School-Age Services 

Guiding Hand provides a safe and nurturing learning environment for students with developmental disabilities ages 3-21. We are a placement option on the continuum of services for students from Gallia County Local Schools and Gallipolis City Schools. Students can be placed at Guiding Hand by the IEP team and placement is based on student needs and the determination of their least restrictive environment. In collaboration with the local educational agencies, we offer transportation, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy for students that require those services.

We strive for open communication with families and offer several options for parents to be engaged with their child at school including holiday parties, family literacy night and the annual Christmas program. We also have a wonderful parent committee that helps plan parties, fundraisers and other events! Communication folders are sent home daily and expected to be a two-way communication system between school and home.

Guiding Hand Preschool is a Gold Rated program through Step Up to Quality, a program of excellence for preschools in Ohio. Our preschool classrooms include an intervention specialist, a paraprofessional and no more than ten students. We have a limited number of preschool placements for neurotypical children to learn alongside our students receiving Special Education Services.

Our school age program provides k-12 services for students; we design hands-on educational activities that are directly linked to Ohio Learning Standards- Extended and also work on life skills activities. We work closely with the Service Support Administrators (SSA), Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) and other agencies to ensure students have a successful transition from our school to adult life.