Lionheart Academy of the Triad
For more information, click the links below.
Lionheart Academy of the Triad - Website
Fox 8 - "The Buckley Report" on Lionheart
While the challenges of raising a child with autism have become more widely known there has been little progress towards increasing specialized education programs for children in this growing demographic. Early intervention programs and programs for non-verbal/lower functioning students with autism have been put into place to support these children for quite some time. Parents of children with high functioning autism generally have two choices. They can either send their children to a local school, which often doesn’t have custom programs for autistic children’s needs, or to start a home school program, where the opportunity to provide meaningful social interaction is virtually non-existent. With the lack of specialized services, only 56% of students with autism finish high school. Research shows that of those that do graduate high school, 70% of these students are unable to go to college or gain employment because of their lack of social skills, problem solving skills and executive function skills. Each year, 50,000 students with autism graduate from high school which means that each year, 35,000 more students are unable to continue higher education or be employed. These astounding statistics have led to the opening of Lionheart Academy.
Lionheart Academy will be educating diploma seeking high functioning students with autism. We will be preparing each student for independent living and for success post high school by teaching the necessary academics, social skills, problem solving skills and executive functioning skills in a sensory supported environment. In order to start up our school and keep the cost as low as possible for parents we are in need of funding to provide technology and sensory items. The donations we receive will be used to purchase academic curriculum specific to students with autism, tablets and sensory items to assist the students with sensory regulation while maximize their learning. By donating to our fund you will be giving a student with high functioning autism an opportunity to live an independent successful life which is the wish of any parent!