Pre-academic learning opportunities at Lighthouse Autism Center
Autism Learning Center for School Readiness
We all want our children to be happy and healthy and lead the fullest lives possible. A huge part of this is a great education, and parenting an autistic child doesn’t mean that quality education is off the table. With the help of the right center for learning and autism support services, the school readiness goals you have set for your child are usually well within reach.
Autism learning programs in a center-based environment will give your child the opportunity to hone their social, communication, and self-help skills in a controlled yet comfortable environment specifically designed to help them get ready for school and reach their fullest potential.
At Lighthouse Autism Center, we offer center-based ABA therapy in a safe, comfortable, play-based environment. Our school readiness program for autism focuses on nurturing the skills that your child needs to thrive. Following an assessment, a tailor-made, customized program is developed specifically to target your child’s unique needs. Within our various age groups, we incorporate and practice many of the academic and school readiness skills a child would be taught in a typical school setting, such as reading, math, group classes, peer play, and more. This means that children can learn essential skills while they play.
Early Learners
It’s essential to start autism learning programs as early as possible. Generally, this age group supports learners between 18 months and 6 years of age and focuses on learning through play. The skills learners acquire through this program will provide the building blocks required for them to generalize and implement what they have learned across different subjects and environments.
Children in the early learner age group at Lighthouse Center for Autism will focus on:
- Fine and gross motor skills
- Letters, numbers, and colors
- 2D shapes
- Name and age
- Listening skills and following directions
- Developing new words through song, music, and reading
- Days of the week, months of the year, the weather, seasons, and more,
- Participating in group classes like art, music, and gym
Junior Learners
Typically, this age group includes learners who are 7 years and older and follows a similar structure to what a learner would see and experience in a school setting. As the learner progresses, they spend less time learning while playing and more time learning from an educator while sitting at a desk or in a group setting, similar to what they would experience at school. These types of learning programs for autism are some of the most effective ways to prepare your child for everyday school expectations.
In the junior learners’ age group, children focus on:
- Reading development and comprehension at the appropriate level for the child
- Basic math skills at an appropriate level for the child (addition, subtraction)
- Life skills like folding laundry, hanging clothes, sweeping, vacuuming, etc
- Social skills, including peer-to-peer interactions in a group setting
School Readiness Program at Lighthouse Autism Center
Developing school readiness skills is at the heart of our early autism and learning programming, and it’s about more than simply getting ready for school. It’s about helping your child transfer the skills that they are comfortable demonstrating at home into a new, less-familiar environment. It’s about helping them feel comfortable with social interactions and classroom routines and making sure that they are prepared for the transition into a traditional classroom environment. The school readiness program at Lighthouse Autism Center focuses on:
- Interacting in a classroom
- Playing with peers
- Listening and following directions
- Participating in group classes
- Fine and gross motor skills
- Eating in a cafeteria-style lunchroom
At LAC, no matter where your family is in your autism journey, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our Lighthouse fusion ABA therapy autism programs, tailored to each child’s unique needs, provide a nurturing environment where they can learn and grow. We even have autism resources and autism tools for parents to help you navigate the complexity and embrace the sheer joy of parenting a child with autism. Contact us today to learn more about how our autism learning center can empower your child and help them.
