Occupational & Speech Therapy
ClearWater Academy provides occupational therapy (OT) and speech therapy (ST) on an as needed basis. These services are provided by trained and licensed individuals, and are established through collaboration between teachers, parents, administration, and therapists.
Occupational therapists are trained to assist people of all ages to perform the functional tasks that normally occupy their lives. The occupation of childhood is to develop the skills necessary to become functional and independent adults. These skills include: regulation of arousal level in order to attend; refinement of sensory discrimination and processing; continual refinement and development of motor skills; appropriate social interactions; age-appropriate self-care skills; and self-concept. OT programs may include Alert, Interactive Metronome, Handwriting Without Tears, and/or Sensible Pencil.
Speech-language pathologists, also called SLPs, are experts in communication. SLPs, who work with people of all ages, from babies to adults, treat many types of communication. These include problems with:
Speech sounds—how we say sounds and put sounds together into words, also known as articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria
Language—how well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking
Social Communication or Pragmatics—how well we follow rules, like eye contact, taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking
Voice—how our voices sound (is it hoarse, loud, raspy, or nasal)
Fluency or stuttering—how well speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, like t-t-t-table, use “um” or “uh” excessively or pause a lot when talking. Many young children will go through a time when they stutter, but most outgrow it
Cognitive-communication—how well our minds work. Problems may involve memory, attention, problem solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
Personal Fitness
S5 Fitness provides ClearWater Academy’s personal fitness program. Sean Lynch understands our students and works well with them to make progress and celebrate meeting their individual goals.
Recreational Therapy
ClearWater Academy’s recreational program is provided by Outdoor Rec. Adventures. The program engages our children in a fun, meaningful, and physically active way. The program targets both emotional and physical self regulation as well as improving motor processing and core strength. Activities are set up to be socially challenging to our students as well. Ultimately, our goal is to facilitate and improve our student’s confidence, communication and relationship skills with both peers and family.
Therapeutic Riding
Therapeutic riding is an emerging field in which horses are used as a tool for physical and social-emotional growth, as well as learning. Therapeutic riding is recognized by many medical professionals, including the American Occupational Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association.
The benefits of therapeutic riding are numerous. Physically students show improvement in both gross and fine motor skills. Improvement in balance, flexibility and muscle strength are also noted. Academically and cognitively, interaction with the horse and instructor helps the rider to follow directions, develop planning and sequencing skills and help with overall focus and attention span. Socially, riding improves self esteem and builds confidence. More importantly, trust, friendship and a connection between rider and horse is formed. The Calvin Center provides Therapeutic Riding for our students.
