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The school and home-based infant program focuses on children from birth to three years. There is a development of a one-to-one relationship between the teacher and the family. Parents attend weekly meetings to learn more about deafness and its implications. In addition, they have the opportunity to meet and share with other parents. Currently, the program is staffed by a parent-infant teacher, an assistant and a speech teacher. Cleary’s parent educator also works closely with the parents.
Our Parent-Infant Program is designed to meet the special needs of the families and children in order to assist in reaching their fullest potential:
to help parents and their children develop communication between themselves more effectively and enjoyably.
to stimulate children’s developmental stages to a natural sequencing level.
to provide parents with information about infant and early childhood development.
Families are seen by the Parent-Infant teacher on an individual basis. In addition, a playgroup with students enrolled in the program meets once a week. Lessons are arranged in a play format in order to develop skills in a natural, developmental way. In conjunction with the services offered by the parent-infant teacher, the families also have at their disposal a variety of services which include: invidual Speech and Language Therapy, ongoing audiological and haring aid evaluations, ongoing assessment of the child's progress, Physical and Occupational Therapy (if needed), and family counseling.
While many parents seeks an auditory oral program for their child, access to and ASL-based program is offered to parents. The focuses of this pgram are parallel to the auditory-oral program, except that the language of instruction is America Sign Language. ASL classes for parents, both during the day and in the evening, are offered to parents.
The goal of Pre School education is to provide a nurturing learning environment that enhances the child’s development of his or her cognitive, social, and language abilities. Units of instruction, either thematic or literature based, are presented in a variety of modalities and activities, with the goal of increasing the child’s base of knowledge and experiences.
Students are eligible to enter the Pre School at mid-year, summer, or in September providing they have reached the age of two and one half (2 ½) years. Based on the audiologic and linguistic needs of the child, there are three distinct Pre School programs.
The language of instruction is American Sign Language (ASL). The primary language goal in this classroom is the acquisition of ASL, through exposure to appropriate learning activities.
Exposure to print coincides with student’s acquisition of American Sign Language. All efforts are put forth to create learning environments that facilitate language development.
Keeping in mind our commitment to the needs of students, Cleary School began an Auditory/Oral Pre School Program in September, 2002. With significant advances in hearing aid technology and an increasing number of young children being fitted with cochlear implants, this program has been developed to meet the needs of children with an increased ability to access language auditorily.
The goal of Pre School education is to provide a nurturing learning environment that enhances the child’s development of his or her cognitive, social, and language abilities. Units of instruction, either thematic or literature based, are presented in a variety of modalities and activities, with the goal of increasing the child’s base of knowledge and experiences.
Students are eligible to enter the Pre School at mid-year, summer, or in September providing they have reached the age of two and one half (2 ½) years. Based on the audiologic and linguistic needs of the child, there are three distinct Pre School programs.
Spoken English is the language of instruction. A great deal of emphasis is placed on creating experiences that compel the students to develop their listening skills.
The primary goal of this program is to develop the student’s ability to acquire language through auditory skills.
The Oral Pre School Program’s goal is to prepare students who are becoming school age for entry into school district based programs.
This program serves students from the ages of 6 – 14. The predominant language of instruction is American Sign Language, although modifications are made for students with cochlear implants or those who have the potential to access information auditorally.
Students have daily instruction in reading, writing, math, social studies and science. Their instructional goals are dictated by the goals on their Individual Education Programs (IEP).
As students become Junior High School age, the opportunity for partial inclusion in the Islip Terrace Junior High School becomes available. Students gain valuable experiences here, both academically and socially, as they develop skills that will prove to be valuable as they enter our High School program.
Cleary’s Secondary Program is integrated into East Islip High School. Here, depending on ability, students learn through a variety of options. A detailed description of the educational options offered to the students in the Secondary Program is listed below.
Mainstream Component: Cleary students have access to any course offered at East Islip High School. When a Cleary student chooses one or more of these courses, a Sign Language Interpreter, provided by Cleary, is present in that class. His/Her role is that of facilitator of communication within the classroom. Students receive tutoring at another time in the day, as needed. In order to coordinate these services, cooperative efforts between East Islip and Cleary staff must, and do, occur.
Hearing Impaired Classes: Students have a range of hearing impaired classes, taught by Cleary teachers of the Deaf, from which to choose. Classes (6:1:1) are conducted in American Sign Language (ASL) and are very visual. Speech (Communication Skills) is provided according to each student’s IEP.
BOCES Program: A student may attend a half-a-day BOCES program at one of two campuses, several miles from Cleary-East Islip. An interpreter accompanies each student to these classes.
Transitional Program: In accordance with the New York State Education Department, transitional services begin at the age of twelve and are provided in depth for students age 16 to 21 or until graduation. VESID (Vocational Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities), job coaching for all employment experiences, life skills classes for those who require them, academic counseling and college preparation, vocational evaluations and parent involvement constitute the ongoing transitional process for our students after which they receive a Diploma (one of three possible types: Regents, Local, IEP) and move into Post-Secondary Education or the world of work.
Approximately 20% of the total population of the elementary program is in Special Needs classrooms. Special Needs classes differ from the other classes in two distinct manners. Their educational objectives focus more on life skills or pre vocational skills and secondly, these classes tend to have a higher student-staff ration.
The most prevalent educational methodologies employed in Special Needs classes are:
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)
The teaching in these classes is individualized. This is accomplished through the use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). This method of teaching uses ten discrete trials, meaning things are taught in isolation ten times. They are then mixed with new items and old items. Each child has its own book and data is taken during every teaching session. The data allows both teachers and parents to see the progress the child is making.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
The use of PECS is often implemented when a child has not been able to communicate his/her wants or needs through sign. The goal of PECS is to teach students to exchange a picture of a desired item for the actual itme. The development of this type of cause/effect relationship is a natural bridge to the development of sign.
The goal of Pre School education is to provide a nurturing learning environment that enhances the child’s development of his or her cognitive, social, and language abilities. Units of instruction, either thematic or literature based, are presented in a variety of modalities and activities, with the goal of increasing the child’s base of knowledge and experiences.
Students are eligible to enter the Pre School at mid-year, summer, or in September providing they have reached the age of two and one half (2 ½) years. Based on the audiologic and linguistic needs of the child, there are three distinct Pre School programs.
Students who are candidates for the Oral Pre School, but lack some requisite skills, are candidates for a Transition class. In many cases, these students have a previously developed sign language base.
The goal of this program is to get students to increase their reliance on audition to acquire language.
When considering enrolling their child in Cleary School for the Deaf, the family participates in an evaluation process. A hearing loss of at least 60dB in the better ear for the infants, and at least 80dB in the better ear for the other students, is required in order to be eligible for the program. Children who do not have a profound hearing loss, but are evaluated as Functionally Deaf may attend the school. During an intake, a medical and a social history is obtained through parent interviews and/or collection of previous records. Evaluations are conducted by the audiologist, psychologist, educational evaluator and speech-and-language therapist. When needed, evaluations are also completed by the occupational and physical therapists. These reports, as well as information gleaned from classroom teacher observations, are discussed at a Multiple Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting. If placement at Cleary is deemed appropriate, a Committee on Special Education (CSE) or a Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) meeting is held with the student’s school district in order to grant placement, determine classification, plan and approve an Individual Education Plan (IEP) and establish transportation for the student. At times, a student is accepted on a trial basis to determine if placement would be appropriate.
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Cleary School for the Deaf