Town opens school for disabled students

CANTON -- One therapist helped 4-year-old Jonathan Saia flatten his playdough with a small rolling pin, guiding his hands so the motion was straight and smooth. Another watched intently as 5-year-old Benny Borre, rotated dinosaur puzzle pieces until he found the right fit.

The boys, who are autistic, attend a public preschool that Canton school officials started two years ago in response to a growing number of children with disabilities entering the district and to the growing cost of educating them in private schools.

In this class, five autistic youngsters work closely with therapists to learn skills and behaviors through a systematic, structured approach called applied behavioral analysis. On most days, students receive individual speech and occupational therapies and work one on one with trained specialists on social interaction and everyday tasks.

Progress is hard won, but probably would not be possible without such an intensive, focused effort, teachers and parents said.

The classes are expensive, about $20,000 a year for each student. Sending the children out of town to private schools, however, could cost three times as much.

The Canton classroom illustrates two key elements in special education: the high degree of attention that some special needs children require to learn and the growing effort to offer such programs locally, both to reduce costs and to allow children to attend school in their own town.

While the amount of expertise and experience needed to launch local programs can be daunting, more districts are trying to avoid rising tuition and transportation costs at private special education schools, said Alan Dewey, administrator of student services for the Canton public schools.

Dewey described the program as an investment that not only yields immediate dividends, but will also save more money as more students with autism enter the schools. In time, autistic children will progress and need less outside help, he added.

Canton teachers point to one preschooler's progress to show that the class's benefits far outweigh the costs. When he arrived at the preschool last year, he couldn't speak, didn't interact with others, and flapped his hands repeatedly. Now, he talks to others and is increasingly social.

The other day, he said good morning to another student, and teachers now think he could attend regular kindergarten next year.

Such gains only come after months of patient, often painstaking lessons, teachers said.

For many autistic students, little comes instinctively, so teachers break down tasks into manageable segments and teach them through repetition and positive reinforcement.

As Jessica Berry, a special education teacher at the preschool, led the children in song, specialists helped the children with motions that matched the lyrics, such as "ring the bell," "climb the ladder," or "spray the water."

The movements didn't come easily, but by the end of the song students were doing better. A small step, Berry said, but one that would not have happened without one-on-one help.

"It's the only way it can work," she said.

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.