Info

The River School strives to be a model program serving children with hearing loss and their families in the Washington Metropolitan area. We meet regularly with families and professionals in the community, and many of them have questions about who we are and what we offer. You too may be asking the following: Is a private program like the River School an affordable option? The River School is proud of its independent status and the autonomy it brings. We work hard to provide strong options for families who want to support spoken language development for their children with a hearing loss. Many of our students are funded by their local school districts. For infants and toddlers (ages birth to three), local school districts provide home-based early intervention services, but they do not usually pay for classroom intervention. Financial aid is available to families that apply and is supplemented by the River School's Scholarship Fund. Financial concerns should not prohibit you from pursuing the River School for your child. Is the River School a traditional "oral school" model for deaf children? Many traditional oral approaches focus on the development of speech in isolation, separating children with hearing loss from their typical peers. We strive to be a model of "Developmentally Appropriate Practice," fully integrating children with hearing loss and hearing children together in every activity. Our preschool rooms are rich with sensory experiences and dramatic play, and our school-aged children enjoy a full curriculum of hands-on activities and collaborative learning. Our speech-language pathologists work alongside the children with hearing loss, facilitating play, supporting language, and targeting listening and speech skills throughout the day. The multi-disciplinary approach employed by the River School also makes our program unique. Each classroom is staffed by a master's level educator and a certified speech-language pathologist. We have an occupational therapist and psychologist on staff to address the needs of the whole child. Is the River School exclusively for children with cochlear implants? We do have unique expertise in the area of cochlear implants, and a collaborative relationship with the Listening Center of The Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the strongest implant centers in the country. The same strategies that support children who use implants also support children with hearing aids, such as attention to auditory development, a strong phonological awareness program, and a language-rich learning environment. In fact, more than one-third of our children with hearing loss are hearing aid users. The unique learning environment we provide also attracts many families of typically developing hearing children, which make up about 85% of our total program. How is the River School different from oral programs in the public schools? Several factors make the River School a strong option for children with hearing loss developing spoken language. First, the River School provides an exceptional level of intensity. While a public program typically has one speech pathologist serving 40-50 students, our speech pathologists serve as classroom teachers and target at most two to three students, all day, everyday. We also offer programs for toddlers in a classroom as young as 18 months, and children as young as three may enroll in full day programs. Additionally our program is eleven months long, providing exceptional continuity of service. Second, the qualifications of the staff are outstanding. We do not staff "teacher aides" in the classroom. Each class is staffed full time by a master's level educator and a certified speech language pathologist working as a team to plan, implement, and assess curriculum and programming. Third, we believe the River School is a much less restrictive environment than most public school programs that tend to segregate young children with hearing loss. Research documents that children learn language best from their peers. Therefore, we believe that it is vital for children with hearing loss to be surrounded by peers who are strong language models and good communication partners. Does the River School prohibit the use of sign language? Spoken English is the mode of communication and instruction at the River School. We believe that early identification and intervention, coupled with judicious use of technology, provide children with hearing loss an unprecedented opportunity to acquire spoken language. We also believe that the development of spoken language provides the best foundation for literacy, unrestricted communication and educational opportunities. We recognize that children with hearing loss may require more time and attention to develop such skills than their hearing peers. Therefore we use a variety of tools; including sign supported English in select situations, for our students during the critical early period of development. As a program that strives to support the "whole child" we believe that access to unambiguous communication facilitates the development of social and cognitive skills. We view the use of sign language as a bridge to spoken language, and a good strategy for some of our students with hearing loss who are emergent oral language users. If your family has opted for a primarily Aural/Oral approach and your child is developing language without sign, oral language would be used exclusively. Do services at the River School replace speech and auditory training? The River School provides a strong educational program for children with hearing loss focusing on the development of spoken language and literacy. We offer individual speech or auditory therapy as needed, and encourage families to avail themselves of the broad range of services in the area. The River School seeks to complement other programs in the region, not compete with them. Our faculty collectively brings a rich array of skills and perspectives that are integrated into classroom practice, including the use of auditory verbal methods, sensory integration approaches to auditory development, strong oral motor strategies, and an innovative phonological awareness program. Many families enrolled in our program find our services sufficient to address the educational and therapeutic needs of their children. Families may select specific services from their school districts, such as home visits or occupational therapy. We are happy to collaborate with any professionals serving our children. How big is the River School, and does it collaborate with other programs? The River School opened in January of 2000 with a total of ten children, and our growth speaks to our success. We currently have 240 children enrolled in our program, more than 30 of whom have a hearing loss. We have relationships with six university graduate programs and partner regularly with cochlear implant centers in the region, including Johns Hopkins. Our faculty participates in civic and professional groups advocating for children with hearing loss and their families. We collaborate with local school districts to support and improve their services for children with hearing loss. We have developed a network of relationships with other independent and public schools in the region, facilitating smooth transitions as children enter and leave the River School program. What is the Parent-Infant Program? During the child's first months and years of development, the River School places a strong emphasis on communication skills, social interaction, and sensory awareness. Infants and their parents participate together in a facilitated playgroup with a strong parent education component weekly. The Parent Infant Program provides a broad overview of ideas to support decision making, carefully considering both the needs of the child, and the priorities of the family. See this page for contact information and a fuller description of this program. How difficult is it to have my child placed at the River School? The River School does have a limited enrollment and a highly focused mission. We work diligently with families to determine if the River School is an appropriate placement, and to find a classroom that best meets the needs of the individual child. To be a candidate for the River School?s program the child must be under eight years old, and must have the potential to receive good benefit from hearing aids or a cochlear implant. We are not equipped to serve children with significant additional special needs; therefore, we make decisions on an individual basis. Children in our program range from being emergent language users, to those that are great users of speech and language. Our general admissions process is fairly competitive; in fact we often have a waiting list for typically developing children. However, we are strongly committed to serving children with hearing loss, and we reserve spaces for those children in each class. We encourage families to apply as soon as possible, although it is often feasible for children with hearing loss to enter the program mid-year. As with any educational program, we encourage parents to visit the school to be sure that the program meets the needs of the individual child and the priorities of the family. Thank you for considering our program.