The Endeavor Pre-School Program at Carriage House
History of the Endeavor Program
The Endeavor Program at Carriage House is a collaboration between Carriage House Educational Services and Preschool and FEAT of Louisville, Inc. Founded in 1969, Carriage House (then Louisville School for Autistic Children) was one of the earliest schools in the United States providing services to people with autism. Since 1983, Carriage House focused on serving not only children with special needs but providing exemplary preschool experiences to all children. Carriage House Preschool welcomed many children with autism in a "mainstream" environment offering traditional preschool curriculum. In 2003, Carriage House partnered with FEAT of Louisville to extend the traditional preschool program to provide a specialized program for children with autism and other developmental disabilities that is geared toward serving the unique educational needs of these children.
Our Vision
Our vision for the Endeavor Program is to provide a cost-effective, comprehensive program for all young children with autism and other developmental disabilities in the Louisville area. Our goal is to prepare the children to the best of their ability to function in other school settings. We seek to strengthen our relationships with local agencies and school systems providing services to our children to ensure smooth transitions and continuation of effective programming for children entering other schools.
Program Description
The Endeavor Program provides regularly scheduled, intensive, behavioral therapy and group socialization training for children with autism. The Endeavor Program is a year-round program designed to meet the individual needs of each client. With that in mind, Endeavor is separated into (eight) three hour sessions per week. Each client typically enrolls in two to three sessions per week. The ratio of children to staff is six to three per session. The staff includes: one BCABA Certified Behavior therapist, certified teachers and teaching assistants.
Objectives for this program include:
- Providing intensive, early intervention services for children with autism in a classroom setting;
- Maintaining a very low student to teacher ratio - children with autism benefit from small group instruction;
- Continuing to provide intensive, early intervention therapies at subsidized rates to families experiencing financial hardships due to having a child or children with autism;
- Providing teachers and staff at Carriage House Educational Services and Preschool with ongoing continuing education;
- Providing monthly consultation with an Occupational Therapist to strategize problems with fine and gross motor movement as well as sensory integration dysfunction;
- Providing monthly consultation with a BCBA certified Behavior Consultant;
- Expanding the program to allow more children with autism to attend and benefit from our services. This year we are adding a third classroom for Endeavor. This objective requires increased funding for additional teachers, the classroom, and supplies.
For more information or for an enrollment application, please call Mary Horvath or Ann Phillips at (502) 253-1293.