Communication

Special Subjects

Our Philosophy

Communication skills and language acquisition are integral parts of Boston Higashi School’s educational philosophy, Daily Life Therapy®. A total communication approach is embedded within our educational philosophy and curriculum of Daily Life Therapy®. This affords all of our students, regardless of skill level, the opportunity to access various modes of communication (e.g. speech, AAC, gestures, etc.) to enhance their understanding, increase their ability to express themselves, as well as help build interpersonal relationships.  

At Boston Higashi School, we promote evidence-based strategies, such as least-to-most prompting hierarchy to develop students’ independence and autonomy. In alignment with our “Heart-to-Heart” education, we prioritize connection over compliance. We encourage our students to find their own voice, and empower them to ask for or refuse objects and activities, express their preferences and feelings, and engage in social interactions with peers. We value the power of “inspiring and not requiring” communicative interactions.

Teacher using core words with student

Our Model

Communication services are provided using an indirect care and consultative model. Speech-language pathologists consult with school staff and student families to promote the generalization of communicative skills across the students’ environment. Each division has their own communication teacher who collaborates with the speech-language pathologists to support language development throughout the school day. The communication teachers and speech-language pathologists monitor each student’s communication objectives and progress. The speech-language pathologists work closely with the communication teacher who leads weekly lessons focused on building expressive, receptive, and social communication.  Furthermore, the residential program has a communication teacher who carries over the communication approach and language strategies from the school program to the residence. This ensures continuity and generalization of skills between programs.

Teacher showing core words to students

Core Word Curriculum

Along with the communication classes, the Boston Higashi School implements a core word curriculum. Core words are high-frequency words that can be used across a variety of different contexts and used for a variety of language functions. Each month, the students are exposed to 5-6 core vocabulary words that are used throughout the day in engaging activities to increase comprehension and encourage expression of the words. This provides the school with a unified approach for increasing language opportunities across the day. To promote language learning and word acquisition, we utilize aided-language stimulation, or pairing spoken language models with visuals.

Students using assistive devices to communicate
Teacher using core words with student
Teacher showing core words to students