphasize developing health and wellbeing through physical activity. There is an emphasis on supporting students to be able to work as individuals and as members of teams, which promotes social and emotional development at SEA. Students are able to experience and practice the motor skills related to each unit. Each skill is broken down and tailored to the developmental motor level of the student. The student is then able to experience a range of movement experiences and acquire movement patterns and locomotor skills through the predictable and developmental sequence in an individualized manner. In addition, the groups are tailored to match the overall timing, pacing and rhythmicity to promote student development in cooperative group physical activity. The PE program is designed to promote movement, exercise, interaction and fun. As the students experience positive emotional experiences through their efforts and successes with mastering physical skill competency, the students are then encouraged to participate and enjoy physical activity as a part of their school day and then as possible in the community.
A variety of assessment tools are utilized for ongoing progress monitoring and instructional planning surrounding student strengths, areas of targeted growth and current functioning. These tools include but not limited to: DIR® Functional Emotional Developmental Levels (FEDLs), DIR® Data Form, Curriculum Based Measurements, Comprehension of Curriculum Assessment, Clinical Assessment of Language Comprehension (Miller and Paul), Developmental Observation of Language- Links to Intervention (DOLLI), Margaret Lahey’s Margaret Lahey’s Form/Content/Use Interaction 8 Phases, Systematic Observations, Scale, Daily Home- Communication Sheet, Social History, SEA Literacy Concept Comprehension Rating Scale, SEA Vocational Interest Survey, Clinical observations of Sensory Processing and Motor Planning, Projects, Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System 1 & 2 ,Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills, TOPEL: Test of Preschool Early Literacy, Early Reading Assessment (ERA), Benchmark Progress, Checklists, Rubrics, Pre-Tests/Post-Tests, DLM-AA (Dynamic Learning Maps Alternate Assessment), IAR (Illinois Assessment of Readiness) and the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2), Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (BEERY VMI), Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2), Clinical Observations of Motor and Postural Skills (COMPS), Test of Visual Perceptual Skills- 3rd edition, Sensory Profile, Sensory Profile School Companion, School Function Assessment (SFA), Annual FitnessGram Testing, The Roll Evaluation of Activities of Life (The Real), Reading Free Vocational Assessment, SCHOODLES School Keyboarding Assessment, Child Occupational Self-Assessment and The SCOPE: The Short Child Occupational Profile (SCOPE), Version 2.2, 2008.
Our program is designed to support growth of our students into adulthood. Transition Students and High School students, as early as their junior year, have vocational and life skills programs created through the collaboration of the student’s parents, school team and placing district to develop realistic post- school goals in accordance with the IEP transition plan, to impart the skills and strategies necessary to enable the student to be as independent as possible with optimal quality of life. Assessments, interviews, and checklists completed collaboratively by the team, students and parents provide information related to meaningful life skills, employment interests/ preferences, recreation and leisure interests and planning for a future of independence. The program is then tailored to the students interests and experience, developmental level/ capacities and personal strengths. In accordance with IDEA requirements, the program addresses the five components of transition planning: education/ vocational training, employment, independent living, recreation and leisure, and community integration.
Program objectives are to produce young adults who can:
We believe that all students have the right to access a rich academic curriculum appropriate to their individuals learning style and developmental levels while also supporting functional skills and vocational job skills. We are committed to providing students with a safe and nurturing environment in which they can learn how to integrate into their communities. Our approach in teaching through a relationship-based model allows for students to connect and make meaning of the life skills being taught through academics, daily living tasks, vocational training, and rec/leisure experiences. Program activities take place through forming relationships in the community, work sites, and other dynamic locations. We focus on the process and embrace all our student’s interests, personal strengths and developmental levels/capacities. We provide hands-on experiences on site such as micro-business skills, daily living skills, exercise, art projects, and other integrated community activities.
Our team of trained support staff facilitates the process of self-regulation and teach functional skills so students can work as independently as possible. Classroom teacher, Classroom Assistant, therapists and 1:1 teacher assistants (job coaches) support on vocational trips, on job sites and throughout the school day. This supports the generalization of skills across a variety of people and contexts. As students progress, they are met with the opportunity to determine job preferences and learn to work with growing independence, while staying calm/regulated and engaged, as they make contributions in the workplace and in other public environments. The team partners with parents throughout a student’s time within the Transition program to plan for post- 22 with monthly or bi-weekly parent meetings spent looking into potential jobs, setting up interviews, visiting potential day programs and having programs out to Soaring Eagle to observe and plan for students to attend.
Transition students and high school students, as early as their junior year, have opportunities to explore vocational interests and skills both on site and within the community. SEA has established partnerships with businesses in the community and is committed to seek new partnerships as the need arises, since all vocational opportunities are individualized for each student based upon each student’s individual developmental levels, student interests and personal strengths. There are designated on site job coaching in the area of cleaning and organizing, office work, working at the school store, managing the school Library, and working a Coffee Cart for employees. There are offsite community experiences that may include, organizing, light office work and cleaning at a law office, gardening and planting and upkeep of grounds moving mulch/dirt at We Grow Dreams with students completing a timesheet and receiving a paycheck with opportunity to be hired after graduation, stocking and assisting customers at Walgreens and Pet Supplies Plus and preparing for customers, delivering food to tables and cleaning at The Patio Restaurant. Life skills experiences for meal planning/cooking, hygiene, doing laundry, managing money, self-advocacy, preparing a resume/portfolio, interviewing skills, etc. can be practiced in SEA’s Mock apartment as well as in the community. Our recreation/leisure program allows students to become intrinsically motivated in a healthy lifestyle by providing fun experiences.
Transition program activities will vary from student to student. While such activities among the general population are learned through trial-and-error, teens and adults with autism need significant training and practice with the calming/coping, social and communication skills necessary to perform in employment situations. Providing community-based, “real world” social, vocational, and life experiences are perhaps the most critical learning opportunities that impact the potential for ongoing independence and quality of life for an individual with autism and that is the beauty of individualized vocational training because each student presents with a different individual profile making each experience meaningful to them in their own way. For example, a current student who moved up into our transition program a few years ago, initially expressed significant reservations about discussing off-site work environments- uncertain about what to anticipate and how to execute tasks in such settings and was fairly hesitant. Following ongoing discussions about the nature of workplaces, job responsibilities, and task execution, the student began expressing interest. On the first workday, the student conscientiously familiarized himself with Pet Supplies Plus, acquainting himself with the surroundings, the work environment, and the product placements. Fast forward to his recent graduation and preparation to return to his home school district transition program, student proactively assisted his peers in finding product placements when needed. Additionally, when approached by customers seeking item locations, he promptly provided information about the aisle where the desired product can be found. As a result, with support from his SEA team, he pursued vocational opportunities at more worksites and upon leaving SEA to transition back to district, secured a paying position at a Pet Supplies in his hometown, due to his strong work ethic recognized by the manager at the Lombard location.
Mariano's serves as a primary local grocery store for our school’s shopping needs, particularly for school-related groups and the student-operated school store. Students are tasked with compiling a grocery list. Upon arrival at Mariano's, the students are organized into pairs, each with their own grocery list. It becomes the responsibility of the students to navigate the store, locating the items on their respective lists, with support offered by SEA staff. Over time, students have demonstrated a level of independence during grocery shopping excursions, resulting in minimal direct assistance from SEA staff. Consequently, they are entrusted with their own grocery list, a tax-exempt form, and a school credit card, encouraging autonomy and problem-solving skills. One of our students was employed at both Walgreens and Pet Supplies Plus, where the student initially undertook the role of a stocker. In the initial stages of employment, the student dedicated effort to acquainting himself with the specific locations of various products. While he developed a comprehensive understanding of the product placements, there were instances where he faced difficulty in locating a particular item. At that time, he would return the product to the cart without seeking assistance. However, through the implementation of visual aids and introductions to individuals available for assistance at the worksite, significant progress has been made. The student now proactively seeks out designated individuals when faced with challenges in stocking, demonstrating an increased capacity for effective problem-solving and communication.
All transition students have measurable goals on their Individual Education Plan that relate to community life skills and vocational skills, as well as, “soft” foundational skills that make community experiences successful including goals for staying calm and regulated, sustaining engagement/interaction, responding to interactions of others, staying reciprocal, waiting when others say wait and following safety rules in the community. The classroom team collects data on each student in all goal areas daily and weekly, with data reported quarterly on report cards and as benchmarks on the Individual Education Plan shared with parents and placing school districts. The team meets with parents monthly giving verbal feedback and opportunity to support families in their thinking about their child’s future and their hopes for their child’s preparation and success.
Outcomes vary among students but expected short term outcomes include: increased opportunities for students to explore a diverse range of job sites, ability to offer individualized exposure to job sites of particular interest to each student, opportunities to have repeated visits during a week, flexibility to have multiple students out in the community in smaller groups on a daily basis, ability to tailor visits to meet the individual learning and sensory profile of each student. Long term expected changes include: increased ability to stay calm and regulated adapting to the ever changing stimuli and expectations within an environment, ability to respond to others and engage in meaningful interaction, ability to follow directions, rules and schedule, learn independence and increased self-esteem, develop an understanding of true/authentic work environments and work ethic, become a valuable member of the greater community and prepared for adult life outside of the SEA school experience. A former graduate that aged out at 22 years old, after being at SEA 7 years since initial placement in our High School program, continues to be employed at We Grow Dreams (the greenhouse vocational experience initially explored through our vocational program). Another student that reintegrated back to his home school district for high school, immediately joined his new peers at a community vocational experience in an assisted living facility successfully cleaning and vacuuming, transferring learned skills after being supported for a similar experience while at our school. We are preparing students for their lifetime- a lifetime filled with meaning, purpose and independence with hopes to expand their job opportunities and prepare them for workplace success.
As students learn to become learners, there are many guiding principles that support this process in development. Taking from best practices in early learning, Soaring Eagle Academy uses a developmental approach to support the student in “learning how to learn.” (Adapted from the work of Lilian Katz.)
Sensory modulation is when the senses work together. Each sense works with the others to form a composite picture of who we are physically, where we are and what is going on around us. Sensory modulation is a neurological function that is responsible for producing this composite picture. It is the organization of sensory information for ongoing use.
*When needed for children with significant motor challenges (to be used at the discretion of the staff and modified to include affect and meaning).
*See our section on developmental language models
Taking from best practices in Autism intervention, Soaring Eagle Academy created comprehensive therapeutic interventions and academic curriculums. The following are the ten universal best-practice features that have been shown to provide a common foundation for all successful intervention programs — each with how SEA delivers it.
Soaring Eagle Academy has built in evaluations and ongoing assessments to support our understanding of the student, their developmental level, their individual sensory profile and their language capacities in order to be responsive immediately to the implementation and adaptation of necessary interventions. The IRSP (Individualized Regulatory Support Plan) was developed to support this process.
Soaring Eagle Academy looks at each student as a unique individual with strengths and areas of need. Programs are developed to meet them at their developmental level and then to move them to higher capacities.
Although Soaring Eagle Academy does not use skill-oriented teaching, we look at the individual students needs and offer teaching that is organized and structured to meet the needs of the student. All students have schedules that are supportive in meeting their comprehension needs, regulatory needs and learning needs based on where they are developmentally.
Soaring Eagle Academy takes daily data on goals developed to promote regulatory capacities, engagement, academic development, motor development, speech and language development and emotional development. The team meets to discuss progress and to make revisions to goals when needed in order to continue to adapt to the changing needs of each student.
Soaring Eagle Academy believes that true learning and communication are their own reward. When we make communicating easy, students learn that they are competent as communicators and are motivated to communicate further.
Soaring Eagle Academy develops classroom learning environments keeping in mind the student's visual spatial needs, motor system and auditory system. Learning areas are individualized and modified based on the unique needs of the student. Schedules, activities and routines throughout the day allow for flexibility in order to meet the individual needs of each student.
Soaring Eagle Academy works with students in a range of settings to encourage generalization of capacities. We offer movement throughout our space every day in order for students to experience multiple spaces: music room, art room, sensory gym, mock apartment, lunch room, school store and classrooms. Within those multiple spaces, we offer opportunities for students to share and demonstrate developments acquired across a range of domains.
Soaring Eagle Academy has an extensive training protocol for all staff members. Initial and yearly training occurs for all staff and includes in-services on the most current information related to working dynamically with students in a developmental framework. Every week, SEA staff meet for 2 additional hours of on going training about a range of relevant topics (curriculum, language, regulation and engagement, therapeutic interventions, social emotional development). Staff are regularly coached and provided feedback for competence in the application of the intervention model used at SEA. They are formally evaluated yearly by appropriate SEA staff.
Soaring Eagle Academy has an open door policy for parents. Parents are included in programming and training specifically in regards to their child, as well as more generalized training about the model used at SEA or related topics. Parents are encouraged to come on site and spend time working with their child and SEA staff as part of a co-treatment model.
Soaring Eagle Academy is an intensive therapeutic day school providing a social and academic learning environment 26.5 hours per week, following a typical school year calendar of 182 days of attendance, with an extended school year summer session of 37 days. The social and educational program is implemented by a comprehensive team of certified professionals with initial and ongoing training in the DIR® Floortime approach, Developmental Language Models and educational best practices. Each student’s team consists of a special education teacher, a one-to-one teacher assistant, classroom assistant, speech-language pathologist, occupational therapist, social worker/counselor, DIR® specialist, regulatory crisis responder and support staff based on their IEP and therapeutic plan.
Developmental Language Models are based on what is known about the science of language acquisition in typical development. A Developmental Model for Language Assessment and Intervention supports our understanding of "how" language is learned, the mechanisms for language learning. Furthermore, Developmental Language Models focus on what is appropriate for each developmental stage, rather than what is chronologically expected. They view the child as an agent of their learning, interacting with the environment to build new ideas, forge new comprehension and express new meanings.
One contemporary Developmental Language Model, The Intentionality Model, is a foundational component to all learning at Soaring Eagle Academy. The Intentionality Model (Bloom and Tinker, 2001) is based on the work of Lois Bloom and Margaret Lahey (1978, 1988).
Intentionality contributes to development of language in these two ways:
Further, engagement is "the child's emotional and social directedness for determining what is relevant for learning and the motivation of learning" (p 14 Bloom and Tinker).
In our work at Soaring Eagle Academy, this work and these foundations have been instrumental in guiding us in creating a robust curriculum where students are able to experience and act upon their environment.
Let's begin with the question: "What is language?"
Lois Bloom and Margaret Lahey, describe language, "as a means to communicate and express ideas, representing objects, events and relationships in a systematic way where rules govern the combination of words and sentences." Language further represents the shared knowledge of a community, or culture, and will vary based on the speakers within a region.
Language is a complex system that develops in the context of the social relationships of the child. Language goes beyond the production of "words" for it is the way in which we share ideas, share feelings and represent the contents of our minds to our communicative partners. Language is the way we make ourselves known to others.
Important precursors to language: In order to develop language, there are many critical precursors that emerge between 0-12 months of age, prior to the expression of first words. In the first year of life, the child is developing a foundation for communication based on developing capacities for intentionality, shared attention, affective engagement, reciprocity and the building of ideas and meaning. These are developed in the context of playful interaction with caring parents and caregivers, either through gestural, non-verbal affective exchanges or pre-verbal sound making.
See section on Ideas and Meaning for more information.
Lois Bloom and Margaret Lahey define the elements of language through the intersection of "form, content, and use." Lois Bloom and Erin Tinker further add "effort and engagement" as factors influencing language development. Comprehension is inherent within this model, but can be further defined and understood.
See section on Comprehension to learn more.
When people talk about comprehension, it is often in the context of understanding vocabulary, following directions and/or answering "wh" questions.
At Soaring Eagle Academy, our view of comprehension is far more expansive. Comprehension is not simply the vocabulary that a student understands, nor is it their ability to follow discrete directions. This simplified view of comprehension can be detrimental to the very work we do with students every day. Rather, comprehension is broad and complex, encompassing many aspects of understanding. Comprehension takes into account what the student knows about social communication (when to respond to another), what the student knows about concepts and ideas (vocabulary knowledge) and what the student knows about how the words are said and what particular word order signifies.
At Soaring Eagle Academy we view comprehension as a cornerstone for any curriculum development. Language comprehension plays a critical role in any student's capacity to understand their world, to understand how their world works and to understand how they can be a part of that world. When learning is meaningful and based on a student's current level of understanding, anxiety and dysregulation decrease while connections between and among ideas and current knowledge increase.
Amy Weiss (2010) indicates that the ability to interpret verbal language is supported tremendously by nonverbal aspects of communication, i.e., "what is going on at the same time, who is speaking, what was previously said, what visual information is available." The integration of nonverbal and verbal interpretation is often challenging for our students. They can often miss or misinterpret components of the message being conveyed by their partners.
When students don't understand, they become more reliant on context – what is visually present in the environment. At Soaring Eagle Academy, we recognize that when students do not comprehend what is being asked of them, concepts they are asked to learn or what another is sharing with them, the use of context is critical. We use many visual supports to augment the verbal message. These include real photos of students and places within the school, real objects at hand in the interaction and real actions and exchanges that augment each auditory signal. Books, digital stories and video clips are also used to support a student's understanding of concepts and experiences.
When students don't have strategies to help them figure out meaning based on context, anxiety and dysregulation occurs. Our staff at Soaring Eagle Academy understand that when students become dysregulated, it is often because they do not understand what is being asked of them or where they are being asked to transition to. Visual supports, as mentioned above, as well as the use of language that is developmentally matched for each student, can tremendously decrease dysregulation caused by a lack of comprehension.
How do children develop ideas about the world? How do they make meaning as they interact in their world with significant communicative partners?
From the moment the child begins to act on their environment, they are developing ideas about the world. Piaget (1955) observed children problem solving with objects and toys, acting on objects in their environment, learning about object permanence and imitating significant others. Through these actions and interactions, children began to expand their ideas, leading to new ideas and new meanings.
Ideas and the origin of ideas are a critical component in language development. The child's experience in the world is a critical aspect to the development of meanings. Meaning is what is relevant to the child (his or her needs, interests, present context, past history) as well as what is significant to the child (Katherine Nelson, 2007). Every interaction that a child has and every action that they perform in the world results in knowledge that becomes the foundation for language. This knowledge becomes the very thing that children talk about. Children talk about what they understand and what they know something about.
For students whose experience in the world has been limited based on their individual profile, their knowledge and ideas about the world are naturally limited. Their ideas, and therefore, what they talk about, are limited.
A student's ability to make meaning in the world can be compromised due to motor planning challenges, visual spatial deficits, sensory processing differences and a lack of exploratory movement in one's environment.
At Soaring Eagle Academy, we believe that the development of ideas and meanings is critical for learning. Many of our students have sensory systems that have not allowed them to experience the world in typical ways, and so our curriculum is designed to promote development by offering experiential and active participation (student as agent) in play and learning. Cause and effect, problem solving and opportunities for multiple experiences of the same concept/idea are offered every day during literacy, math, science and social studies lessons.
When students are active participants in their learning, their comprehension is most robust and their ability to understand and make meaning is easiest.
Soaring Eagle Academy teaches by beginning with what a student already has ideas about and then slowly expanding those ideas and that knowledge to become broader and more expansive.
Shared Intentionality Support student's ability to understand others by:
Support student's ability to express intentions by:
Support adult partners in…
Contemporary Developmental Language Models give us an understanding of how language typically develops, and therefore provides an essential developmental roadmap for supporting children with language disorders. DIR® thinking about child development as a whole and DIR® strategies provide further support when intervening with a child that has language challenges and difficulties in relating and communicating.
“Why follow a child’s lead? That is our ultimate goal for entering their shared world – to help them be empathetic, creative, logical, reflective individuals.”
Stanley Greenspan, M.D.
The Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based (DIR®/Floortime™) model is a framework for assessment and intervention for children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other challenges of relating and communicating.
The “D” (Development) identifies the child’s developmental level of emotional and intellectual functioning. It is our road map to understanding a child’s overall developmental level. Where does the child exhibit constrictions in their development? What are their strengths? Where are their challenges?
The “I” (Individualized) determines the individual’s way of reacting to and comprehending movement, sounds, sights and other sensations. It is our guide to supporting each child’s unique capacities and challenges. How does the visual-spatial system of a child impact their ability for eye gaze and complex referential gaze? How does the reactivity of one’s sensory system impact their ability to remain calm and available for shared attention? How does the motor planning capacity of a child impact the ability to understand the rhythm and timing of communicative exchanges?
The “R” (Relationship) is our guide to supporting development that occurs in the context of a socially and emotionally developing child.
1. Sensory Reactivity
2. Motor Planning/Sequencing – When a student has challenges with motor planning capacities and sequencing, their ability to be intentional in their environment as both an active participant and a communicator are negatively impacted. Soaring Eagle Academy supports student's capacities in motor planning throughout the entire school day by infusing activities, opportunities and strategies to support each student's ability to become more intentional in their ideas, communication, play and learning.
3. Motor Development – When a student has challenges in motor development, their ability to experience their environment as both an active participant and a communicator are negatively impacted. The way in which the student experiences and makes meaning around curricular material and daily interactions does not allow for a fully functional experience. Soaring Eagle Academy supports student's capacities in motor development throughout the entire school day by infusing activities, opportunities and strategies to support each student's ability to strengthen their motor capacities, core and tone. This enables them to experience the environment and learning more fully and to become more intentional in their ideas, communication, play and learning.
4. Visual-Spatial Processing – When a student has challenges with visual-spatial processing capacities, their ability to understand their world, experience their environment or learning opportunities and move purposefully throughout their space is negatively impacted. The way in which a student visualizes and understands their spatial environment impacts their ability to attend, understand the learning materials and actively participate as an agent of their learning. Soaring Eagle Academy supports student's capacities in visual-spatial processing throughout the entire school day by infusing activities within the curriculum that support integration of the visual and spatial capacities.
Visual-Spatial Processing Capabilities
(Referenced from the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders, Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood, Harry Wachs, O.D., Director of Vision and Conceptual Development Center, Washington, DC)
Body Awareness and Sense
Location of the Body in Space
(Involves location of own body parts in relationship to each other, location of body as a whole in its immediate surroundings and location of the body in terms of the broader environment)
Relation of Objects to Self and Other Objects and People
Conservation of Space
Visual Logical Reasoning
Representational Thought (Drawing, Thinking, Visualizing)
The “R” (Relationship) is our guide to supporting development that occurs in the context of a socially and emotionally developing child. Taking the component parts or skills of language and working on those in isolated and discrete ways does little to develop robust linguistic systems. Why do we communicate? Why do we attempt to share our ideas and experiences with those important communicative partners around us? Language develops because we are all motivated to interact socially. We, as human beings, are driven to understand and develop our sense of self and of our communicative partners. We develop language and we communicate with others because we desire to become part of a social world and to make connections with others. Let us begin there.
At Soaring Eagle Academy, we support students in developing a sense of themselves and others within the community of our school. We support relationships and social interactions as the foundation of every academic interaction.
1. SHARED ATTENTION AND REGULATION: the child's ability to take in sensory information and remain organized and attentive.
2. ENGAGEMENT: ability of the child to sustain mutual engagement with another individual while experiencing a broad range of emotions.
3. AFFECTIVE RECIPROCITY AND GESTURAL COMMUNICATION: the ability of the child to initiate and respond using circles of communication in a back and forth exchange that is driven by affect (intent).
4. COMPLEX PRE-SYMBOLIC SHARED SOCIAL COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING: the ability of the child to extend circles of communication by creating a continuous flow of circles. Problem solving abilities emerge at this level.
5. SYMBOLIC AND CREATIVE USE OF IDEAS, INCLUDING PRETEND PLAY AND PRAGMATIC LANGUAGE
6. LOGICAL AND ABSTRACT USE OF IDEAS AND THINKING, INCLUDING THE CAPACITY FOR EXPRESSING AND REFLECTING ON FEELINGS AND HAVING INSIGHTS INTO SELF AND OTHERS.
The DIR®/Floortime™ approach is intensive and comprehensive and involves family members, educators and therapists. It is based on recent developmental and neuroscience research that shows that the core deficits in ASD are related to compromised mastery of early stages of emotional interactions and underdeveloped pathways connecting different parts of the brain. The DIR®/Floortime™ approach creates opportunities for mastering the early stages of emotional interactions, at the same time helping different components of the mind to work together in order to build healthy foundations for relating, communicating and thinking. This, in turn, enables children to work on the core deficits that characterize ASD and make more progress than formerly thought possible in reading and responding to emotional signals, empathy and creative and reflective thinking.
Soaring Eagle Academy students are supported according to their sensory profile, individual strengths and challenges, and developmental level of emotional and intellectual functioning. Based on this knowledge, student's individualized curriculum is generated by interaction of the student's natural interests, the DIR®/Floortime™ Approach and Illinois Learning Standards Goals and Benchmarks. Soaring Eagle Academy's philosophy of education is that all curriculums be experienced in the contextual environment in order to be meaningful and integrated with prior conceptual knowledge. Each student's interests are honored within every learning opportunity. We are invested in wooing children into the process of learning.
Soaring Eagle Academy developed and adopted various curriculum components based on the importance of affect and experience in learning. Soaring Eagle Academy believes that children learn best when they are well regulated, able to share attention with their communicative partner and/or teacher and emotionally invested in the learning. When children are interested and emotionally invested in material, their capacity to be present for the experience and to be taught is heightened. Multi sensory experiences lead to meaningful learning which in turn creates better comprehension of material and regulation in children.
Autism Parenting Magazine · Issue 136 · by Dr. Sima Gerber, PhD, CCC
Dr. Sima Gerber — a longtime collaborator and developmental speech language pathologist whose work informs the SEA curriculum — writes for Autism Parenting Magazine on what happens in an ordinary therapy room when adults slow down, follow the child’s lead, and treat every form of communication as meaningful.
The first page is shown here as it appears on the current site; the full piece opens on our article page.