History

After working so closely with children on their in-home program and shadowing them at pre-school we watched then move into the public school system, where sadly they struggled. We visited their schools and observed the children and the teaching methods. It was lacking in two areas; there was limited understanding of the child’s needs, and the child had insufficient social skills to survive in the school environment.

It saddened us to see these kids who had worked so hard and come so far, to then fail. In looking for ways to help these families we did not find anything that could meet these needs. We saw how frustrating it was for the children, their families and us.

Therefore we carefully thought through many options to develop a specific program to teach peer interaction and social skills for home, school and community. Initially we started a small after school group running twice a week to teach social skills, but quickly realized that we needed a dedicated program, with a more intense focus and the time to be effective.

We met with many of our parents and professionals that we had worked with in the past and listened to their needs. Armed with all this knowledge we established the Academy of Social and Sensory Development. Read about our unique program.