Our Admissions Process

Thank you for choosing The Lighthouse Learning and Development Centre

Our Executive Director has a son on the Autism spectrum, who is a student at The Lighthouse. Serena and Daniel have had many challenges with the school systems, both private and public. Our autism school is run by parents — parents just like you who have wanted nothing more than an education for their children. We will do everything possible to help you through the admissions process to ensure that everyone has a pleasant experience.

Admissions criteria for students entering The Lighthouse Learning and Development Centre:

1. Students must have a primary diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Many of our students will have more than one diagnosis, i.e., ADHD, Anxiety; however, their primary diagnosis must be ASD.

2. We do not take any children who exhibit violent or physically violent behaviour. If there is any history at all of violent behaviour, we cannot take the student. We are not a therapy centre and thus are not equipped to handle any sort of violent behaviour. Should a child exhibit any violent behaviour toward any staff member or any student, they will be expelled immediately.

3. Students must be able to access and advance through the Ontario Curriculum at some level. We do not believe that children should be placed in a grade level because their age states that is the grade they should be in. Each of our students has individualized learning plans based on their unique barriers and assessments we have done. At our autism school, a child may be 12 years old and only working at a grade 1 level; however, if that child can advance through the grade 1 curriculum, they are eligible to attend our school.

Admissions meeting and student assessment

Once we receive a completed admission package with all relevant information — including psycho-educational assessments (if available), previous report cards, any private therapy assessments/information, SLP assessments (if available), and any other pertinent information — we will set up an admissions meeting.

During the admissions meeting, parents meet with both our Executive Director of Curriculum and our Education Coordinator, and the student will spend some time with our Supervising Teacher and/or our Program Director. Following the admissions meeting, should it be determined that our school is a good fit for the child, a student assessment will be arranged. Our student assessment is conducted by our Supervising Teacher to determine exactly what level the student is working at. Parents can expect this assessment to take a couple of hours.

Once the student assessment is completed, the Supervising Teacher along with our Program Director will work to create a personalized learning plan for the student. When the plan is complete, the parents will be called to discuss the results of both the assessment and the learning plan.

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