Therapy

At Al Karamah School we’re passionate about individualized approaches to education and obtaining a deep understanding of our students’ strengths.

Our dedicated team of therapists work across three key branches of our school; Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Behaviour Support. The team focuses on teaching our students and developing the knowledge of Autism to parents and the community. Our therapies are embedded throughout all areas of the school and the team play a key role in the environmental design, curriculum development and the use of supportive tools to promote learning anad success for individual students.

At Al Karamah we employ a three-tiered intervention model.

Tier 1: Universal

All students receive therapy as a Tier 1 intervention. These include whole phase interventions, whole group interventions as well as universal programs delivered in classroom. These interventions can be delivered by therapists, therapy assistants, teachers, and teaching assistants as well as therapy champions. In this tier, students also access the Multi-Sensory room and sensory circuits.

Tier 2: Targeted

On Tier 2, therapists provide focused intervention and adaptations that are identified from universal intervention. These include individualized classroom modifications such as seating modifications, pencil grips adaptations etc. This also includes targeted speech and language interventions. These interventions target specific student needs but are addressed in a whole group setting or in the classroom. This tier also incorporates our blended learning initiative where therapy offers blended sessions in conjunction with teachers in core subjects such as Math, English and Life Skills and specialists’ subjects such as Arabic and Islamic. Behavior interventions and strategies also fall within this tier.

Tier 3: Specialist

 On Tier 3 students will access 1:1 face to face specialist therapy sessions from OT, SaLT, PT, and behavior.

The following therapy services are available to students

• Speech and Language therapy

A Speech and Language Therapist is a trained specialist who supports people with communication difficulties to develop their communication skills, and to use their skills to engage with the world around them. Communication covers a very broad range of skills that we use everyday; attention, understanding, expressing needs/wants/ideas, social interaction, using clear speech sounds, using language to solve problems and reading and writing. Individuals on the Autism Spectrum will usually benefit from support to develop their communication skills in order to participate in learning, and take an active part in community life.

In Al Karamah School, the Speech Therapy team works closely with teachers to set up classrooms to be highly accessible for students with communication difficulties – i.e. visual timetables, and ensuring a variety of communication methods are available to students. The Speech Therapists also work closely with the teachers to plan lessons with therapy strategies embedded in the learning, and to set individualized targets for students to meet specific communication goals. In the Al Karamah Training Institute, the Speech Therapists provide training in functional communication skills for students in workshops, especially language skills required for personal wellbeing, and to thrive in the workplace. Speech Therapists work closely with the vocational teachers to ensure students are making the most of their communication skills. 

• Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapists support pupils to develop their skills for daily living; from fine & gross motor movement & coordination development, to supporting sensory needs & promoting independence skills such as dressing. Occupational therapy is a profession that uses the things we do everyday, what we refer to as your referred to as occupations, to support, enhance and enable performance and optimal function.

All occupational therapists use evidence-based frames of references, standardized assessments and screening tools to evaluate learners.  The therapist works in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team to develop therapy interventions that support the student’s learning within the classroom. Occupational therapy focuses on the holistic development of a student and helps to further advance their gross and fine motor skills, sensory regulation and integration, develop visual perceptual and cognitive skill, improve independency in life skills (e.g., Learning to tie shoelaces, money management) and improve all student’s confidence and self-esteem. Therapists are also involved in the transition of students to the Training Institute.  Occupational therapy in the institute focuses on prevocational skills training to support the student to increase their work skills and performance to transition into the open labor market.

• Behaviour Support

Our behaviour team work to support all our students in feeling safe in school and ensuring that they develop social understanding and emotional regulation skills which will enhance independence and successful inclusion in community life through effective and acceptable social behaviours. Through a system of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) therapists work to support students in situations where there is, or there is a risk of, challenging behaviour.