Professionals
ABA via Social Thinking for Preschool Through Middle School
Maria Sasaki Reilly
Sunday, June 24, 2012 1:00 PM
Description
There is no sector that feels today's budget crisis more than public education, and there is increasingly less money allocated for special education programs. At the same time, Autism prevalence continues to rise, thus straining an already taxed special education system (problem #1). Research proves that early intervention is critical for optimal outcomes for children with Autism. Many school-based early intervention programs focus on discrete trial programs, or on children with severely challenging behaviors. Often, little attention is paid to mid to high-functioning children with Autism in the public school system (problem #2). This address examines the collaboration between a public school district and private behavior analytic practice, to address the identified problems. This collaboration yielded a comprehensive, intensive, and affordable Social Thinking program for mid to high-functioning children with Autism and related disabilities. Participants will learn about:1. The purpose and reasoning of creating such a program.
2. Program objectives and goals.
3. Program curricula
4. Bridging Discrete Trial and Social Thinking.
5. Setting up an infrastructure.
6. Stages of implementation
7. Evaluation and program modifications.
8. Troubleshooting
9. Implications for Least Restrictive Environment
10. Future directions of the program
Objectives
- Identify the cost savings associated with an "in-house" comprehensive program.
- Identify at least 3 ways that clinic and class staff can generalize skills to and from each setting.
- Identify at least 3 areas to plan ahead for, when merging 2 distinct programs.