The Students of

1
The Students of
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Exceptionalities or Diagnoses Served

• PDD or Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Autism High functioning
• Aspergers
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS
• Neurological Impairment (TBI)
• Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (Internalizing)
  

3
Demographic Data

• 245 students for 2007-2008 school year
• Age range 5 to 21
• Currently coming from 70 school districts
• Classified with the exceptionality of ASD (64),
  NI(21) or SED (15)
• Most students are 4010 funded 40 paid by
  school district 60 paid by state
• Tuition for approximately 70 students is paid
  100 by the school district current tuition is
  38,425

4
Demographic Data (contd.)

• Family demographics represent a broad continuum
  from low income, at-risk families to families
  with six figure incomes and advanced education
• Consistent with the statistics for the general
  population, about 10 of our families have more
  than one child with a disability.

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Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Our students at Vanguard are considered to have
  high functioning autism (all are verbal and able
  to participate in some level of academic
  programming)
• We also have a large number of students with
  PDD-NOS
• And over the last five years we have enrolled an
  increasing number of students diagnosed with
  Aspergers

6
Neurological Impairment

• Broad spectrum of neurological disorders or
  impairments represented mild to moderate CP,
  active seizure disorder, brain injury from
  illness, inoculations, or surgical difficulty,
  mild TBI.
• Neurological impairments create a broad spectrum
  of learning disabilities generally the student
  has more than one specific learning disorder

7
Seriously Emotionally Disturbed

• For the Vanguard students this classification
  refers to more internalizing emotional
  disorders such as depression, anxiety, mood
  disorders not disruptive behavior disorder or
  conduct disorder
• These students tend to be higher functioning
  cognitively and academically
• The focal teaching strategies and instructional
  modifications used for ASD students work well for
  SED students

8
Cognitive Functioning

• Most students are functioning within either the
  Borderline or Low Average range of intellectual
  functioning
• Some students test in the Above Average or
  Superior range occasionally a Vanguard student
  will be classified as both gifted and in need of
  special education services
• A few students have cognitive functioning within
  the Mild MR range

9
Learning Differences

• Communications and Speech/language disorders
  majority of our students have difficulty with the
  pragmatics of speech
• Reading disorders decoding may be good but
  unable to comprehend or make inferences
• Math disorders significant difficulty with word
  problems
• Writing Disorders inability to transform
  thought to written word

10
Neurosocial Disorders

• Inability to read non-verbal communications such
  as facial expressions, tone of voice, body
  language
• Seen traditionally in students diagnosed with
  Non-verbal Learning Disorder and Aspergers
• Inability to self-monitor or recognize how ones
  behavior affects the behavior of others
• Lack of empathy or understanding of what others
  may experience mind-blindness

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Special Education

• At Vanguard, the need to provide education in all
  areas of day to day functioning for the student
  is paramount so we focus not only on reading,
  math, writing but also on social skills, skills
  of daily living and coping skills. The last
  three areas are not only addressed in special
  classes or sessions but also are integrated into
  the academic curriculum throughout the school day

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Clinical Services

• Speech/Language Therapy
• Occupational Therapy fine motor and sensory
  processing
• Physical Therapy gross motor tasks, balance,
  coordination, body strength and muscle tone,
  endurance
• School Counseling and School Psychologists
• Behavior Support

13
Long Term Goals

• For every student, our ultimate long term goal is
  to help him/her maximize their potential and
  develop skills that will serve them through a
  life time of learning.
• Some students return to their school district
  either to a special ed program or for full or
  partial inclusion
• The majority of our student body will remain at
  Vanguard until the age of 21 when they age-out of
  special education funding.

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Long Term Goals (contd.)

• A small percentage of our students will go to
  community college or four-year college after
  graduating from Vanguard. Some students have
  started community college while still enrolled at
  Vanguard.
• The majority of our students will pursue
  employment either supportive or competitive.
  Some of our students attend their districts
  voc-tech program part-time and Vanguard part-time.