Walden School
Healing is in our hands
What We Provide
For many of our students, Walden School is a new beginning. Working with a staff that is proficient in American Sign Language and over 75% deaf, our students receive highly individualized care. It is our goal to empower children to function in less restrictive home and school environments and to prepare them to become productive members of the community.
Learning At Walden School: The Educational Program
About Walden School
Walden School provides comprehensive treatment to deaf and hardof-hearing students between the ages of eight and twenty-one who are challenged by severe social and emotional difficulties resulting from childhood trauma, mental illness and/or organic dysfunctions. Our students receive highly individualized care and therapy in a structured, supportive setting. Walden School is a program of The Learning Center for the Deaf and is approved and licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. Walden School is licensed in 14 states and accredited by three prestigious organizations: The Council on Accreditation, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools for the Deaf. All Walden School students are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have significant treatment needs that were not successfully addressed in other academic and residential settings. Students come from Massachusetts and across the country.
To that end, every student’s educational program is individually designed to build self-esteem and self-reliance through a combination of academics, recreation, leisure skills, a work-readiness program and a Career & Technology Education Program. • The typical classroom has a 2:1 student-to-staff ratio, and classes are typically 4-6 students. • As students progress, they may begin taking classes at The Learning Center for the Deaf ’s main campus elementary, middle school or high school programs.This interaction with typically developing deaf peers and adult role models is a major benefit of the Walden School experience and sets Walden School apart from other residential treatment programs.
• Our educational staff members have degrees in special education and/ or deaf education, and they receive ongoing training in emotional and psychiatric disorders, counseling skills and intervention strategies. • A work-readiness program designed to develop task-oriented behaviors and an understanding of the working world is available, as well as a Career & Technology Education Program which offers a wide range of vocational classes and hands-on opportunities. When appropriate, this may lead to supervised on-campus or community employment.
can be . y e h t s a t n e d n ep e d n i d n ta n e d i f n s co a e m o c be o t s t n e d u We want our s t Healing at Walden School: Clinical Services
Living At Walden School: The Residential Program
Highly individualized clinical care is the hallmark of Walden School. Each of our students has unique therapeutic and behavioral counseling needs. Consequently, individual treatment plans are created for each student by a multidisciplinary team of experts including the parent or guardian, the Clinical Director, Master’s level therapists, a clinical psychologist and a child psychiatrist, the student’s following teacher and a residential advocate. Plans are reviewed every twelve weeks, and students are encouraged, when appropriate, to help with the design.
Our students live, learn and play in a beautiful, modern campus setting. Our 13,000-square-foot facility is outfitted with recreation, dining, counseling and classroom areas. Students have access to two swimming pools, a playground and a modern gymnasium. Because many of our students have previously suffered trauma, a sense of privacy and a feeling of personal safety are critical to their development. For this reason, every Walden School student has his or her own private bedroom. Outside the classroom the residential program provides the opportunity for students to work on developing
independent living, social and recreational skills. Along with homework and chores, students attend local Deaf Community events and participate in activities that range from bicycling, skiing and team sports to dramatics, yoga and gardening. As a part of the larger Learning Center family, our students acquire a sense of being part of a vibrant and thriving Deaf Community.
• All Walden School students receive individual therapy, and many are involved in group therapy sessions as well. • Family support is a key component of our clinical services. We work with families to help students successfully return to their home environment, providing ongoing therapy, home visits, training, and consultations. • We have a full-time family partner who works with parents in the home and helps facilitate home/school communication and planning. • The Family Residence, an on-campus residence located next to Walden School, provides a comfortable location to stay when parents are visiting their child. Because the house is outside the immediate Walden School setting yet close to program staff and facilities, it’s also an ideal place to begin the transitional process of reuniting a child with his or her family. The family residence accommodates up to 5 guests.
Nursing Services
At Walden School our licensed nurses collaborate with staff to give students optimal medical, psychiatric and emotional care. They are an integral part of the treatment team. With few exceptions, nurses administer all medications and treatments. Their consistent, caring presence is important to our students and a major component of our program. Additionally, Walden School has a full-time medical case
manager who assists families in securing medical care for their child, particularly when the student is from out-of-state.
Nutritional Services
Walden School has a consulting nutritionist who works closely with the nursing department, students and their families, and our staff to assist students in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices.
Student Referral Procedure
When we accept a child to Walden School, we make a commitment to provide the best care, therapy and education available. Our admissions team discusses how each student will fit into the Walden School community to determine if we can offer the services and resources that will best address the child’s needs. By reviewing background information and formal assessments and interviewing each student, his or her family, and others involved in the referral, we take a wide range of factors into consideration when deciding which applicants to admit. To decide whether Walden School would be appropriate for a child in your care, please contact us via telephone at (508) 626-8581 or via email at inquiries@tlcdeaf.org.
The Learning Center for the Deaf is a non-profit, non-sectarian day and residential school organized under section 501Š(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Early Education and Care, and is the only school for the deaf with COA accreditation.
www.tlcdeaf.org
The Learning Center for the Deaf admits children of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national or ethnic origin all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally made available to students at the school, including all its educational and administrative policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletic or other school-administered programs. Learn more about Walden School and other programs at The Learning Center for the Deaf at www.tlcdeaf.org or www.wsdeaf.org.
Walden School The Learning Center for the Deaf 848 Central Street Framingham, MA 01701 Voice: 508-626-8581 Fax: 508-875-8080 Email: Inquiries@tlcdeaf.org Accreditation: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC); Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD); Council on Accreditation (COA)