Applewood Academy For Progressive Learning

• Established: 2001
• Location: Orchard, Belleville, Canada
• Students age: 6-18 years old
• Number of students: 30 people
• Language of instruction: English
• Type of study: blended boarding school for children with special educational needs.

Applewood Academy For Progressive Learning is a therapy boarding school for students seeking personalized academic, clinical, and behavioral solutions. Students receive academic support and clinical treatment under one roof around the clock.

Applewood Academy For Progressive Learning services are more intensive than those provided through regular special education or an alternative school. The educational institution develops the program in accordance with the guidelines of the Ontario Ministry of Education: training is conducted by certified teachers, children receive additional academic support, a structured environment has been created around them, conditions for behavior management.

Nadya Shupta

Regional Marketing & Recruiting Manager at London International Academy (until 2021)

What aspects and criteria do parents consider when choosing a school, in addition to academic success?

Accommodation conditions, sports opportunities, catering and additional clubs and clubs organized by the school, proximity to the school of residences or host families are very important.

Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning supports boarding students through:

• Developing a therapeutic relationship
• Applications of Behavior Control Techniques
• Implementation of individual training programs
• Continuous clinical and academic support.

• The Anger Management program uses a cognitive-behavioral approach: students assess their level of anger, review strategies for dealing with anger, discuss physiological and psychological constructs of anger, and present strategies for reducing and restructuring cognitive errors. The program is aimed at improving communication skills, developing conflict resolution skills, and building self-confidence. The format includes exchange of views, modeling, various "anger training".
• The Social Skills program focuses on developing prosocial skills: listening, self-esteem, accepting consequences, self-control, problem solving, dealing with feelings, and overcoming peer pressure.
• Behavioral therapy is intended for students with deficits in behavioral coping skills and emotional dysregulation; students work on the regulation of emotions, emotional vulnerability, sensitivity, intense response to stimuli.
• Stress therapy is the development of self-control and emotional modulation skills in a therapeutic setting. Each student effectively develops a "self-management" plan that focuses on building on existing strengths, coping skills.
• Healing play or play therapy is a form of psychotherapy for children that uses play situations for diagnosis and / or treatment. The game gives students the opportunity to express their experiences, feelings through a natural, independent process of self-healing. The experience, knowledge of students is often transmitted through play, it becomes an important means of cognition, acceptance of oneself and others.
• One-to-one counseling gives students the opportunity to explore the connections between thoughts, feelings, symptoms. The strategies taught in group lessons are supported by individual lessons. Any accompanying psychological difficulties are included in the student's treatment plan.
• Motivation enhancement therapy - students learn to assess their readiness for change, explore how their life could be better.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps you understand how thinking affects students' feelings and behavior. Students turn to patterns of "wrong thinking" or cognitive biases that challenge their basic assumptions about themselves or their needs, where they learn to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and anger.
• Dramatic play therapy is a group model in which the therapeutic power of play is used to help students resolve psychosocial difficulties. Through actions and dramatic scenes, children learn to physically and mentally engage in alternative forms of behavior, to try alternative points of view.
• Expressive therapy - the use of various materials (clay, plasticine, paint, collage) to explore feelings, identify unconscious thoughts, help students integrate physical sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories.
• Interpersonal therapy focuses on the student's relationships with important people, how these relationships are affected by their learning style and / or possible diagnosis.
• The Culinary Arts program provides students with a variety of life skills, including methods of preparing food and using kitchen equipment safely and correctly. It addresses cultural differences, the influence of climate on food choices, leadership development, and the social consequences of cooking, sharing and serving food to others. Students also learn photography and publishing skills.

• Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning began building its team of education and mental health professionals in 2001. It employs staff with experience in special education, psychiatry, psychology, psychometrics, social work.
• Applewood Academy for Progressive Learning helps 20-30 children a year continue their education by offering a treatment plan that addresses their emotional and behavioral problems and charts a path back to public school.
• The institution provides a small group, structured boarding school environment. Classrooms have fewer than 12 students with a 4: 1 student-to-staff ratio. This allows children with special needs to maintain or restore a positive learning attitude.

The Applewood team regularly uses the following therapeutic ingredients:

• Academic grades
• Clinical consultations
• Behavior management strategies
• Therapeutic support staff
• Self-help programs.

The therapy team is composed of teachers and specialists working with special children. The employees have experience in special education, psychiatry, psychology, psychometrics, social work.

The school has the equipment to ensure the educational process, accommodation, meals, organization of additional, therapeutic, correctional classes.

Most foreign nationals need a permit to study in Canada.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision