Occupational Therapy

Psychology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

Occupatioinal Therapy

Psycology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

The role of the Occupational Therapy Department

Occupational therapy for learners who experience barriers to learning aims to develop the necessary basic social, motor and visual perceptual skills.  Therapy strives to integrate these skills so as to enable learners to achieve their maximum potential.

1. Assessments

All learners in grades 1 – 4 enrolled at the School of Achievement undergo a formal and/or functional assessment to determine their level of functioning in visual perceptual, gross and fine motor skills. After the assessment results are shared with the multidisciplinary team and an individual treatment program is established to assist with the Individual Education Plan (IEP). Parents are given feedback regarding the results and the necessary recommendations concerning therapy, home programs and/or scholastic adaptations. Referrals to other professionals may be made if necessary.

Learners in the High School are assessed on an as-need basis. After the assessment a multi-disciplinary team discussion takes place where the necessary recommendations are made.

2. Therapy

Occupational Therapy (OT) in the Foundation Phase (Grade 1 – 3) and Intersen Phase (Gr 4& 5) focuses on eliminating gaps in sensory motor development and visual perception, in order to lay a sound foundation for schoolwork. The OT department is well-equipped with sensory motor equipment and various resources.

Learners are grouped together for therapy, so as to promote social interaction, as well as to strengthen their weaknesses. Most learners in the Foundation Phase (Gr 1 – 3) receive therapy twice weekly. Learners in the Intersen Phase (Gr 4& 5), receive therapy in larger groups once a week, where more emphasis is placed on academic related tasks.

High School learners receive occupational therapy in small groups and/ or individual sessions where needed. These groups focus on school related skills, life skills, social skills and vocational skills.

3. Role in Classrom

In the Foundation Phase and Intersen Phase, learners are observed in the classroom to establish whether the learners can apply skills learned in therapy, to academic work. Recommendations to the teacher may be made for adaptations where necessary. The Occupational Therapist participates in the weekly team discussions, where the learner’s areas of difficulty are approached and solved in a holistic manner. Parents are informed on the progress their children have made in areas targeted in therapy during parent’s days and in reports. Parents are welcome to approach a therapist at any time to ask advice or for assistance.

4. Indication | Foundation Phase:

Motor skills : Clumsiness, poor balance and posture, poor gross motor skills such as jumping and skipping and poor fine motor skills such as pencil control, cutting and writing.

Un-established dominance and midline crossing: The learner may use both hands equally, avoid crossing his midline by rotating or moving the page or his body while working at a table.

Visual perceptual delays: Reversals of letters, reversals in the order of words, difficulty copying from the blackboard, difficulty finding his/her place when reading and incorrect letter and number formation.

Poor concentration and/or hyperactivity

Poor memory and reasoning abilities

Sensory systems: Hyper/hypo-sensitivity to touch, sound, textures of clothing, food or movement.

- Intersen Phase:

The Grade 4 learners, who still require intensive therapy, are seen in small groups once a week. Some Grade 5 learners receive occupational therapy in a small group once a week, which focuses on study skills.

- High School Phase:

High school pupils receive occupational therapy on an as-need basis, from Grade 8 – 12 which focuses on areas such as social skills, pre-vocational skills and study skills to name a few.

5. External Activities

Learners are encouraged to participate in external activities such as sport (eg. athletics, swimming, gymnastics, etc), cultural activities (eg. drumming, choir, music, pottery, etc) and social activities (eg. Cubs, Voortrekkers, etc). This gives the learners opportunity to explore and enhance new and varied skills; thus, enabling them to develop their self-image and social interaction.

6. Additional Information

Sensory Integration South Africa
Sensory Integration International
Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa
Brain Gym – Educational Kinesiology
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Association of South Africa
Dyslexia South Africa
Autism South Africa

Occupational Therapy

The role of the Occupational Therapy Department

Occupational therapy for learners who experience barriers to learning aims to develop the necessary basic social, motor and visual perceptual skills.  Therapy strives to integrate these skills so as to enable learners to achieve their maximum potential.

1. Assessments

All learners in grades 1 – 4 enrolled at the School of Achievement undergo a formal and/or functional assessment to determine their level of functioning in visual perceptual, gross and fine motor skills. After the assessment results are shared with the multidisciplinary team and an individual treatment program is established to assist with the Individual Education Plan (IEP). Parents are given feedback regarding the results and the necessary recommendations concerning therapy, home programs and/or scholastic adaptations. Referrals to other professionals may be made if necessary.

Learners in the High School are assessed on an as-need basis. After the assessment a multi-disciplinary team discussion takes place where the necessary recommendations are made.

2. Therapy

Occupational Therapy (OT) in the Foundation Phase (Grade 1 – 3) and Intersen Phase (Gr 4& 5) focuses on eliminating gaps in sensory motor development and visual perception, in order to lay a sound foundation for schoolwork. The OT department is well-equipped with sensory motor equipment and various resources.

Learners are grouped together for therapy, so as to promote social interaction, as well as to strengthen their weaknesses. Most learners in the Foundation Phase (Gr 1 – 3) receive therapy twice weekly. Learners in the Intersen Phase (Gr 4& 5), receive therapy in larger groups once a week, where more emphasis is placed on academic related tasks.

High School learners receive occupational therapy in small groups and/ or individual sessions where needed. These groups focus on school related skills, life skills, social skills and vocational skills.

3. Role in Classrom

In the Foundation Phase and Intersen Phase, learners are observed in the classroom to establish whether the learners can apply skills learned in therapy, to academic work. Recommendations to the teacher may be made for adaptations where necessary. The Occupational Therapist participates in the weekly team discussions, where the learner’s areas of difficulty are approached and solved in a holistic manner. Parents are informed on the progress their children have made in areas targeted in therapy during parent’s days and in reports. Parents are welcome to approach a therapist at any time to ask advice or for assistance.

4. Indication for Occupational Therapy | Foundation Phase:

Motor skills : Clumsiness, poor balance and posture, poor gross motor skills such as jumping and skipping and poor fine motor skills such as pencil control, cutting and writing.

Un-established dominance and midline crossing: The learner may use both hands equally, avoid crossing his midline by rotating or moving the page or his body while working at a table.

Visual perceptual delays: Reversals of letters, reversals in the order of words, difficulty copying from the blackboard, difficulty finding his/her place when reading and incorrect letter and number formation.

Poor concentration and/or hyperactivity

Poor memory and reasoning abilities

Sensory systems: Hyper/hypo-sensitivity to touch, sound, textures of clothing, food or movement.

Intersen Phase:

The Grade 4 learners, who still require intensive therapy, are seen in small groups once a week. Some Grade 5 learners receive occupational therapy in a small group once a week, which focuses on study skills.

High School Phase:

High school pupils receive occupational therapy on an as-need basis, from Grade 8 – 12 which focuses on areas such as social skills, pre-vocational skills and study skills to name a few.

5. External Activities

Learners are encouraged to participate in external activities such as sport (eg. athletics, swimming, gymnastics, etc), cultural activities (eg. drumming, choir, music, pottery, etc) and social activities (eg. Cubs, Voortrekkers, etc). This gives the learners opportunity to explore and enhance new and varied skills; thus, enabling them to develop their self-image and social interaction.

6. Additional Information

Sensory Integration South Africa
Sensory Integration International
Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa
Brain Gym – Educational Kinesiology
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Association of South Africa
Dyslexia South Africa
Autism South Africa

Occupatioinal Therapy

Psycology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

PSYCHOLOGY

The Multi-disciplinary Team

The Psychology Department functions as an integral part of the transdisciplinary team; working together with parents, teachers, speech-language therapists and occupational therapists.

1. Therapy Learning Disabilities

The main concern of the Psychology Department is to provide support to learners with a specific learning disability as these learners often display the following characteristics, which may hamper their cognitive and emotional well-being:

  • Hyperactivity
  • Attention/concentration problems
  • Emotional immaturity
  • Impulsiveness
  • Poor social skills
  • Fear of foreign situations
  • Poor perseverance
  • Poor self-image and poor self-confidence
  • Planning problems
  • Problems with coordination, laterality and dominance
  • Memory dysfunction
  • Anxiety

The Psychology Department is equipped to provide psychotherapy to address emotional problems and to implement crisis intervention strategies where necessary.

Therapy is short-solution focused and external referrals may be made if necessary.

For information on Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) contact the Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Support Group of South Africa (ADHASA).

2. Training & Consultation

The Psycho-Social Department is involved with the in-service training and support of staff members in managing the emotional and social aspects of the child with a specific learning disability within the classroom environment. Panel and class discussions take place in order to monitor the progress learners make and to decide on appropriate intervention strategies where necessary.

3. Assessments

Emotional and intellectual assessments are performed as required. Vocational assessment and career guidance is also provided, however, only when requested by the parents. Please be advised that the vocational assessment programme offered at SOA is preferably reserved for learners currently completing their senior high school phase i.e. grades 10 to grade 12.

4. School-Based Support Team

The Psycho-Social Department plays an active role in terms of the provision of consultative services, geared at empowering and supporting educators, during shcool-based support team meetings. These meetings are also utilised as a point of referral for psycho-social intervention; and for ‘wrap-around’ sessions regarding the planning and implementation of intervention strategies.

5. Psycho-Social Camps

During the course of the year the Psycho-Social Department present a grade 7, grade 8 and grade 12 leader orientation camp respectively. Emphasis is placed on leadership and coping skills in order to aid the grade 8 learners with their transition into High School. The grade 12 camp is alternatively geared towards stress-management skills.

6. On-Line Information

Occupational Therapy

Psychology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

Psychology Department

The Multi-disciplinary Team

The Psychology Department functions as an integral part of the transdisciplinary team; working together with parents, teachers, speech-language therapists and occupational therapists.

1. Learning Disabilities

The main concern of the Psychology Department is to provide support to learners with a specific learning disability as these learners often display the following characteristics, which may hamper their cognitive and emotional well-being:

  • Hyperactivity
  • Attention/concentration problems
  • Emotional immaturity
  • Impulsiveness
  • Poor social skills
  • Fear of foreign situations
  • Poor perseverance
  • Poor self-image and poor self-confidence
  • Planning problems
  • Problems with coordination, laterality and dominance
  • Memory dysfunction
  • Anxiety

The Psychology Department is equipped to provide psychotherapy to address emotional problems and to implement crisis intervention strategies where necessary.

Therapy is short-solution focused and external referrals may be made if necessary.

For information on Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) contact the Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Support Group of South Africa (ADHASA).

2. Training & Consultation

The Psycho-Social Department is involved with the in-service training and support of staff members in managing the emotional and social aspects of the child with a specific learning disability within the classroom environment. Panel and class discussions take place in order to monitor the progress learners make and to decide on appropriate intervention strategies where necessary.

3. Assessments

Emotional and intellectual assessments are performed as required. Vocational assessment and career guidance is also provided, however, only when requested by the parents. Please be advised that the vocational assessment programme offered at SOA is preferably reserved for learners currently completing their senior high school phase i.e. grades 10 to grade 12.

4. School-Based Support Team (SBST)

The Psycho-Social Department plays an active role in terms of the provision of consultative services, geared at empowering and supporting educators, during shcool-based support team meetings. These meetings are also utilised as a point of referral for psycho-social intervention; and for ‘wrap-around’ sessions regarding the planning and implementation of intervention strategies.

5. Psycho-Social Camps

During the course of the year the Psycho-Social Department present a grade 7, grade 8 and grade 12 leader orientation camp respectively. Emphasis is placed on leadership and coping skills in order to aid the grade 8 learners with their transition into High School. The grade 12 camp is alternatively geared towards stress-management skills.

6. On-Line Information

Occupatioinal Therapy

Psycology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

SPEECH-LANGUAGE

The Role of the Speech-Language and Hearing Therapy Department

The speech – language and hearing department at The School of Achievement forms part of the School Based Support Team. Speech therapists provide group therapy for children in the Junior School intensively working on areas of speech, auditory perception, receptive and expressive language, discourse and pragmatic skills.
Assessments are completed to determine the level of functioning. These results are used in the formulation of treatment plans. Weaknesses are then targeted within a small peer group. Therapy usually occurs twice weekly in Grades 1 – 4.
Class discussions are held weekly to ensure the holistic carry-over of knowledge and skills. Furthermore audiology screenings occur annually to ensure the stability of the auditory pathways.

1. Assessment

Auditory Perceptual Abilities/Phonemic Awareness

  • Auditory Discrimination
  • Auditory Sequential Memory
  • Auditory Story Memory
  • Sound Blending
  • Auditory Closure
  • Auditory Analysis
  • Auditory Synthesis
  • Listening to Paragraphs

Receptive Language Abilities

  • Receptive Vocabulary
  • Grammatical Understanding
  • Sentence Structure
  • Concepts and Directions
  • Word Classes
  • Auditory Reception

Expressive Language Abilities

  • Word finding Vocabulary
  • Oral Vocabulary
  • Grammatic Closure
  • Grammatic Completion
  • Sentence Imitation
  • Auditory Association
  • Word Structure
  • Formulated Sentences
  • Sentence Assembly / Word Ordering
  • Sentence Combining

Hearing screening
Oral Peripheral Examination
Speech Production and Articulation
Fluency

2. Speech-Language Therapy

The aim of speech-language therapy is to develop individual speech, language and communication skills. Therapy involves a series of speech, listening and language activities to meet specific communication goals. The period of therapy is determined by the nature and degree of the speech-language disorder. The rate and pattern of improvement is different for each learner. The above has a direct influence on the frequency and length of therapy.

Speech-language therapy proceeds in small steps. Therapy is based on a carefully designed sequence of practice. The therapist selects key communication skills that are taught in several ways – through drill practice, play interactions, or conversation. The difficulty of the response required is gradually increased over time through reinforcement and feedback. Therapy may occur on an individual, a small group and/or a class group level. Often the therapist integrates into the class activities to assist with the transfer of skills taught on an individual level.

3. Links
3. Support Groups

Occupational Therapy

Psychology Department

Speech-Language Therapy

Speech-Language Therapy

The Role of the Speech -Language and Hearing Therapy Department

The speech – language and hearing department at The School of Achievement forms part of the School Based Support Team. Speech therapists provide group therapy for children in the Junior School intensively working on areas of speech, auditory perception, receptive and expressive language, discourse and pragmatic skills.

Assessments are completed to determine the level of functioning. These results are used in the formulation of treatment plans. Weaknesses are then targeted within a small peer group. Therapy usually occurs twice weekly in Grades 1 – 4.

Class discussions are held weekly to ensure the holistic carry-over of knowledge and skills. Furthermore audiology screenings occur annually to ensure the stability of the auditory pathways.

 

1. Assessment

Auditory Perceptual Abilities/Phonemic Awareness

  • Auditory Discrimination
  • Auditory Sequential Memory
  • Auditory Story Memory
  • Sound Blending
  • Auditory Closure
  • Auditory Analysis
  • Auditory Synthesis
  • Listening to Paragraphs

Receptive Language Abilities

  • Receptive Vocabulary
  • Grammatical Understanding
  • Sentence Structure
  • Concepts and Directions
  • Word Classes
  • Auditory Reception

Expressive Language Abilities

  • Word finding Vocabulary
  • Oral Vocabulary
  • Grammatic Closure
  • Grammatic Completion
  • Sentence Imitation
  • Auditory Association
  • Word Structure
  • Formulated Sentences
  • Sentence Assembly / Word Ordering
  • Sentence Combining

Hearing screening
Oral Peripheral Examination
Speech Production and Articulation
Fluency

2. Speech-Language Therapy

The aim of speech-language therapy is to develop individual speech, language and communication skills. Therapy involves a series of speech, listening and language activities to meet specific communication goals. The period of therapy is determined by the nature and degree of the speech-language disorder. The rate and pattern of improvement is different for each learner. The above has a direct influence on the frequency and length of therapy.

Speech-language therapy proceeds in small steps. Therapy is based on a carefully designed sequence of practice. The therapist selects key communication skills that are taught in several ways – through drill practice, play interactions, or conversation. The difficulty of the response required is gradually increased over time through reinforcement and feedback. Therapy may occur on an individual, a small group and/or a class group level. Often the therapist integrates into the class activities to assist with the transfer of skills taught on an individual level.

3. Links
3. Support Groups

School Fees

Overview of School Fees

School fees are a significant part of a student’s educational journey, and it’s important for parents and guardians to plan and save for these expenses.  Remember that saving for school fees is an investment in your child’s future. Planning and financial discipline can help make education expenses more manageable and allow your child to access quality education and opportunities for personal growth and development.

Understanding School Fees

School fees can include tuition, textbooks, uniforms, extracurricular activities, and various additional expenses.Costs can vary widely depending on the grade level of the student.

Learn More

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Address

c/o Bloemhof Street & Heidelberg Road, Elspark, Gauteng

school hours

M-F: 7:00 – 17:00

Phone

(+27) 11 916 1917

Email

info@mysoa.co.za