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COGNITIVE DISABILITIES-MODERATE/SEVERE (CD/MS)
SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Oshkosh Area School District provides
several programs throughout the district for students who
have cognitive disabilities. The students range in age from
6 to 21. There are two programs at Lincoln Elementary
School. Jan Fox has the primary class with students who are
6 to 9 years old. Terry Kleinschmidt has the intermediate
class and her students are 9 to 12 years old. Our program begins with some basic
beliefs about students: * All students can
learn. * Everyone has the right to be treated
with dignity and respect. * All students have the right to an
equal education. * Students do not need to master all
skills before participating in an activity. * Student growth and development is
achieved through a partnership between home and
school. A comprehensive program is offered with
provisions for individual and group instruction. In addition
to classroom instruction, the program may include community
based instruction, occupational and physical therapy,
speech/language therapy, specially designed physcial
education, art and music. A new aspect of the program is pet
therapy with Wes Kranz from Pickett Fences Farm. Students
are included with their regular education peers on an
individual or group basis for appropriate
activities. The program is structured to progress
along a continuum which represents the various levels of the
program. The focus of instruction is on encouraging
independence. Self help skills, social skills, mobility and
language development are taught in natural contexts as
situations occur. Teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists
and specialists work together to provide opportunities for
learning in the following domains: social self help/daily
living gross motor fine motor mobility functional
academics vocational recreation/leisure Communication skills are
emphasized at all levels of the program. To facilitate
appropriate language development, multi-communication
formats are frequently used including verbal skills,
pictures, gestures, sign language and augmentative
communication. Functional academics may include
colors, shapes, numbers and math skills, time, money,
community sign reading, and building a basic sight word
vocabulary for reading. Opportunities to apply these skills
to daily situations are facilitated by staff. Motor tasks are incorporated into
the daily routine to improve fine motor, gross motor and
independent mobility skills. Self help/daily living skills are
addressed as they come up in the weekly schedule, i.e.,
dressing skills at the YMCA before and after
swimming. Social development happens as
students are provided the opportunity to interact with all
their peers at school, as well as out in the community.
Since friends are important to social development, inclusion
within the school and the community is an important aspect
of the CD/MS program. Vocational preparation is another
component of the CD/MS program. Students have both classroom
and school jobs. They are responsible for set up, completing
multiple step tasks and clean up. Recreation and leisure activities,
such as bowling and swimming are taught so that our students
learn some life long recreational skills that they can
participate in with their families and friends.
The following pictures of our activities were taken throughout the school year:
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Some of our favorite and most often used websites include:
www.news-4-you.com - is a current events newspaper for people with special needs. It incorporates words and picture symbols to tell what is going on in the world.
www.kidsdomain.com - is a website full of creative ideas.
www.autism-society.org - Autism Society of America provides a weatlh of information and resources on the topic of autism
www.asw4autism.org - is the Austism Society of Wisconsin and provides links to austism and autism related websites.
Applied Behavior Analysis ........................................ http://pages.prodigy.com (Recovery Zone)
Asperger's Information ............................. www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
Attwood, Tony (Asperger's) ........................................... www.tonyattwood.com
Autism Alliance for Autism Research ........................... http://www.naar.org
Autism Resources: Comprehensive List of Links to Autism Sites All Over the World ................................................................... www.autism-resources.com
Autism Research Institute .............................................. www.autism.com/ari/
Autism Society of America .................................... www.autism-society.org/
Autism Society of Wisconsin ........................................... www.asw4autism.org
Cure Autism Now ......................................................................... CAN@primenet.com
Waisman Center / Family Village ................. www.familyvillage.wisc.edu
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction ........................http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/een/autism.html
Cooperative Service Agency Number 7 .................................................. CESA7.com
