Day Treatment

Spurwink Day Treatment Program offers a therapeutic environment that combines individualized special education and comprehensive mental health services for youth ages 5 – 20. The program serves a diverse population including youth who exhibit deficits, delays and/or manifest disturbance in personal, social, cognitive, language, neurological, emotional and/or behavioral function. A multidisciplinary team, comprised of special education staff, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists and speech language pathologists, provide supportive, relationship-based milieu therapy that is respectful of the needs and learning style of each student.

Spurwink subscribes to heterogeneous groupings and fully appreciates the benefit of grouping clients whose strengths and needs complement each other. The typical student:teacher ratio is six students to three staff, allowing for one-on-one attention when needed.

In Day Treatment, the school program takes up most of the client's day. A psycho-educational model is employed as it provides a balance between educational and clinical emphases. Curriculum and activities address orientation to the environment, language development, self-help skills, socialization, academic skills, sensory-motor integration, and pre-vocational/vocational skills. For the younger child, developmentally sequenced programs begin with an emphasis on language stimulation and readiness skills.

For the child having more severe expressive/receptive language disorders and/or hearing problems, a program of communications is provided. Primary and secondary curricula are available for those who can benefit from academically-oriented programs. Through the life skills curriculum, students with limited academic capabilities are taught basic academic and independent living skills using experienced-based approaches.

Whenever possible, family involvement is encouraged to reinforce the efforts of the treatment team in helping the child succeed in the school setting.

back to top