Our Students
We have built a vibrant, caring environment that delivers the education that students with complex medical needs and multiple disabilities deserve.
Our Students: Serving a Unique Student Population
We offer students ages 3 to 16 years old a safe and supportive school that nurtures independence and individual potential.
Anderson School is a unique solution that enables students to attend school, learn, and make friends while receiving medical and therapeutic support in a safe and nurturing school setting.
Our students’ complex medical needs represent a low incidence population, for whom we have established a school committed to students who otherwise may be homebound or not receiving the education they deserve in a public school.
Nurses are in each of our classrooms with up to six nurses in our school daily.
Commonality Within Our Student Population
While we have and continue to serve students having a wide variety of medical diagnoses, there is some commonality across our student population. Each student has an individualized education plan (IEP) and each student’s day and weekly routine is customized to their individual plan including learning, playtime, speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy including self-care and independence.
Learn more about a student’s day:
Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairments (CVI)
Most of our students have cerebral/cortical visual impairments (CVI) and work with our Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) from the Carroll Center for the Blind, who is at Anderson School every day of the school week. We are fortunate to have her as an incredible asset to our school for each student and as she collaborates with our specialists and teachers.
Sarah, our TVI, has been at Anderson School for many years now and has witnessed the development of each student, including their ability to learn and communicate. She loves seeing their personalities develop, from showing preferences to rolling their eyes, and sharing their funny and sassy personalities at school.
Sarah works on developing students’ sensory efficiency skills, including their visual efficiency skills such as tracking, scanning, and shifting gaze. She also incorporates all areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC). The ECC allows visually impaired students to access areas that are developed incidentally in sighted students, including social, recreation and leisure, and self-determination skills. One area she is working on with select students is to help them understand their bodies, the medical equipment they use, and why they have such equipment to develop a sense of autonomy.
Broadly, she focuses on helping each student use all their sensory modalities (e.g., vision, hearing, touch) to access the world.
Anderson School classrooms are modified and adaptable for students with CVI.
Nonspeaking Communicators
Many of our students are non-speaking and use multiple ways to communicate throughout the school day, including Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools. Speech language therapy services are provided by our Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to students in all classrooms including preschool, elementary, and middle school programs.
We use a Total Communication Approach, offering a range of strategies and supports to help each student express themselves effectively and be understood. Our SLPs work closely with teachers, families, and specialists to identify the communication tools that best match each student’s abilities and needs.
Communication systems used include:
Unsupported communication: vocalizations, facial expressions, eye gaze, sign language, and speech
Low-tech supports: high-contrast pictures, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), and switches
High-tech AAC: iPads, dedicated devices, and eye-gaze systems
Families are essential partners in this process. Input from parents and caregivers helps the team understand each student’s current communication style and supports a smooth transition into our program.
Speech-language therapy sessions address receptive language to support understanding, expressive language to expand students’ communication abilities and provide effective modeling, and social communication skills to promote successful interactions across the school day.
We also provide collaborative group sessions that support communication in natural contexts, such as games, crafts, and peer activities, helping students build meaningful social connections while using their communication systems in functional, motivating ways.
Many of our students have been diagnosed with a seizure disorder including epilepsy. Our qualified and experienced nursing staff are in each classroom with up to six nurses in our school during the day to provide the care that each student needs.
We encourage you to contact us to learn more about Anderson School to discuss your student.
Learn more about our highly-skilled and specialized Anderson School Staff.
