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In accordance with recommendations from state agencies and local health authorities, Green Chimneys is closed to the public. More
December 21, 2020
Home > Therapeutic Special Education > Brewster Day Program > Clinical & Related Services
Green Chimneys School offers on-site clinical services and therapeutic support from staff professionals who help students develop a sense of understanding and individual uniqueness, as they gain the ability to apply what they learn at Green Chimneys to daily life.
Services are determined by Individual Education Plan (IEP) requirements developed by the Committee on Special Education (CSE) teams, incorporating related services into the day of students as stipulated in the IEP. Home school district CSE teams are responsible for making additional arrangements for students who require additional services beyond what Green Chimneys School can accommodate.
Individual and/or small group social/emotional counseling is provided to all Green Chimneys students by an assigned social worker (the main point person for families) to address specific social/emotional IEP goals and objectives. Social workers are part of the education team and, together with teachers, related service providers and parents, develop specific interventions to meet individual student’s educational needs and document those interventions in an Individual Crisis Management Plan. They also assist with crisis intervention as needed.
Throughout the year, social workers visit classrooms on a rotating basis to conduct social skills group sessions, and many incorporate animal-assisted ecotherapy and activities into their sessions with the students, as appropriate.
Speech/Language intervention addresses the student’s ability to comprehend the information being delivered in the classroom, effectively communicate knowledge gained, and be understood by others. Students who are identified by their districts as requiring language intervention, as indicated by their IEP goals and objectives, are scheduled for services by Green Chimneys clinicians.
Occupational Therapy intervention addresses the student’s ability to fully access the learning environment in the areas of written assignment completion (fine motor skills), organization of materials and workspace, and reacting to the surrounding environment (sensory skills). Students who are identified by their districts as requiring occupational therapy intervention receive these services from the Green Chimneys team of clinicians, as authorized by the IEP. New York State Education Department requires parents to provide Green Chimneys with a physician’s prescription for occupational services before services are scheduled.
The practice of a fair and therapeutic application of behavioral support interventions assures the delivery of a high quality service to our children and their families. Green Chimneys School students are provided with a treatment setting in which all interactions with staff and the environment have a potentially therapeutic value.
The Green Chimneys wildlife classroom is home to an adorable pair of chinchilla brothers who are often the first animals students want to hold. The brothers are inquisitive and playful but also very shy so students must be calm, and allow the chinchillas to come to them. The students love to build tunnels and play areas for the chinchillas and watch them in their favorite activities: taking dust baths (an instinctive act to clean their fur) and eating raisins. Considered to be the softest animal in the world, the chinchilla is a rodent native to the Andes Mountains of South America, and is a relative of the porcupine and guinea pig.