Is Your Child Ready for Summit?
Finding the right learning environment can be challenging, and it’s not always easy to know what level of support a child needs. Summit Micro School’s unique approach works well for many neurodivergent learners, but success here depends on a child’s readiness to engage in our learning environment with the level of support we provide. This tool is designed to help assess whether your child has the foundational skills needed to thrive at Summit.
Summit Micro School is a hands-on, project-based learning environment designed to engage neurodivergent learners through flexibility, autonomy, and diverse ways of thinking. While we support transitions, expectations, and communication, students must be able to engage in learning and adapt to change with reasonable support—without ongoing distress that disrupts their own or others' learning.
Our program is neurodiverse-affirming, but we are not a therapeutic environment. We do not provide intensive behavioral interventions, continuous one-on-one support, medical care, or specialized therapy. Our role is to foster independence and self-regulation within a classroom-based setting. While our program design naturally supports many neurodivergent learners, some children may require a higher level of individual or therapeutic support than we can provide.
This questionnaire is a readiness guideline to help families assess whether their child has the foundational skills needed to succeed at Summit. It is not a test, and we welcome open discussions as children grow and their needs evolve.
Attention and Engagement
1. Can your child engage in learning activities with reasonable support and redirection?
A) My child can manage frustration and follow expectations with minimal reminders.
B) My child occasionally struggles but responds well to movement breaks or visual reminders.
C) My child frequently struggles with emotional regulation and requires ongoing adult intervention to prevent disruption to their learning and peers.
D) My child experiences frequent emotional dysregulation that significantly impacts the classroom environment and requires specialized, individualized behavioural intervention.
Independence and Problem-Solving
2. Can your child work independently or with peers for short periods with reasonable support?
A) My child can work independently and ask for help when needed.
B) My child needs structured guidance but can complete tasks with check-ins.
C) My child requires frequent direct adult supervision to stay on task and complete activities despite structured interventions.
D) My child requires one-on-one support for all learning tasks and is unable to work independently or with peers for short periods.
Communication and Social Engagement
3. Can your child participate in social interactions and express their needs using the supportive strategies we provide?
A) My child communicates effectively with peers and adults, adjusting their language as needed.
B) My child sometimes struggles with communication but benefits from strategies like visual prompts or structured conversation supports.
C) My child requires frequent adult intervention to initiate and sustain social interactions and struggles to engage appropriately with peers.
D) My child requires intensive support to communicate and participate in social settings and frequently avoids or becomes distressed by social interactions.
Impulse Control and Self-Regulation
4. Can your child manage impulses and regulate emotions with support strategies in place?
A) My child can manage frustration and follow expectations with minimal reminders.
B) My child occasionally struggles but responds well to movement breaks or visual reminders.
C) My child frequently struggles with emotional regulation and requires ongoing adult intervention to prevent disruption to their learning and peers.
D) My child experiences frequent emotional dysregulation that significantly impacts the classroom environment and requires specialized, individualized behavioural interventions.
Safety and Community Participation
5. Can your child follow safety rules and expectations in off-campus activities?
A) My child understands and follows safety rules with minimal reminders.
B) My child needs extra reminders but can follow rules with support.
C) My child requires frequent reminders and close adult supervision to follow safety expectations in community settings.
D) My child requires constant one-on-one supervision in community settings due to safety concerns, including running off, aggression, or non-compliance with safety rules.
Reflection:
If most of your responses were A or B, SMS’s dynamic, project-based, and flexible learning model may be a strong fit for your child.
If most of your responses were C or D, your child may require more individualized or therapeutic support than we can offer within a classroom-based setting. We are happy to discuss possible next steps and alternative options.
If your responses were mostly A and B, with one or two C’s, this does not necessarily mean SMS is not a fit. We encourage an open conversation to explore whether our approach aligns with your child’s needs.
Would you like to discuss your responses with us? Feel free to reach out to schedule a conversation.