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Serving the needs of special little ones
Schonowe Preschool open house helps tell public about programs

By JENNIFER PATTERSON, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, April 30, 2008

ROTTERDAM -- The hallways inside Schonowe Preschool offered a cool respite for teachers and the parents of seemingly tireless children.
     
The youngsters were red-faced from dancing in the sun to the tunes of a live band and frolicking on the playground during an open house on Friday.
The "Nurturing Our Children Toward Milestones of Success" program was one of the first major events held at the school since moving to its new location on Giffords Church Road nearly four years ago, Executive Director John McQueen said.
"We want the community to come in and see what we do, especially to see our new therapeutic garden," McQueen said. "We also want to make people aware of what programs we have available for children, especially with autism."
The school has been serving special-needs preschoolers for more than 20 years. It went through a transition in 1996, when McQueen came on board. The school had been a for-profit entity owned by three people, but they wanted out and approached McQueen, who in turn went to the state and led successful efforts to turn the institution into a nonprofit operation.
Schonowe's special education program teaches toddlers and preschoolers through a variety of play and movement activities, based on a sensory integration dysfunction treatment model.
Sensory integration dysfunction is a neurological disorder that causes difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses -- vision, auditory, touch, olfaction and taste. For people who have it, sensory information is gathered normally, but perceived abnormally. The information tends to be analyzed by the brain in an unusual way that may cause distress and confusion.
It can be a disorder on its own. But it is also characteristic of other neurological conditions, including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorder, dyslexia, developmental dyspraxia, Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis and speech delays, among others.
Schonowe students are taught through individualized programs that combine occupational and physical therapy to help them organize sensory information, develop age-appropriate motor skills and interact functionally.
The Alphabet Soup Early Learning Center and Schonowe Preschool share the facility, which provides a supportive learning environment for children with and without learning disabilities.
"Kids from our special-ed preschool are integrated in all classes with typical nursery school kids, which makes them sensitive to the needs of others at an early age," school psychologist Jennifer Leary said.
For information, call 355-0826. Patterson can be reached at 454-5340 or by e-mail at jpatterson@timesunion.com.