CONNECTING WITH THE SCHOOL
CID as part of Diamond Path
The students in the CID program spend the majority of their day in their CID classroom. The CID students eat lunch in the lunchroom and have recess with typical peers. Some CID students spend time in mainstream classrooms. All mainstreaming is based on individual student needs. Reverse mainstreaming is done in the CID classrooms to provide the students with language, social and skill modeling.
For students that are able to be more inclusive we do regular mainstreaming. That is when a CID student joins typical peer classes. There are CID students that mainstream into specialist classes in most of the grades. Some of the CID students also go into typical peer classes for morning meeting and other educationally appropriate academic activities.
Since so much of the autism disability is a social disorder. It is important that there are activities in place that will help meet these social skill needs. Within CID and Diamond Path there are many such activities. As a way to maintain comfort for the students in CID and keep a low stress level we do something called reverse mainstreaming. Reverse mainstreaming is when typical peers come into the CID classrooms. In the CID rooms the typical peers or “buddies” play games, do art projects, and do movement activities. It is a non-threatening way to work on social interaction. Another time that buddies join CID students for reverse mainstreaming is in D/APE (developmentally appropriate physical education). In gym the buddies model skills and play group games with the CID students.
So much of what is learned at school is not learned from a book. It is learned by how we relate to the other people around us. Teachers teach many lessons but the social stuff, the unwritten rules, are learned by the interaction that students have with their peers. For many of the students with autism these social skill opportunities are missed.
The added bonus of all of these different activities is that the learning goes both ways. The buddies or classes that are involved also learn many social lessons as well. It is education for everyone!
Meeting the needs of our students
You may have seen students being pulled around the school in a wagon or you may have heard stories from your children about students pulling teachers in the wagon. There is a wonderful reason for this occurring at Diamond Path.
In the CID program, many different tools are used to meet the needs of the students. The use of a wagon (pulling or ridden in) or a cart being pushed can be very calming and centering for some of the students. Because of the special needs of students with autism we use a variety of activities that provide a variety of input.
When students pull or push something with heavy weight it provides proprioceptive input. This input uses both gross and fine muscles groups. It is referred to as deep pressure input. The deep pressure sends a calming message to the brain. We also use a variety of therapy vests, weighted blankets and lap buddies that send input to the brain. The extra weight can be very calming for the students.
When the students ride in the wagon they receive vestibular input. The vestibular input provides the brain with a sensation of movement. The input also sends a calming message to the brain. Most of the classrooms have swing hooks mounted into the ceiling so that students can have access to various swings during their day. The swinging motion provides the vestibular movements that help our students regulate their sensory systems. The use of therapy balls and trampolines also provide vestibular input.
The CID program is very fortunate to have a sensory room. It is called the rainbow room. In the rainbow room there are many tools to help the students sensory systems. Children in the CID program have sensory diets designed to fit their specific needs. Not all children with autism require the same activities. What may be calming and focusing for one child may not be for another. All of these activities are used to help the students remain calm and focused. Any of these activities can be done before, during or after work activities to help with attention and focus.