Our early childhood classes serve our youngest students. Most children in these classes are 2 to 4 years of age. ECD classes typically contain 5 to 6 children with a teacher and an assistant. The focus in our ECD level includes pre-academic skills, language, imitation, interaction, self-help skills, and the acquisition of appropriate developmental skills. Students in our early childhood classes are working on the development of self-regulation, attending skills, and joint attention.
Westview utilizes the STAR program (Strategies for Teaching based on Autism Research) for our ECD-level students. STAR is a research-validated, comprehensive program that includes detailed lesson plans, teaching materials, data systems, and assessment for teaching young children in six curricular areas. The strategies used in the STAR Program utilize evidence-based practices identified in the 2015 National Standards Report and recommended by the National Research Council for use in programs specific to students on the autism spectrum and other developmental delays. The STAR assessment component identifies present levels of performance of each student, based on a scope and sequence of developmental skills. The assessment report is utilized for tracking and reporting student progress and identifies next instructional skills to be targeted in the classroom as well as individualized student instructional goals.