Funanya Uchemefuna

Professor Esposito

SPE 480

October 1, 2018

Site Visitation Paper

Name of organization or resource: OT Inspirations Center for Learning Unlimited

Contact person: Lisa Johnson MA, OTR/L

Telephone Number: (562) 481-5508

Address/Location: 2785 Pacific Coast Highway Suite G Torrance, CA 90505

Hours of Operation: M-F 8:45-3, Appts. with service providers occur before, during and after

school.

Cost/Fee for Participation: $35,000.00 tuition per year

Primary Funding Source: Variety of school districts from LA to Orange County Area and private

funding

Day/Time of Visit: September 18th, 2018

Who Is Eligible to Receive Services: Students who need Speech, Occupational Therapy,

Counseling, and Behavioral Support in accordance with their IEP, eligibility criteria, and need.

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible and Technology accessibility

OT Inspiration Observation

I observed a program called OT Inspirations Center for Learning Unlimited in the

Torrance area. This program is a non public special education school for children in elementary

and high school. The population has a complex of grade levels and ages ranging from K-12 and
ages 5 to 22. The students also widely varied within the disability category. Majority of the

students within the school had multiple disabilities, different levels of autism, emotional

disturbances, speech and language disabilities, genetic syndromes, psychiatric disorders,

developmental delays, and cognitive impairment. The program’s targets are students with

disabilities that either need to learn certain skills to better emerge into an inclusive school

environment or have trouble with inclusive environments and assimilate better into only special

education environments.

The physical environment of the font of the school was located in a small shopping plaza,

while the inside presented to be spacey and pristine in cleanliness and organization. The

elementary students were placed in one section of the building where they implemented their

learning instruction and the other section was for the high school students for the same purpose.

Each classroom serves at most 6-20 students, while the entirety of the school serves 35 students

total. The outside play area had a gazebo, garden, outdoor science table, playground and picnic

table. Outside activities were scheduled separately for elementary ages and for high school ages.

Certain students had separate classroom and outside activity time all together. The noise was

usually quiet in the halls, but buzzed within the classrooms as each student had their own Para

Professionals or Behavioral Intervention Specialist that communicated with them and guided

them through instruction. The noise outside was for the most part playful and friendly, except for

the occasional altercations between students that ended in oral outbursts and forced separation by

the Para Professionals. Some noises heard throughout the school came from diagnosed students

that used scripted phrases or coherent vocalization to communicate or provide them with

emotional release. The lighting in the building was always dim and the air always fresh due to

Aromatherapy being dispelled in every room. The hallway displayed artwork and 2-3 collections
of student projects, while the classrooms were engulfed in the student’s projects covering the

walls and hanging from the ceilings. The school also had Individual learning pods;centers for

students who could not tolerate being in the classroom setting. The walls in these pods were bare

for the purpose of not over stimulating certain students. Some other resources the students had

access to was the photography room, music room, occupational therapy clinic space, kitchen, and

snack cart area run by the students.

The social and emotional environment observed was friendly and family-oriented.

Everyone always had a smile on their face and made sure to greet each other for the day. Since

the school is small all the students knew each other and their category of disability. The school

followed a relationship based model for the purpose of focusing on social emotional connections

and relationships, in addition to or before academics. This model is due to the fact that several

students that are at OT Inspirations have been previously traumatized by the negative

experiences that have occurred, while attending their previous schools. The staff are trained in

Crisis Prevention Intervention called CPI, which allows them to be trained in deescalating

students and as a last resort physically detaining them. CPI training provided staff members with

the skill necessary to calm down agitated or over aroused students. The staff are trained to

support optimal engagement

in learning activities, while maintaining boundaries, safety and success.

The role of the Para professionals that work alongside the teachers prepare materials for

lessons and services to optimize participation and learning. These assistants provide redirection,

social emotional support, and problem-solving support. As the assistants are providing these

supports they are also tracking the student’s performance and/or data. The collaboration between

the student and the assistant allowed them to plan how to modify the amount, type, and chunking
of what was being taught. In addition, they were also able to find adaptive studying and work

techniques that worked for the student. Other professionals that are involved in this school are

the teachers, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychiatrists, Psychologists,

Educational therapists, Behavioral Interventionists, Director of school, Adaptive PE providers,

and District representative. These professionals help maintain the school’s funding, purpose, and

hopeful atmosphere.

The schools academic program follows a curriculum that addresses the core standards

and in addition provides access to various electives such as photo/videography, music, art,

robotics. The school also focuses on life skills by integrating social skills groups, physical

fitness, functional living skills, and vocational training into the curriculum. Students are able to

follow one of two graduation processes, which allow the students to follow a specific track to

obtain a certificate or a diploma. The certificates are given to students that have gone through

high school, but did not meet all of the requirements for a diploma. The diplomas are given to the

students that have met all the high school standards. Each student is provided with an

individualized learning plan to lead to one of the two graduation processes. The curriculum

taught in the classrooms are modified and accommodate each particular student based on their

academic level of engagement. The school has a variety of programs like their online programs

that measure the students’ baseline levels in academics, which based on their scores will help

shape and adjust the curriculum to better suit their needs. The classrooms center around everyone

learning one subject, but accomplishing different levels of understanding through different

activities. This will allows the teachers and staff to see the student’s level of academic

performance through challenging their abilities. An example that I observed of this was when the

entire class was working on a book called “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie” by Laura Numeroff.
Some students had the task of rearranging pictures of the story into chronological order, while

others worked on writing an essay about the stories moral.

The program is supported by technology based resources such as Smart Boards,

computers and iPads, as well as web based literacy support modules like the Kurzweil program

for the use of communication. Some other web based support that is used is GoNoodle, kids

yoga, how to videos and blog creations. The supports enhance the student’s technology skills,

communication, and social awareness. Other supports that the school provides are hands on

learning materials like math manipulatives in order to gather better comprehension of math

principles, PBL to help with their multisensory skills, furniture such as swings or bean bag chairs

to accommodate their physical and mental needs and buddy mentorship.

The behavioral management system set in place also helps support the school, staff, and

students involved. All staff are trained to in Crisis Prevention strategies and de-escalation

techniques to address certain behaviors of students. The school is also equipped with Behavioral

specialists on site that are assigned to specific students. The specialists provide support for

students who need to talk and help structure work or give incentive points or rewards for the

students. If an event were to escalate and cause extreme disruption the school goes into Lock

Down and law enforcement is called to provide assistance in detaining students that are causing a

dangerous situation and/or over the age of 18.

Another support in place for the students are different types of assessments and

evaluations within the classroom to be able to provide the students with the best Individualized

Education Plan for them. Some examples of the types of assessments are class assessments,

agency qualification criteria and formal and informal assessments that are targeted to measure

student strengths and areas for improvement. The school is assessed by WASC and teachers are
assessed by administration. Students are tested with Woodcock Johnson, Wechsler or Vineland

mediums. The various disciplines used provide clinically targeted tests in both standardized and

unstandardized formats based on the students’ tolerance or availability. The Occupational

Therapy supplied by the school also uses their own types of assessments such as the GOAL,

Bruininks Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests, and a

variety of Sensory Processing checklists with functional observations.

The school that I observed made sure to adapt to every child’s needs to the best of its

ability. Plans, systems, assessments and resources are set in place to provide these students with

the necessary support to promote their success and encourage hope for the students that had a

history of negative experiences in the general education schooling system. The school supplies

students with a positive environment that will allow them to strive mentally and academically, so

that they are prepared to move on to the adult portions of their lives.