Ábalta Special School is a day school based in Parkmore, Galway, Ireland, for students with autism and complex needs. Students in the school range in age from aged 4 to 18. The multi-disciplinary team of teachers and therapists ensures the delivery of educational programs tailored to the needs of each student as well as supporting those students and their families. The school is a unique facility that provides individualised teaching programs with high staff to student ratios. Behavioural support, learning specialists, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and community integration programs are all part of the assistance available to all students.
Ábalta Special School has grown from its 2001 parent-led establishment as a centre for children with autism to its current status as a special school that offers a range of child-centred, evidence based educational programmes strongly focused on helping children with autism reach their individual potential. All children have a very comprehensive Individualised Educational plan which encompasses the National Curriculum, as well as individual, behavioural, communication and independence goals. Autism Ireland is the patron of Ábalta.
We provided a Messy Play Table for this special school. The Messy Table is a versatile outdoor or indoor activity teaching and learning table with multiple uses. Schools use the tables to incorporate the TEACCH® Autism Program method of teaching, allowing pupils to move from activities in each bowl one at a time.
- A number of pupils can play together or side by side at this activity table to encourage parallel play and peer learning
- ASD classrooms attached to mainstream schools find it encourages integration as all pupils enjoy the novelty of the activities that can be planned around the table.
- Useful in special schools where the playground needs to be meeting the needs of a wide variety of ages, it can be used for simple sorting lessons for the younger junior school pupils and ideal for messy science lessons with senior pupils.
- Variable Leg Length available on request.
