Nurturing and Supporting Social and Emotional Development in
Early Childhood using a play based relationship focused approach
The F.U.S.E. SCHOOL & PROGRAM was created in 2012 by Lauren Weeks, Psy.D. clinical child psychologist. As a school consultant, Lauren encountered neurodivergent children with social and emotional challenges who were struggling and being underserved in typical school settings. She wanted to create a place where these children felt nurtured, supported and better understood. Initially, Dr. Weeks created small social groups and a summer program for children to build trust, instill confidence, enhance flexible thinking, engage in shared experiences and connect with peers. She noticed a sparkle in these children’s eyes, a new- found motivation to engage and increased self-esteem. As a result, she decided to combine her background in education with her clinical experience and with a huge leap of faith, created a therapeutic school for early learners. With a little extra support, scaffolding, and nurturing the children at F.U.S.E. began to shine and succeed in school and social situations. Currently, F.U.S.E. is a private nonprofit school for preschool – 1st grade, after school social group program, and Therapeutic Summer Program. F.U.S.E. supports countless children to become successful, feel confident, and thrive socially.
Areas of Focus
F.U.S.E. uses a holistic approach to support children in all areas of development. Our mission is to best understand each child’s strengths and challenges and develop a comprehensive systematic approach focusing on social, emotional, and cognitive learning. F.U.S.E. supports each child with the necessary foundations though a thoughtful scope and sequence to ensure a child feels confident and successful at every stage of life.
- Nonverbal Problem Solving – understanding nonverbal facial gestures, “reading the room”, adapting to nonverbal feedback from a peer
- Co-regulation – moving and adapting actions remain connected with a peer in play, movement and actions
- Flexibility in Thinking & Perspective Taking – Appreciating the ideas and thoughts of others and being able to integrate other’s thoughts into their own thought schema
- Pretend Play – engaging and sustaining abstract pretend play with a peer and enjoying variations in play
- Social Pragmatic Communication – communicating thoughts and ideas to a partner and conversing in a reciprocal manner with a partner
- Emotions and Feelings – understanding and appreciating different emotions and knowing strategies that can be helpful with big emotions occur
- Sensory Integration – knowing your own body and tools and strategies to help one’s own sensory system feel more regulated, being able to advocate for what a child needs i.e. breaks, movement, space etc.
F.U.S.E School
The F.U.S.E. School supports children in preschool through first grade. We believe that a small teacher- student ratio creates a successful and positive environment for the children. Two full time teachers lead each class of 5-7 students. We offer (pre-preschool, preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade.
Vacation and Summer Programs 2022
The Vacation and Summer Programs are programs for children ages 3 to 8 (preschool – 2nd grade). These programs are offered during February and April vacation weeks, three weeks in June and a six week summer experience. We have designed a program with a small ratio of 6-7 children with 2 highly trained teachers.
Social Groups
The purpose of the F.U.S.E. Social Groups is to support children as they develop and understand social engagement, social collaboration and communication with peers. Each social group has 2 – 3 children with one trained teacher. Each child is paired with a developmentally appropriate peer match. The group works toward a common goal at the same time as children are supported in their individual growth. All groups are play based and relationship focused. The teacher utilizes pretend play, movement activities and games, to help children appreciate, connect and enjoy their peers. The overall goal of the group is increasing each child’s motivation to want to share enjoyment with peers, social problem solving, co-regulation, social communication, collaboration, flexibility to name a few areas.