THERAPEUTIC SERVICES
THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
IN EDUCATION
Therapeutic support is integral to Pilot’s educational program. Upon enrollment, all of our students are screened for speech/language, occupational, and physical therapy. To meet the ever-changing and varied needs of our students, integrated services are provided in small groups or one-to-one settings as indicated by those screenings. A school psychologist, counselor, and interventionist further support the integrated programming of our students. Children and their families are not the only ones who benefit from our team of therapists and psychologists. Our faculty’s work is also greatly informed by the best practices of these experts. As a result, students’ specific needs are not only met in individual sessions but also throughout the day in their classrooms.
In addition to individual or small group therapy sessions, our therapists deliver interventions in a variety of ways: teacher consultation for in-classroom strategies, individual and small group work in the classroom, and support in a natural context at school, such as on the playground or in the lunchroom.
oN-sITE SUPPORT SERVICES
The Pilot School’s Occupational and Physical Therapy departments function as a team to support students in the development and/or improvement of their individual areas of need. Housed in two unparalleled workspaces, the Occupational and Physical therapy rooms are outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment including swings, rock climbing walls, ramps, scooters, rope ladders, trampolines, monkey bars, spinning seats, a variety of weights, and a plethora of other therapeutic tools. The Occupational and Physical therapy team also facilitates a number of targeted interventions including the Ready Bodies, Learning Minds program, a cursive writing curriculum, Interactive Metronome training, and a Sensory Group for younger students still developing sensory integration.
Occupational and Physical Therapies support the following areas:
- Executive Functioning (Organization and management of desk area, schedule, and personal belongings; transferring between tasks, self-regulation)
- Gross Motor Skills (Management of physical space through body awareness and coordination, building confidence using playground equipment, core strength development to increase learning stamina)
- Fine Motor Skills (Use of tools such as pencils, scissors, zippers, protractors, and locks on lockers, development of cursive and print handwriting, typing skills)
- Sensory Integration (Self-regulation of sensory input to decrease fidgety or uncomfortable behavior that impedes learning, vestibular system stimulation and development)
All students are screened for Speech and Language Therapy. For those students for whom therapy is indicated, our Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) play an important role in the development of expressive and receptive language skills.
Speech and Language Therapy supports the following areas:
- Articulation Challenges
- Expressive Language Deficits
- Receptive Language Deficits
- Social-verbal (Pragmatic) Language Struggles
- Stuttering and dysfluency
- Auditory Processing Disorders (APD)
The role of the school psychologist at The Pilot School is multifaceted. The school psychologist may assist students and their families by providing insight regarding students’ unique learning patterns and aid in educational programming. Applying knowledge of child development and how it affects learning and behavior, the school psychologist contributes to curriculum planning and development. Together with other members of the counseling team, the school psychologist is available to provide support and guidance to promote students’ social skills development. The school psychologist provides short-term counseling and makes referrals to outside agencies, as necessary. The school psychologist may also conduct psycho-educational evaluations of students as part of the transition planning process prior to high school.
Curious about what else The Pilot School offers its students?
As well as on-site support services and customized academic programs, Pilot is proud to run a wide variety of clubs, sports, and activities for students to get involved with!
