Departments

Our hostel has facilities to accommodate up to 180 learners. The hostel provides for all the nutritional needs of the learners as they receive for healthy meals a day. The learners receive additional sandwiches during break at school, as well as a snack and fruit during the afternoon. All food is freshly prepared daily by the dedicated kitchen staff and the menus are drawn up in consultation with a dietitian.

The dormitories at the hostel are situated along the perimeter of a play area which is equipped with newly refurbished jungle gyms, trampolines and slides. The play area has been set up with much thought in order to accommodate learners with special needs. Special events are organized in the play area on weekends for those who remain in the hostel during the weekend.

The learners are all housed in spacious rooms according to gender groups and each learner sleeps on their own bed. All the girls' rooms have en-suite bathrooms, specially modified for those in wheelchairs and with other assistive devices for bathing, washing and toileting. There are dedicated housemothers and housefathers on duty during the day and night to supervise and care for the learners.

At the hostel we encourage the learners to live as one big family. The staff is committed to treating each learner as one of their own and each little angel has a special place in our hearts.

Sport

There are many sporring codes in which our learners compete both locally and internationally. The sport programmes are developed in collaboration which the Department of Education and the various sports federations in Gauteng. The sports form part of our extra curricular programmes and provide opportunities for the fun while developing physical skills and strength. Sport enables learners to build their confidence and be more proactive in participating within a broader spectrum. It provides opportunities for the learners and educators to network with many different people.

Involvement in sport is always encouraged as success on the sports field allows our learners to achieve a sense of well being and accomplishment.

Cultural Activities

The staff and learners at Ithembelihle are very committed to participating in various cultural activities. This takes the form of annual participation in Eisteddfods and our learners have always performed well at these events. This bears testament to the dedication of the educations in preparing learners for the event.  Two readathons are organized every year to foster a love of reading to create a culture of reading at the school.

Involvement in the cultural activities helps to build character and self-confidence through teamwork. Hence, we can ensure that our learners are equipped with tools to achieve peace and contentment.

The Ithembelihle LSEN School has a complement of four dedicated Speech-language Therapists and one dual qualified speech therapist and audiologist and one speech aids assist.  These therapists work independently as part of a multi-disciplinary team, to take care of the many challenging speech, language and hearing needs of our learners which encompass the following:

• Learners with language and auditory processing problems
• Learners who are second language English speakers
• Learners who have speech and articulation difficulties
• Learners who have spoor voice quality, control and intensity
• Learners who stutter
• Learners who are non-verbal
• Learners who have feeding difficulties
• Learners who have hearing loss
• Learners who have learning challenges.

At Ithembelihle LSEN School, we believe that communication, even in the absence of audible speech, is vital for our learners to function within their home, school and community. Hence, we endeavor to provide a range of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) systems, together with computers and computer software to facilitate this communication.

We are very proud of our diagnostic Audiology equipment which enables us to identify and manage learners who experience hearing problems. This has been of great assistance to the parents of our learners as this means they do not have to contend with the challenges of accessing these services at the clinics and provincial hospitals any longer.

The therapists use a variety of strategies, techniques and programmes to achieve communication and feeding targets and the learners receive therapy individually, in small groups or as a class, depending of their needs.

The Ithembelihle therapy team also believes that skills sharing and skills development is vital to the sustainability of our programs and therefore run and in-service training program to assist educators, caregivers and parents in understanding the learners' communication needs better.

The Remedial Therapy department is a new addition to our therapy department aimed at bridging the gap between therapy and the curriculum.

Our Remedial Therapy Department focuses on assessing and managing learners experiencing specific challenges with literacy and numeracy in the classroom.

Due to the majority of our learners being second language English learners, a greater emphasis is placed on developing literacy skills. A variety of assessment tools are used to identify learners with these challenges.

A range of strategies and structured programs are used to facilitate bridging the gap between learners' abilities and the academic programme.

Learners receive classroom and small group therapy on a weekly basis.

The educator and remedial therapist work closely in consultation with each other to provide feedback. discuss progress and develop new strategies for each learner's curriculum needs.

Remedial therapy extends beyond the classroom and attempts to meet the unique and individual needs and demands of our special learners. The philosophy of our remedial therapy department is to develop learners' skills within a fun and exciting environment.

There are four physiotherapists ant one physiotherapist assistant at our school.  Our disabled learners have limited mobility and this is where the physiotherapists play a vital role. The focus is on improving the learners’ general mobility and movement to facilitate access to their environment. The physiotherapists structure their programs around play activities and structured exercises to extend the range of movement of the upper limbs and the lower limbs. Facilities in the Physiotherapy Department include a treadmill, exercise balls, and heat packs amongst others.

The Physiotherapists also assess and manage the learners for assistive devices requirements, such as wheelchairs, crutches and walkers. Improving the learners’ mobility enhances their independence and facilitates their general function in all environments thus encouraging holistic development of the learner

The Occupational Therapy Department comprises of five Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistant.

The Occupational Therapist sees learner individually or in small groups. Classroom-based therapy is also offered in the Foundation Phase. Older learners who are not coping with the mainstream curriculum are more involved with work-related activities to prepare them for placement in the open labour market and/or sheltered employment close to their area of residence. The type of placement for each learner is dependent on their skills, potential and interest.

The areas of focus for Occupational Therapy are:

• Gross motor and fine motor skills focusing on small and big muscle groups
• Visual perceptual skills which assists in the preparation for literacy and reading, incl. vision screening. 
• Socio-emotional skills
• Activities of daily living e.g. dressing, feeding etc.
• Assistive technology to help learners with computer access (using different switches and techniques)
• Facilitating upper limb strength and dexterity via the upper limb work station.
• Making functional splints
• Networking with other professionals at different institutions

We endeavor to facilitate as much independence as possible with every learner so that they can play an active role in the classroom, the home and their community.

We have a fully equipped clinic which focuses on the promotion of health, hygiene and total well being of the learners on our premises. The clinic facility includes the services of two full-time day nurses, a 2 bed ward for short stay observation of learners with acute medical conditions, a secure medicine room for the safe storage of chronic and acute medication, a treatment room and ablution facilities.

Due to the nature of our learners’ disabilities, many of them are on chronic mediation and the nurses manage the administration of this medication according to a roster based on each learner’s medication schedule. Minor ailments and injuries are attended to on a needs basis. The nurses also arrange school transport for medical follow-up appointments to specific hospitals, as well when there is an emergency at the school.

In addition to the services of the nurses, there is a doctor who visits the school weekly to screen and treat learners with acute medical problems.