Therapeutic Essential Skills Program (TESP) Provides a Therapeutic approach to teaching and learning for students in grades 6-8th whose academic, emotional, and social challenges impede their success in the general education setting. Students may present with difficulties in the areas of specific learning disabilities, neurological/ cognitive impairment, language development, sensory integration, and social/behavioral skills. Diagnoses may include Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Intellectual Impairment.
The TESP program offers students the opportunity to utilize learned skills in various settings to generalize learning in a functional manner, allowing them to see their true potential. A range of services, including direct social skills instruction, speech and language services, occupational therapy, and counseling, are provided by a multidisciplinary team in one setting so that optimal learning is possible. A small staff-to-student ratio allows for personalized and individualized teaching. The program emphasizes the use of assistive and instructional technology and multi-sensory instruction to foster active engagement in academic, social, and emotional learning. Related are provided based on each student’s IEP team’s recommendations.
The program’s academic instruction will follow the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks.
PROGRAM GOALS
The goal of the TESP program is to help students develop and improve their functional academic skills and apply them to basic life activities. Examples would include successfully navigating the community, utilizing consumer math skills and completing activities of daily living with increasing independence to improve their sense of self-worth both academically and socially.