Autism Program The Special Education Autism Program serves students (K-6) with communication, sensory, and social interaction needs. Many students in our program experience problems with social interaction skills, communication skills, and have varying degrees of ability along the autism spectrum. Our program receives support from speech/language, adapted physical education, occupational therapy, and social work. These services are provided based on individual student needs. To meet our students' needs, we use a variety of strategies. We utilize visual strategies to assist in communication and learning as needed. We teach self-regulation techniques and use social stories and comic strip conversations to help improve communication and interaction skills. For our students who are primarily non-verbal, we use basic sign language, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and other assistive technology as needed. Proactive strategies are used throughout the program. An inclusion model is available to all students based on their individual needs. The program provides support for social interaction skills, academic skills, organizational skills and communication skills. The program staff continues to expand their knowledge and expertise in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)in order to provide quality programming and to use current best practices.