Vermilion Association for Special Education

Program Details

Operating Agency: Vermilion Association for Special Education (Public-Federal )

Person In Charge: Director : Barbara A. Moore

Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 AM-4:00 PM

Eligibility: Students 3-21 eligible for special education

Fees: There are no fees for VASE services. Related services accept: Medicaid, School District Funds, Federal Grants and State Reimbursement

Intake Process: Referrals/Case study evaluations

Service Area: Vermilion County Schools (excluding Danville District 118)

Handicap Accessibility: Full Wheelchair Access,

Program/Service Notes

1. Secondary Transition Experience Program: This program is designed to provide supervised work experience for disabled high school students. Emphasis is placed on developing appropriate work-related habits and attitudes and on acquiring marketable work skills. The ultimate goal of this program is to prepare the student for the world of work while working toward a diploma. 2. Early Childhood Special Education Program: This program offers educational opportunities and special services to those children three to five years of age who have been identified as being eligible to participate. Parents of children between the ages of three and five are urged to take their child to a screening, which assesses a child's skills in three areas: Motor, Concepts, and Language. If a child scores below the cut-off for his/her age at the screening, a referral is made for an evaluation. The evaluation team (social worker, occupational therapist, speech/language pathologist and school psychologist) assesses the child's skills in their respective areas and makes recommendations for an Early Childhood Placement, if appropriate. 3. School Psychology: This is part of a multi-disciplinary approach to identifying disabilities and providing help for children who are having difficulty in using the resources of the schools effectively. A schools psychologist will strive to find the best educational program possible for the child by identifying student needs and offering recommendations for remediation. 4. School Social Work: Children in need of social work services are those who show any prolonged or significant deviation from the normal age expectations of behavior, performance, or attitude. Some of the functions that social workers may engage in to best achieve the objectives of the educational system: * assist in the identification, evaluation, and placement of special education students * direct casework or group work with children and/or their families * interpret the service to school, parents, and the community * serve as liaison between the school and community agencies, including referral to appropriate agencies * make appropriate home interventions and encourage parental involvement 5. Physically/Multiply Impaired Program: This is a special education resource program, with instruction delivered on an itinerant basis. Students in this program exhibit a physical impairment, either temporary or permanent which interferes with his/her learning and which may require adaptation of the physical plant. Individualized education plans, with direct and/or consultative services, are provided for each student by a special education teacher for the physically handicapped. Direct services are determined for those students whose educational needs require part-time instruction for the development of visual perception and fine motor skills. Consultative services are provided to classroom teachers, personal aides and the students for adaptation of equipment, school programming and provision of special materials. 6. Physical Therapy: A certified physical therapist serves children who have physical and/or mental handicaps, sensory integration problems and developmental delays. Therapy can begin after a physician has examined the child and given a written prescription for treatments. A written individualized education program is established by the therapist. Children receive treatment at school or in some instances at home. Crutches, braces, wheelchairs and other devices may be used in therapy as well as special adaptations created by the therapist. The therapist consults families and school personnel in the implementation of the child's program. 7. Occupational Therapy: This is related to services provided to handicapped students who need assistance to benefit from educational opportunities in the least restrictive environment or who need assistance in overcoming educational deficits directly/indirectly from a physical, sensory, or motor disability. Handicapping conditions may include learning disabilities, sensory motor dysfunctions or perceptual motor dysfunctions. Occupational therapy services assist in promoting independence in daily living skills, increasing function through the use of adaptive/assistive devices, facilitating muscle strength, motor coordination and range of motion, improving sensorimotor performance and improving fine motor/visual perceptual skills. 8. Adapted Physical Education: The intent of this program is to provide physical education instruction to those students who cannot safely and/or successfully participate in the traditional mainstreamed physical education environment. Any student in a school served by the cooperative is eligible to receive adapted physical education instruction or consultation. Each student's physician has input into the development of the child's physical education program. The program goals of the adapted physical education program emphasize the teaching of lifetime sports skills, and the improvement of each student's overall level of physical fitness. After a complete assessment of the student's motor skills is completed, he/she begins working in an individualized program designed to remediate motor deficiencies. Equipment and activities are modified to assist this student in meeting specific IEP goals. 9. Vision Impaired Program: Visually impaired children are those whose best corrected vision in the better eye is 20/70 or less, or whose field of vision does not exceed 20 degrees. Those whose vision is 20/200 or less with best correction in the better eye are considered legally blind. A child who is visually impaired may become visually disabled when his environment requires visual performance which is difficult or impossible without special materials and teaching techniques. Services which may be provided by this program are: * Direct instruction to the child in areas not available in the regular classroom such as braille, daily living skills, efficient use of vision and low vision aids, typing, orientation and mobility. * Interpretation of the child's eye condition and how it affects the child in the school and home. * Provision of ideas and direct help to aid the classroom teacher in successfully integrating the child into the regular classroom. * Provision of specialized materials and equipment which the child will need to maintain himself successfully in the regular classroom. * Provision of information and resources whenever necessary in the school and community. In this program, the child remains in the classroom where he would be enrolled in his home school, if he were not visually impaired. He participates in regular classroom activities and receives services from the teacher of the visually impaired on a direct or consultation basis. 10. Hearing Impaired Program: Hearing impaired children are served by two programs working together to support the children's educational needs. Determination for eligibility is determined by a multidisciplinary staffing. The program provides a special teacher certified to teach hearing impaired children to travel from school to school. Children in this program are able to remain integrated into a regular classroom setting. The teacher assists the classroom teacher in educational modifications and provides direct support for the student. 11. Audiology Department: VASE provides audiological examinations for children suspected of a hearing loss. 12. Speech/Languages: Speech/language therapy is provided in early childhood programs. Students are eligible for speech therapy if they exhibit delays in speech/language processes that prevent social or educational development. 13. Middlefork School Middlefork is a separate program for students whose emotional and behavioral needs are so severe they require a separate facility for instruction. Middlefork services students diagnosed with autism or emotional disability. Students with emotional disabilities demonstrate an inability to develop or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers/adults, inappropriate types of behavior/feelings or a pervasive mood of anxiety, unhappiness or depression. Placement is made by the IEP team when students require a small, intensive structured setting to address their emotional needs. 14. Regional Safe Schools Program The safe schools program is an alternative education placement for students who have reached the explusion status by their school boards. The class serves 6th-10th grades and includes academic and social skills instruction. The Regional Office of Education provides the state funding to operate this program for disruptive youth.

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