ALC Welcomes New Preschool Partner, Frazer Center

Through the support of Stivers Decatur Subaru, The Adaptive Learning Center (ALC) has been able to expand to another preschool serving children with special needs. ALC is partnering with Frazer Center, a Druid Hills nonprofit which serves 185 children with and without disabilities in an inclusive early education program.

Frazer Center has been exploring enhancements to its services for children with special needs and professional development to expand the skill set of teachers working in inclusive classrooms. At the same time, ALC has been looking for ways to scale its program to meet the needs of children in full day, full year preschool programs, like Frazer Center. The new pilot program and its team approach have the potential to be a win/win for both organizations.

ALC will provide two Inclusion Consultants who will become members of the Inclusion Team at Frazer. The ALC Inclusion Consultants will provide hands-on coaching and advice to Frazer’s early education teachers in the classroom during learning activities, helping them to better support children with special needs and foster their independence, learning, and participation in the classroom. Modeling of appropriate behavioral and social strategies will be accomplished through an interactive approach with children both with and without special needs. ALC will also offer additional resources for assessment of children’s support needs. Through a team approach, therapists, ALC Inclusion Consultants, and Frazer Center parents, teachers, and Inclusion Team members will partner to develop targeted goals and objectives for children with special needs and to assist in their transition to appropriate elementary school settings and therapeutic services.

The pilot program is a new model for ALC, focused on technical assistance for teachers in inclusive preschool classrooms. By coaching Frazer Center teachers on the use of ALC’s respected strategies for early intervention, the impact of ALC can be broadened to serve more children and to reach those in full-day, full-year programs that many parents rely on for child care.

About Frazer Center:

At the center of our philosophy is our commitment to inclusion. While there are therapeutic elements to our work, our greatest commitment is about fostering the kinds of learning and social opportunities with adults and children that build sustaining friendships, that deepen an appreciation for diversity, and that recognize the gifts and talents of every individual in ways that celebrate those characteristics as essential to the vitality of the larger community.

On any given weekday throughout the year, as many as 170 children – 1/3 of whom have a developmental disability – between the ages of 6 weeks and 5 years gather at The Frazer Center for our Inclusive Child Development Program. Ninety adults with developmental disabilities ranging in age from 18-73 participate in our Adult Program, while an additional thirty adults serve in supported employment positions around greater Atlanta.

Learn More About Frazer Center: http://www.frazercenter.org/who/about/