About us

Gap Collage + Lusito School

The Lusito Association was established in 1979 by a group of Portuguese parents who found a need for a school for the differently abled within the Portuguese community. The Lusito Association started the first Lusito School under the auspices of the Mental Health Society of the Witwatersrand and has subsequently grown with the school.

The Lusito Association is a non-profit organisation whose function is to manage and fundraise, to build and maintain, the Lusito School. The best known fundraising event is the Lusito Land Festival, winning Leisure Options Reader’s Choice Award for Johannesburg’s best festival. 100% of all funds raised from these fundraising events go directly to the school.

The Association is comprised of an Executive Committee and an Administrative Committee who are committed to improving the lives of the differently abled.

Our mission is to support the Lusito School in equipping each learner as best possible for their passage through life.

The Lusito School, which was originally situated in Judith’s Paarl on a small piece of land, offered no room for expansion, limiting the number of children who could be accommodated.

Years of planning and extensive fund-raising enabled the school to purchase premises for this purpose. Today the Lusito School is situated in Regents Park on 18,300 square metres of land. Extensive renovations and additions to existing buildings have been completed, resulting in more classrooms.

An exciting new development is the implementation of an alternative communication program based on visual learning. The use of tablets enables the learners to participate and communicate in all functional activities. Learners enjoy active days and are encouraged to participate in various activities including basic tasks and games- all of which form part of their occupational therapy.

The approach is to provide the use of different apps within the classroom daily program, focusing on individual functional goals as well as providing more individualized attention where necessary.

As part of the life skills programme, learners are taught to grow and look after the existing veggie patch. Currently we have butternut, tomatoes, mealies, spinach and lettuce—these are used in our kitchen for lunch and we also sell the surplus to buy more seedlings.

To maximise our Go Green Garden, we have the following wish list:

Compost
Garden Tools
Fertilizer
Row & Plant Markers
Fruit Trees
Seedlings (vegetables & herbs)
Shade Cloth to cover vegetable garden area
Tomato Cages
Compost & Worm Bins
Boundary Fencing around garden

Making movement easy and enjoyable for the learners is an important aim of Lusito. We do exercises to music and play games with different sized balls, cushions and rollers to improve balance, posture, co-ordination and sensory awareness. Group or individual therapy is given, depending on the learner’s needs.

Exercises to improve neural functions, the basis of scholastic development are also performed. All therapists are aimed at improving the learner’s hand-eye co-ordination; postural mechanics; speech and concentration; social and emotional development and spatial awareness.

Active hydrotherapy is treatment in water where movement is taking place. This active form of hydrotherapy can either be assisted which means that the therapist helps the learner to bring out the movement (passive movement) or unassisted which means that the therapist helps the learner bring out the movement him/herself (active movement).

the Benefits includes:

Reduces gravity creating effortless muscle performance and ease of movement
Reduced and measurable weight bearing through joints, spine and extremities
Movement can be buoyancy assisted, resisted or supported with or without floating equipment.
Circulation is improved by hydrostatic pressure and water warmth.

Today, hydrotherapy is an accepted and popular form of treating various conditions thanks to an upsurge in research. Treatment in water is often an integral part of the total physical and psychological care of many conditions and a very important part of the rehabilitation process.

We learn about the world constantly through our senses and by interacting with it. Learners are encouraged to explore and play in different environments and in doing so they find out what burns or hurts, what can be eaten, which things smell nice and what different sounds signify. This process of exploration and learning continues throughout our lives.

Because of physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities many people have not had the same opportunities to explore and interact with their environment. Sensory stimulation programmes are designed to provide environments in which people with disabilities can have the opportunity to use their senses to learn about and interact more meaningfully with the world.

The sensory room has been created specifically to concentrate on sensory stimulation. The goal of treatment must be either the creation of function where none exists, or improvement of function where it is delayed or inhibited. Stimulation “excites” the brain which produces functional activity.

Transport is offered to learners but is limited to 24 learners and within a 20km radius of the school. The vehicle is equipped with the correct safety seating and belting and an assistant accompanies the driver in the morning and afternoon trips.

Classes

All classes aim to stimulate psychomotor and perceptive capabilities; develop skills needed for daily living and improve communication and language development as well as social integration.

Learners are placed in classes according to their cognitive abilities (not age). Depending on their progress, learners can proceed from perceptual classes to advanced perceptual classes and then vocational classes.

Those who are able, and remain in the school for long enough, then progress to young adult classes.

Stimulation Class

Early Perceptual Class

Advance Perceptual Class

Vocational & Workshop Class

Other Additional Activities: