Our Services

According to individual needs, we use a variety of visual communication aids with students to augment or as an alternative to their verbal communication. Examples of visual communication aids include:

• Chat books

• PECS

• Behavior scripts

• Who's here today Chart

• Wait/ My turn Chart

• Social Stories

• Visual Timetables

• Aided language Displays

Some students use Electronic Communication Devices. These devices usually have a visual display (Boardmaker pictures, photos, etc) to represent messages (questions, comments, other phrases, news). When the student activates the picture, the device speaks that message.

Horsham Special School has connections with allied health staff available to work with students (and their families) across the school. Through NDIS provisioned therapists and our own school allied health personnel, we use an integrated approach to delivering allied health programs working together with teaching staff to develop goals and present therapy activity/programs. The school employs an Occupational Therapist who can work directly with students, as well as create programs for other staff to follow.

Occupation Therapist:

• Gross (body awareness, balance, coordination) and fine motor skills development (hand skills (dexterity, manipulation skills, upper limb control)

• Handwriting and drawing skills

• Sensory integration

• Behaviour management strategies and assisting students with behaviour modulation

• Activities of daily living, eating (using cutlery), drinking, dressing, toileting, assistive equipment, environment adaptations) Everyday activities (e.g. shopping, cooking, brushing hair, cognitive components, physical skills) Community access

• Positioning of body and equipment

• Play and social skill development

• Assessment, management and treatment of skills

• Medical and funding reports

• Liaising with parents, allied health, doctors and other agencies

Sensory processing is the way that our bodies take in information through our senses. This information is organised in our central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) in order for us to be able to understand, react and interact appropriately with the world around us.

Many of our students have sensory processing difficulties were the information coming in from the senses is not interpreted efficiently and the CNS (brain and spinal cord) is unable, or has difficulty making sense of the incoming message.

We have various sensory programs running throughout the school. We have a sensory room for students to access. We have flexible break and outside play times e.g. were students can go outside when feeling over stimulated.