The S.A.I.L.S. program (Specialized Academics and Individualized Learning Skills) at Wayland Middle School is designed to support students with global disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual impairments. The program serves students whose needs may span multiple domains, including academic learning and functional life skills, communication (receptive and expressive), social pragmatics, motor development, sensory processing, nonverbal reasoning, and social use of spoken and written language. SAILS is structured to provide comprehensive, individualized support so that each student can access meaningful educational opportunities while developing the academic, social, and functional skills necessary for long-term success.

To ensure students are educated in the least restrictive environment while promoting individual growth, SAILS offers three tiers of programming: Separate Setting Specialized Programming, Partial Inclusion Specialized Programming, and Full Inclusion Programming with Social Pragmatics and Executive Functioning instruction. This tiered structure allows students to receive the level of support appropriate to their needs while maintaining opportunities for progression toward more inclusive settings as skills develop. Each tier is guided by students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), with specialized standards and differentiated instruction aligned to grade-level curriculum topics.

The Separate Setting Specialized Programming tier serves students with significant learning, social, behavioral, and/or cognitive needs, including those with moderate to severe Autism Spectrum Disorder or intellectual disabilities. Students in this setting may receive academic instruction within the SAILS classroom for core content areas such as math, science, and social studies, along with instruction in life skills and activities of daily living. Instruction is individualized, often using modified curriculum materials, smaller class sizes, and lower student-to-teacher ratios. Evidence-based approaches, including Social Thinking methodology and Applied Behavior Analysis informed by Functional Behavioral Analysis, are used to support self-regulation, executive functioning, perspective taking, and positive behavior development. Students may also participate in general education classes when appropriate and receive targeted intervention through Skills Centers to promote success. Assessments may include the MCAS Alternate Portfolio or highly accommodated district assessments.

The Partial Inclusion and Full Inclusion tiers further expand access to general education environments. In the Partial Inclusion model, students participate in general education classes with accommodations, modifications, and/or teaching assistant support, while also receiving direct instruction in social pragmatics, language skills, and behavioral regulation. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles are embedded to provide flexible pathways for accessing content and demonstrating understanding. In the Full Inclusion tier, students with grade-level cognitive abilities receive explicit instruction in social pragmatics and executive functioning skills, such as task initiation, organization, flexible thinking, and conflict resolution. Through structured strategies including role-play, social stories, mini-deadlines, routines, and positive feedback, students build the skills necessary to manage academic demands, collaborate effectively, and navigate the social expectations of middle school. Together, these tiers ensure that SAILS students are supported academically, socially, and emotionally within a responsive and inclusive school community.

Students in the Language Alternative Program are functioning academically two to four years below grade level. They have primary difficulties with language skills, especially reading, comprehension, and writing. Most of the students have problems with receptive and expressive language, demonstrated by limited vocabulary knowledge and below average communication skills. Some receive speech and language therapy services.

Students in the Language Alternative Program often have social/emotional needs and goals which result from their language issues. Some may miss cues for social communication and are challenged by expressing themselves within their peer group. Some struggle with low self-esteem as they work to understand their learning needs and develop coping strategies for academic and social success. We use a supportive, cognitive behavioral approach to help students work toward goals in these socio-emotional areas.

Language Alternative Program students are usually mainstreamed into homerooms, science, social studies, combined arts, wellness, and sometimes math and English.   Students sometimes take either science or social studies so that they can more capably manage the academic load. The program staff provides support in the regular classroom when necessary. This may take the form of pre- teaching or reinforcing classroom lessons, modifying class work or tests as appropriate, or serving as an assistant within the regular education classroom to help refocus the student, clarify directions, or help with work completion. Study periods, called Organization Skills, are used to work on homework for students' mainstream classes.

We generally teach reading comprehension and/or writing skills, as well as math, in small groups in the Language Alternative Program, using topics and themes similar to the grade level curriculum when possible. We adapt reading and writing assignments to meet the individualized goals for each student. We read paperbacks, poems, magazine articles, and plays and complete corresponding comprehension skill work. Word processing on the computer is used for writing assignments whenever possible. The Language Alternative Program is flexible, and some students have taken more classes than others. The team decides this on an individual basis.

Speech-language disabilities are addressed through the Wayland Public Schools by Speech-Language Pathologists who are certified by The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Department of Education. They are licensed in Massachusetts to practice speech-language pathology.

Speech and language impairments affect a student's ability to communicate and can contribute to significant learning challenges. The scope of speech-language problems include children with speech difficulties; receptive, expressive and pragmatic language deficits; fluency disorders and hearing impairments that can interfere with academic achievement and success in the classroom.