Our consulting Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Pathologist round out our enthusiastic and talented team.

HOW DO WE TEACH?

Beyond Autism strives to align its programming to the scientific principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), both to maintain and improve skills and reduce unwanted behaviors. Though ABA has been noted mainly for its success in helping educate those with autism spectrum disorders and manage severe problem behavior, ABA is not exclusive to these populations. ABA, put simply, seeks to figure out how people learn and then uses that information to teach.  We look at what motivates our students, and use those things to teach new skills and improve behaviors. The ultimate goal is to foster the aquisition of skills needed to live a full, happy, productive life! 

Beyond Autism has an on-site Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) to oversee daily progress in both the development of skills and improvement of problem behavior through use of behavior intervention plans, functional behavior assessments, and skills assessments. 
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WHAT DO WE TEACH?

Along with the families, we seek to choose skills that are socially significant-that matter. If we can’t make a connection to how learning to spin a top, for instance, will help the student or their family later in life, why teach it? Rather, we may work on any of the following: independent toileting, learning to request food items, reducing screaming behaviors, tolerating the vacuum being run, saying “Thank you”, learning to send an email, learning to sort laundry, learning to make choices... the list is truly endless. The important thing, for us, is to make sure that the skills taught have the potential to improve the student’s quality of life and the lives of the people closest to them. In particular, the skills selected should be of value both inside and outside of a school setting, as well as potential vocational settings.
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OUR CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS

We utilize a functional skills curriculum and assessment titled Essential for Living (McGreevy, Fry & Cornwall, 2012). This curriculum, based in principles of ABA, is designed for children and adults with moderate-to-severe disabilities, not exclusive to those diagnosed with autism.  The authors have organized thousands of individualized skills into those that are deemed “must-haves”, “should-haves”, “good-to-haves”, and “nice-to-haves”.  The EFL includes skill areas such as speaking skills, listening skills, tolerating skills, reducing problem behavior, daily living skills, functional academics, and others. This curriculum looks at what skills a person must-have in order to live a more full life, versus what skills are more nice-to-have. Furthermore, it may be nice to be able to do single-digit addition. However, if that same student cannot wait for two minutes after requesting a desired item without engaging in problematic behavior, we should sooner work on teaching them to wait appropriately before pursuing math concepts. Though teaching academics is typically the main focus in typical school settings, we teach functional academics in combination with many other skills that are more vital to their success outside of an academic setting (i.e. “life skills”). This curriculum and assessment helps guide Beyond Autism’s team into making decisions for their loved one’s programing that will be most beneficial to their long-term success.

For more information, we encourage you to please visit the following website: www.essentialforliving.com
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OUR STAFF TO STUDENT RATIO

No two students are exactly alike. ABA affords us the ability to look at each student uniquely and in-depth to determine what they need to learn best. In order to do this well, we maintain a 2:1 student-to-staff ratio. 

OUR SCHOOL YEAR

To foster skill retention and consistency in our student’s growth, we operate a year-round program that includes a five-week summer session. For more information on our school calendar, please visit our Calendar page.

SUPPORTIVE THERAPIES

We believe that learning can take place anywhere and should be fun. In addition to our comprehensive and individualized program, our students enjoy supportive therapies to include yoga, music therapy, pet visits, and therapeutic riding.