EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
At Speranza we provide Special Education for children, from well trained teachers who believe in preparing children to face the future with confidence. We believe in a educational approach that nurtures a child’s intrinsic desire to learn. At Speranza we focus on the whole child—his cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.
Montessori training Program
This program is specifically for children before 8 years who have difficulty in speaking, socializing, sitting appropriately in school, paying attention and adequate concentration in regular classroom. The main aim of this program is to train children to perform at their best so they can perform like their age mates at the earliest.
Language is the foundation of all communication. It affects how we express ourselves, experience the world around us, and analyze, process, decode, and understand information. This is precisely why a strong command of language is essential to a child’s classroom and academic success. Language itself is not just another school subject; it’s the cornerstone of how all subjects are learned. It impacts how children communicate ideas, retain and recall information, remain active and participatory at school, and interact with peers and teachers in an educational setting. Many studies have shown that a young child’s ability to verbally communicate is highly correlated to their literary skills. In fact, there is a high correlation between communication problems and reading and writing.
This is largely because reading and writing are language-based activities. Learning to read requires two main skills: recognizing words and comprehension. Children must be able to isolate, pronounce, and manipulate the sounds and letters that comprise words in written text, and then derive meaning from those words to understand what they read.
Let’s start with sounds. The ability to recognize and differentiate speech sounds is called phonological awareness. For example, the word “mall” is comprised of three different sounds: “m-aw-l.” Phonological awareness is so important because as children learn to master speech sounds, they begin to map these onto printed letters of books. This forms the basis for the emerging reading and writing skills.
Additionally, children must be able to interpret the meaning of the printed text. One misperception is that kids that are proficient readers are also master comprehenders. To the contrary, it’s very common for children to read fluently but struggle when it comes to recalling what happened in a story, applying critical thinking, understanding fact vs. fiction, or making predictions about what will happen next.
This is because language comprehension isn’t necessarily just one skill, but a backset of several skills that must be collectively improved in order for children to demonstrate progress. They include a child’s language abilities, working memory and cognitive abilities, their attention and ability to focus, and the speed at which they process information. While phonological awareness and comprehension are technically different skills, their development is highly bidirectional.
At Speranza, we understand this co-relation between language and literacy. Hence, we believe in training children right at the early stage of development in order to prevent further delay in academics, behavioral and emotional areas. This is specifically done in Montessori style. Montessori is a scientific method of education that is focused on the key developmental stages that all children move through on their way to adulthood. In each of these stages, children are in a sensitive period for learning different skills and activities that will help them reach their next developmental milestone. Doctor Maria Montessori believed that if children were provided with the opportunities to explore and practice these skills, they would make extraordinary progress. This is why the Montessori method of education has been designed around the unique development needs of the child. The Montessori curriculum, classroom structure, and learning materials have been tested, refined, evaluated, and proven across age groups, countries, and cultures to support and nurture the full developmental potential of the child.
How to recognize if your child needs this program?
Sometimes children that have trouble interpreting verbal information or following instructions are seen as less intelligent than their peers. This is not the case. In most instances, these children simply aren’t able to process information the same way as other children their age. All children develop at their own timeline, and there is a wide range of communication development across age groups and grades. Comparing a child’s speech and language abilities to their peers doesn’t necessarily mean they have a problem – but it can.
There are many signs that you may notice at home or hear from your child’s teacher or school administrator, that could signal they have a speech or language disorder. These include:
· Not reading at the skill level expected for their grade
· Learning or remembering the names of letters or new vocabulary words
· Difficulty understanding what their teacher is saying
· Trouble expressing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through both verbal and written language
· Difficulty with speech production at the sound, syllable, word, phrase, sentence, or conversational level
· Not being able to interpret or correctly respond to social cues
· Difficulty with problem solving, time management, and organization
· Lack of attention and focus at school
· Inability to perform at school despite numerous efforts
Adolescent training Program
This program is specifically designed to train children with neurodevelopmental problems who are above 8 years of age. The main areas focused in this program are:
1. National Open School Examination
2. Literacy skills which include skills like reading google maps, grocery labels and so on
3. Practical Life skills like marketing, banking, buying and selling
4. Body awareness and training on pubertal skills (includes sexual health education)
5. Job related community skills
6. Vocational skills like typing, use of Internet, home science-based skills
7. Learning safety skills like first aid, road safety and so on
8. Skill development in specific areas of art, craft and painting
Various products made by students of this program are displayed in the website, Do encourage us by buying these products to extend your support towards these special children and adolescents