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—A Massachusetts Parent
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Little Keswick School is honored to announce the newest staff member to our school community, Barter, a facility assistance dog! After over a year of applications and interviews the school has been awarded the opportunity to receive a facility dog for the school through a nonprofit organization, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). (www.cci.org) This organization enhances the lives of people by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. The dogs spend six to nine months training with professional CCI instructors at one of five regional training centers. Here, the dogs learn over 40 specialized commands before completing Team Training where they are matched with an adult. Facility dogs work with a professional in an education, visitation, or healthcare setting. It is truly a privilege to be selected to receive the facility dog as these animals are the product of years of training and are given to the school free of charge. Barter was matched with the school and his team member, Marc Columbus, during an intensive two-week training program which was completed on February the 13th. Facility assistance dogs are different from typical family pets in that CCI dogs are specifically training to work with a wide variety of people. Numerous studies have demonstrated benefits of therapy dogs for our students in particular. We recognize the role a dog will have in helping students build healthy attachments, increased verbal interactions, develop leisure/recreation skills, boost self-esteem, decrease anxiety, reduce loneliness, and improve attention skill. All of these components directly complement the objectives of our Social Emotional Curriculum that focuses on students’ Executive Functioning, Competence, Cooperation, and Social/Relationship skills. Each student’s individual needs and preferences will influence the capacity in which he engages with Barter. Barter will be a huge asset to our program and will benefit our students in countless ways. Students will be able to assist in daily routines of grooming, exercising and training. Examples of trained commands such as “VISIT” and “LAP” can allow for positive and calming interactions between the student and the dog. The dog may come to a student’s therapy session, group speech, relaxation classes in OT, help with transitions, morning routines and attend the Community Meeting. Through careful training the CCI facility dog is comfortable working in a variety of environments and with students who may move or interact differently when he is present. At the same time students will naturally verbalize and participate with more enthusiasm in classroom and residential activities. For those that need a social bridge to improved interactions with peers and adults, such support can be provided by shared attention given to Barter. As CCI describes, assistant dogs are, “Goodwill ambassadors, and often, best friends as well. They open up new opportunities and new possibilities and spread incredible joy”. Woof! Woof!
Little Keswick School focuses on four main aspects of social and emotional development: executive functioning, competence, collaboration, and social/relationship skills. In an aim to enhance the development of executive functioning skills in our students, Little Keswick is pleased to announce that we have recently begun to incorporate Interactive Metronome into the Occupational Therapy portion of the school’s comprehensive treatment. Interactive Metronome (IM) is a computer based assessment and treatment program designed to improve neurological processing, specifically motor planning and sequencing. Developed in the 1990s as a way to improve musicians’ rhythm and timing, IM progressed into an intervention that directly benefits students with learning and developmental disorders. Interactive Metronome’s addition marks our commitment to incorporate multi-faceted approaches to all areas of our program. When entering the Occupational Therapy room, a laptop is the only obvious addition to a room filled with balls, swings, and sewing projects. The IM set-up includes a laptop, headphones, and sensors for the hands and feet. A student listens to computer-generated tones and tries to sync rhythm/beat of their hands or feet with the computer tones. The student may receive immediate feedback on his rhythm; his goal is to adjust his timing and ultimately achieve ‘Super-Right-On’ hits (syncing self movement to the computer tone within 15 milliseconds). While its methodology seems fairly simple, the scope of treatment is expansive. Studies have shown that IM interventions benefit students with a wide range of ages and diagnoses including students with ADD/ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, nonverbal learning disabilities, learning disabilities, sensory processing disorders, motor disorders, acquired neurological disorders, and auditory and language processing. Little Keswick expects that the IM sessions will help our students in a number of ways, with particular focus on executive functioning development. IM treatment has been shown to improve attention and concentration, coordination, motor planning, memory, behavior, language processing, and cognitive abilities to name a few. But how does all of this work? IM uses the rhythmic exercises to help the brain reorganize/remodel neurons through a process called neuroplasticity. The way the exercises incorporate motor planning, rhythmicity, and sensory integrations stimulates the neurons and causes the lobes of brain to experience more efficient information integration. It is intended to be used along with other therapeutic modalities and programs. Little Keswick is proud of our ability to incorporate multiple therapeutic interventions in our Social Emotional Curriculum to help bring to light the potential of the boys at our school. The Interactive Metronome enhances our services and ability to meet the diverse needs of our students. Little Keswick School to Serve International Students
Little Keswick School is pleased to announce that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has reviewed and approved our petition for certification and enrollment in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS). The Department of Homeland Security established the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to track international students, exchange visitors, and their dependents in order to verify that they are in the United States for stated purposes. Little Keswick School has been serving boys with social/emotional challenges and learning disabilities for 45 years. Currently 34 students from 19 different states and Puerto Rico are enrolled. SEVIS certification will allow us to again draw from a more diverse pool of applicants, which facilitates our efforts to maintain optimal social balances in our student population. Our small therapeutic school provides warm and nurturing relationships, intensive clinical intervention, and individualized education to boys in a highly structured environment that ensures that they develop successfully. Independent Educational Consultants
Virginia in the fall is beautiful and what better time to show off Little Keswick School to a group of Educational Consultants from all over the country, Bermuda, and Canada? Many of the children that come to LKS find us through the referral of an Educational Consultant. It is important that we help these professionals learn more about the work we do. Some consultants have been long term supporters for over twenty years and have placed numerous boys with us. Their visit only served to strengthen those ties and reinforce the quality of the program that LKS provides. For forty-five years we have provided a unique niche for complex young men who need a highly structured, supportive yet nurturing setting where students accomplish academic gains and learn social and emotional skills so they may transition to a less restrictive setting. The way to really understand how we work, to best recognize a good fit for a child, and to take in the pastoral Virginia countryside is to tour Little Keswick. Please visit, meet our boys and staff, look in on classes, and observe the individual attention that is such a part of life here. Join us for a Community Meeting as there is no better way to see how the boys are immersed in the program, take ownership, and celebrate our culture. Seeing is believing! Some of the comments that the Educational Consultants wrote |
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Educational Consultant, Tom O'Dell from CT, tours LKS with Jake, whom Student Successes Boys who transitioned from Little Keswick School in Below are some comments from former students or parents:
Read a detailed description of Little Keswick School
Read a Woodbury Report about Little Keswick School
Our Newsletter:
Our newsletters are downloadable in PDF format.**
“From his experiences at Little Keswick, our son realized he could succeed. At LKS he emerged as a leader and a role model among the boys in his age group,
and became comfortable in that place. He tried and succeeded in efforts he would
never have done before, such as playing the guitar, cooking, and organizing his belongings.
This was very gratifying to him and us.”
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Little Keswick Welcomes New Canine Staff Member
