How We Place Students by Skill, Not Age

At The Autism Oasis, we believe in meeting students exactly where they are—and helping them build the academic foundation they need to thrive. That’s why we place students in our Nonverbal Autism Homeschool curriculum not by age or grade level, but by foundational skills in reading and math.

Each grade level in our program is anchored by two essential skills: one in phonics and one in mathematics. These “gateway skills” are carefully chosen because they unlock the next level of learning. Mastering them sets a student up for success—and skipping them can cause frustration later on.

Kindergarten: Laying the Groundwork

In kindergarten, we focus on beginning consonant sounds in reading and 1:1 correspondence counting in math. These skills ensure students understand how letters and numbers aren't just symbols to line up in order; rather, they represent real sounds and quantities.

1st Grade: Building the Basics

First grade centers on CVC word families—short vowel words like bat, cat, hat, mat, rat and sat. Success with these words depends upon mastery of beginning consonant sounds learned in Kindergarten. These predictable patterns and our special color coding help students unlock the basics of phonics. In math, we focus on single-digit addition and subtraction, which requires mastery of 1:1 correspondence counting in kindergarten. We not only help them to memorize math facts, we use hands-on manipulatives to teach using real quantities.

2nd Grade: Strengthening Fluency

In second grade, we move into more complex decoding with consonant blends and long vowel sounds. Like with all subjects, the ability to speak or write is not required to show mastery of these skills. We've sourced and created curriculum that provides multiple choice answers and symbol support. Math instruction focuses on double-digit addition and subtraction with regrouping, a major step toward understanding place value and number operations. This skill is challenging for students of all abilities, but we have the support you and your student need to be successful.

3rd Grade: Expanding Independence

By third grade, students work on syllabication—breaking words into parts to read longer, unfamiliar words independently, and more complicated vowel teams and three-letter consonant blends. In math, we teach multiplication and division, which our students tend to pick up quickly! We've uncovered a few "human computers" at this stage, and these were students who initially struggled to show mastery of 1:1 correspondence or subtraction.

We know that many students who are nonspeaking, minimally speaking or have motor planning differences may not be able to show what they know through traditional means. Too many educators and administrators fail to understand apraxia's role in severe autism and require motor skills like speaking or writing as a prerequisite to gain access to academics. Our curriculum aligns with national educational standards, putting them on the path to earning a high school diploma while they build expressive communication skills.

Whether your student uses letterboards, AAC devices or gestures, we presume competence—and we provide the academic structure and support they need to succeed at any pace.

At The Autism Oasis, learning isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about presuming competence, one lesson at a time, and building strong academic foundations that will support your student's brilliant intellectual potential.

Click here to purchase our complete core curriculum package and get started today!