The Emerge School for Autism

From the Sponsor

The Emerge School for Autism is an outgrowth of The Emerge Center, which was founded in 1960 as Baton Rouge Speech and Hearing Foundation. Since then, Emerge has expanded its continuum of care into the educational realm to serve elementary-age children with autism. 

Established in 2018 to meet the demand for extended educational services for children with autism, The Emerge School offers a specialized therapeutic educational model designed to foster development in Autistic children with high support needs. Our school is a safe, accepting environment that promotes active learning and independence, preparing each child to function, learn, and thrive in a less restrictive school setting. We currently serve 48 students in kindergarten through third grade. 

Based on a child’s Individualized Education Plan, he or she receives therapies that may include Speech, Occupational and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy from The Emerge Center’s staff along with Special Education instruction. 

The Center’s therapy team and the School’s special educators work hand-and-hand to provide an individualized approach tailored to each child. This combination of therapeutic support with specialized education all on one campus sets the School apart.

In addition, we offer an enrichment program woven throughout the school day that provides students with music, art and activities centered around movement and exercise. By valuing and prioritizing enrichment programming, we aim to help promote children’s physical, social, emotional, and mental health.  

Rather than children remaining at the School for multiple years, our goal is to transition them to lesser restrictive, typical education environments based on their progress. When leaving our school, children will be prepared for future education settings with a functional communication system, improved independence, self-help skills, and essential learner readiness skills. Socio-emotional learning will enhance the academic performance of our students and their ability to integrate into society or back to their home school. 

Data-driven decision-making is an integral part of The Emerge School, as our team collects data daily, and analyzes data weekly for each student.

We are excited to provide this unique therapeutically-focused education option to families in our community as the first tuition-free school for children with autism in the state of Louisiana.