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Great Circle Academy
Great Circle Academy specializes in working with children with behavioral health needs to provide additional support systems to help them succeed. Students are provided therapists for a wide variety of specialized services from individual to group sessions. Great Circle guides students through circumstances beyond their control, toward a place where they can thrive and achieve success.
Highschool students are given the opportunity to implement the skills they learn to be successful, self-sufficient, and responsible adults by nurturing confidence and independence. Students are introduced to a variety of coping strategies that empower them to establish emotional regulation allowing academic and social success. Emotional regulation is supported by activities and interventions that can focus on a specific brain region impacted by trauma and help provide clients with safety. Emotional regulation is critical to allow for learning, developmental growth and change.
Funds we receive through this generous gift would be utilized to purchase playground and play equipment such as balance beams, gym mats, swings, exercise equipment, a trampoline, regulation bikes, jump ropes and other regulation aid items.
Equipment will be used by kids struggling with varying types of behavioral and learning developmental delays, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research suggests that 1 in 6 children experiences sensory symptoms that may be significant enough to affect aspects of everyday life functions, and approximately 50% of children with an ASD also have a sensory processing disorder (SPD). A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other challenges may result without therapy
Helping children attain emotional regulation is critical to allow for learning, developmental growth, and change. A regulation coach and equipment are designed to increase the capacity for self-regulation. As self-regulation skills increase, attendance and participation will improve. STAR reading and math scores will improve; critical incidents will reduce; and the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) scores will improve.
Part of our therapy work focuses on the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and sensory regulation. Using appropriate occupational therapy play equipment, children can positively regulate their sensory needs, allowing them to focus on growing and learning.
The sensory play areas will be a place where regulation can be facilitated for individual students, as well as classroom groups. Ideally, it will be an extension of existing regulation room space for the regulation coach, a space where PE classes and occupation therapy sessions could take place, as well as a place for structured sensory integration opportunities for any school program.
At Great Circle we believe every child deserves to have a quality education, regardless of ability or challenges. The investment in these play and exercise items will help us support our children in building healthy relationships and preparing them for the next steps in their life, whether that’s college, trade school or a career."