THEY are the new ‘kid’ on the block, but are determined to make their mark meeting the education needs of youths with special needs.

Victory Pointe Learning Centre, located at 25 Burlington Avenue in Kingston, will officially open its doors on November 2.

“Victory Pointe expects to meet a range of needs. We plan to cater to a diverse group — from slow learners and under-achieving children in the regular classroom, on a sessional basis, to more intensive full-day classes for students with autism and other pervasive disorders,” director Patricia Johnson told Career & Education.

“We have the capacity to work with students at all ability levels, whose parents believe that they need additional help to make progress,” added the woman, who holds a first degree in the arts and social sciences from the University of the West Indies, and a Master’s in human resource development and administration from Barry University in South Florida.

Service offerings at Victory Pointe, she said, will extend to:

o Individualised educational/development planning and programming for academic, social, and adaptive development for a range of special (and regular) student needs;

o Behaviour modification;

o Early learning and/or stimulation;

o Personal development and

o Character building.

“We also offer customised training for professionals and paraprofessionals, and training and support for parents,” noted Johnson, who has the designation of being a special education specialist, who has, among other things, completed autism endorsement courses.

She has also done essential courses for the board certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) designation, all the while participating in best practices for a range of special needs at various locations, including some model schools in Broward County, Florida, notably the Baudhuin Preschool.

The name for the Kingston-based learning and resource centre, meanwhile, was inspired by the director’s own experiences.

“As a parent of a child with special needs, the thought of ‘victory’ was always on my mind. It was either going to be ‘victory’ or ‘great expectations’. I decided on ‘Victory Pointe’ — the place where victory begins,” said Johnson.

She added that the move to open the doors to the facility was a calling.

“It is a calling rooted in the fact that I have a child with special needs. That pain of trying to find the right placement for him from the time that he was diagnosed (at four years old), had to eventually lead to something meaningful and purposeful,” she told Career & Education.

“For many parents, a lot of pain can be eliminated if there is the comfort of knowing that your child is getting most of the elements of a high quality development/educational programme tailored to his/her needs,” Johnson added.

Now only a little over a week before officially beginning operations, Johnson said there are still some things that she will need to get in order to help guarantee quality delivery of service to students.

“I can’t yet speak of cost in the past tense; I have barely scratched the surface. There are still so many must haves to get,” she said. “I am hoping that I can share the needs and get some help. Basic needs such as some furniture, computers, printer, laminator, guillotine and at least

one very necessary but costly computer programme — Boardmaker — as well as some assessment tools are still missing,” she added.

Once everything is in place, however, Victory Pointe will be able to accommodate up to 20 full-time students, though there are only four enrolled there now.

“It provides different options for the attendance of students. The facility is small compared to some others, but with enough space for comfortable movement of 20 full-time day students, and interaction between them,” said Johnson. “I would not want to have more than 25 students coming and going; it would defeat one of the main aims. We try to create a positive, exciting,

and stimulating atmosphere which students look forward to.”

She added: “A class has been planned for early learners — stimulation, readiness… for age two to seven for children with developmental disabilities, and those thought to be at risk because of one or more delays in any of the assessed areas, such as cognitive development, that is, intellectual ability, thinking, reasoning, processing information; communication development, that is, receptive skills, speech and language, making needs known; social and emotional development; adaptive skills; and motor skills.”

Among the areas of focus for early learners with autism, for example, she said, are very basic skills children need in order to learn — sitting in one place, attending, eye contact, etc.

“A structure is also in place for those aged eight to 13. Of course, the focus is on the child’s level of development, current and future needs, and individual planning/programming, rather than his/her chronological age,” Johnson said.

The director noted that the number of staff members would depend on the number of full-time students.

“My aim is to have no more than four students to one teacher or aide, and also to have a ‘floater’. I will also have a schedule for parent-volunteers. I have one active retired teacher waiting to be called, as well as a high school graduate who wants to be an aide,” Johnson explained.

“Staff will be carefully selected. They first must love all children and want to see them improve, must not be averse to ongoing professional development, and once selected will be required to submit a police record,” she added.

The cost of accessing the services of Victory Pointe will “vary based on the child’s needs, and the attendance option chosen by a parent — full day, sessions, or part-time,” she said.

She has said, in the interim, that she is determined to have Victory Pointe stand out among the few other schools that cater to children with special needs.

“Many things are different about VP. First, I am a parent of a child with special needs, and know how most parents feel, they think that the child is the centre of their world. I believe in parental participation, not on my (the director’s) terms, but on our terms. I could speak all day on this concept ‘parental participation’; it has for so long been misused, and misguided from the level of day-care right up. VP hopes to be a model for parental participation, and support,” she said.

“VP’s work will be grounded in evidence-based practices. The research tells us what works, and that will guide all programmes. For example, early learners with autism and other developmental disabilities can expect a programme, which includes discreet trial training, floor-time methodology, elements of TEACCH methodology, and other things that are known to work,” Johnson added.

At the same time, she said that personal data on ‘trials’ at tasks, achievements, etc, will drive individualised planning/plans while a centre-wide system of positive behaviour support will involve students of all ages.

“When you enter the door, you should get the sense right away that I am meeting different needs in individuals, as well as collectively. And all children should feel connected to something in the room,” Johnson told Career & Education.