Students work towards learning a wide range of skills that can make a positive impact in their lives.
The choice of which skills to focus on is made by the student, parents, and the educational team. This team includes our experienced clinicians in Applied Behavior Analysis, Speech, and Occupational Therapy.
Some areas where goals are developed include communication, behavior, social interactions, personal safety, leisure time, and daily living (e.g., brushing teeth).
ACE
The Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia is one tool used by our teachers to help students make progress in these areas.
ACE contains a massive bank of lesson plans. Each plan has detailed instructions and a data collection form.
Their website states that “lessons teach a wide array of skills, from the most basic ‘learning-to-learn’ to complex skills needed for independent living.”
H.R.E.
Another aspect of our life skills programming–especially when addressing problem behaviors–is the creation of highly-specific learning environments. This results in each student feeling “happy, relaxed, and engaged” (HRE).
Our HRE approach is based on the Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-Based Treatment model developed by FTF Behavioral Consulting.
This model, backed by peer-reviewed research, allows us to better understand why problem behavior is occuring. And to design individualized treatments that reduce problem behavior and promote essential skills.