The Harrison Early Childhood Services department is the special education, occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy provider for eligible children ages 3-5 who live in the Harrison School District.

Our trained professionals provide the following services at no charge to students or their guardians:

Though our office is located in the Woodand Heights Preschool, we can provide these services in any of the following settings:

• Screening to determine if additional testing is warranted

• Evaluation to determine if delays are significant/severe enough for eligible services

• Early Childhood Special Services instruction to target pre-academic delays

• Speech/Language Therapy to address articulation, language, fluency, voice and swallowing disorders

• Physical/Occupational Therapy to address fine and gross motor deficits and sensory delays

• Private licensed preschool or day care centers within the Harrison School District

• Head Start Programs within the Harrison School District

• Licensed Home Daycares within the Harrison School District

• Standalone Services (parent brings child to our center for prescribed therapy sessions)

• How do I know if my child needs help?

  If your child is experiencing difficulty in any of the following areas, we may be able to help.
   

  • Communication/Swallowing
    This includes difficulties with speech sound production, understanding and using verbal/nonverbal communication, communication problems related to hearing loss, swallowing difficulties and voice issues
     

  • Fine/Gross Motor Skills
    This includes problems related to muscle strength, coordination, and balance
     

  • Behavioral/Social Skills
    This includes inability to follow directions, play cooperatively with peers, attend to tasks, follow classroom rules
     

  • Cognitive/Readiness Skills
    This includes delays in basic preschool classroom skills, including identifying and naming colors/shapes, answering simple questions about a story, understanding and following directions and problem solving
     

  • Self-Help Skills
    This includes feeding and dressing self, washing hands independently, ability to play independently and problem solving
     

  • Vision/Hearing

School-Based Mental Health is defined as therapeutic interventions and preventions for Harrison School District students and their families.

The School-Based Mental Health program is designed to address many of the barriers to academic and social success for children. It encourages students to develop healthy coping skills for stress, anger management, depression, anxiety and many other mental health issues that can interfere with the educational process.

The district provides licensed mental health professionals to serve on each of its six campuses at least one day per week. The providers are also on call to respond to emergency and crisis situations at each school.

LCSW
Licensed Certified Social Worker

LMSW
Licensed Master Social Worker

Participating in youth sports is one of the best ways for children to remain physically fit, make friends and learn important life lessons that simply can’t be taught in a classroom. At the Harrison School District, we strongly believe students with different abilities should not be left on the sidelines.

Many special education students are members of the district’s Special Olympics team, which competes in a variety of athletic events throughout the school year. Athletes can join the team on their eighth birthday and remain eligible for the school-age competitions until they turn 21.

Led by certified coaches, Harrison students travel to regional competitions for basketball and bowling. Then, in the spring, our F.S. Garrison Stadium hosts the Area 2 Track & Field championships, bringing schools from six northwest Arkansas counties together for a day of friendly competition and fellowship.

Harrison students are extremely supportive of our Special Olympics athletes. Prior to every major competition, students at the Middle School and High School host HERO Camp, student-led training sessions in which varsity athletes guide Special Olympians through a variety of activities to boost their skills and confidence. This initiative was featured in an Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators newsletter as a model for boosting engagement and bringing students together.