Gabriela Sandoval EDINBURG – IDEA Public Schools and UTRGV have partnered to create three classrooms where students on the spectrum can be serviced in a high frequency capacity by trained health professionals.
Noe Ramos, College of Education and P-16 integration associate professor, has been leading the research to investigate the effects of professional services on the acceleration of students’ learning capabilities.
The initiative aims to ensure children with autism can build foundational skills that will help them in the classroom they can carry home.
Ashley Wheeler, regional vice president of special programs, said she is looking forward to the new additions that will be coming to the classrooms.
“We’re trailblazing just a great opportunity and innovating new opportunities to students,” Wheeler said. “… and in a few short weeks. We’re really excited to have UTRGV therapists join our classroom and embed into our culture to provide services to students.”
Professionals involved in the program include speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and board-certified behavioral analysts.
Ramos said parents and educators have always asked for additional support for their children.
Despite being just a few weeks into the program, IDEA Quest and those involved in integrating this intervention program have already begun planning the next steps to make the classroom experience even better.
“It’s definitely something that we need in more schools. And so the impact that we have seen or the positive role that we have seen is we’re serving as the model that hopefully will lead into more campuses establishing this at other in other schools,” Blanca Garza, senior principal at idea quest academy, said.
IDEA educators encourage more parents to take the step to enroll their children into these classrooms to ensure their children get the help and care they need.
