CDH Educational Center provides students and families with a comprehensive educational experience that utilizes research based educational and behavioral programming adapted to meet the needs of each student and foster individual achievement. The program provides comprehensive, ongoing assessments to determine the student’s learning style, strengths, areas of needed instruction, and progress towards goals.
As an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) school, our teaching methods, data collection system, and evaluation process support the application of behavior principles to increase or decrease targeted behaviors. CDH's educational program identifies each child’s specific areas of need across core diagnostic areas specific to autism diagnosis and related disorders including, but not limited to: communication & language, adaptive functioning, relationship development, social/emotional learning, leisure/play, problem behaviors reduction, and educational supports for all areas of core curriculum. The success of the students is also the success of the teachers. Oversight and accountability of student programs and staff implementation is provided by a highly qualified BCBA to ensure meaningful progress is made and ensure high quality instruction.
The program is tiered with three levels of program intensity to support students. Students are placed in the program level that best supports their needs. Ongoing evaluation and systematic support reduction helps students move to less restrictive program options with the goal of transitioning to back to a program in their home district or an appropriate alternative program. Student placement within program is determined by a multi-factor assessment which includes, but is not limited to: grade level, instructional supports needed for academic success, types of behavioral support needed for social emotional growth and the level of medical or other specialized supports.
Speech-language services, occupational therapy, and music therapy will be provided to all students at CDH, unless the IEP team determines that these services are not necessary. Related services will be diagnostic in nature, outcome- orientated, curriculum based, integrated with educational activities, dynamic to fit student’s changing needs, derived from research based strategies, age appropriate, and designed to promote access to the general education curriculum. The school utilizes an integrated therapy model of support that provides students with the majority of their instruction with their peers either through individualized, small, or large group instruction. Because the service delivery approaches are selected based on the student’s needs, there may be an occasion in which for a short-term basis (i.e., introduction of a new skill, evaluation, nature of the goal requires discretion for part of the goal [dressing]) the goal will be taught in a pull-out setting. Related service providers are expected to consult and work with each child’s team members to support student growth and maintenance of previously learned skills as student goals are practiced and learned throughout the day.
Level 1 – Intensive Learning and Behavior Program
This is the most intensive level of instruction and support with a 1:1 student to staff ratio. Students in this program most likely would either have not had exposure to a school setting or have not had success in a traditional self-contained special education classroom. Students in this program often receive assessment scores reflective of an ‘Early Learner’ profile and require direct instruction in the following areas: Requesting basic needs and other communication skills; Safety awareness and awareness of others; Identification of individual preferred items and activities and the expansion of those repertoires; Creating positive relationships; and Identification of calming/soothing tools. For the majority of students in the classroom level, appropriate and challenging curriculum and instruction is aligned to the Common Core Essential Elements specific to their grade level. This program focuses on intensive teaching of prerequisite and school readiness skills necessary for participation in a classroom with peers. Many students in this program work on specific skill areas such motivation for learning, cooperation and compliance, maladaptive behavior reduction and receive intensive instruction for replacement behavior.
Level II Classroom - Therapeutic Learning and Behavior Program
This is a less intensive level of instruction and support while still maintaining the 1:1 student teacher ratio and utilizing behavior supports. Students in this program have demonstrated success with the Level 1 program, have become more aware of their immediate environment and their effect on their surroundings. Students initially placed in this program have shown inconsistent success in a traditional self-contained special education classrooms or do not have the foundational skills needed to generalize or maintain their skills in a less restrictive placements. Students in this program often receive assessment scores reflective of an ‘Intermediate Learner’ profile.
This program focuses on generalization and maintenance of motivational strategies, cooperation & compliance skills. Maintaining low rates of maladaptive behavior is possible through positive social relationships and instruction for sensory and emotional regulation strategies. At this level, students are beginning to experience systematic decrease of support including, less dependence on paraprofessional support and functional independence is emphasized using systematic support fading.
Within this type of classroom, individual instruction time begins to decrease and learned skills are demonstrated in didactic or group instruction. Students are beginning to receive additional social skills instruction and instruction for age appropriate activities to support peer friendships. Academic instruction focuses on moderately modified grade level curriculum identified for all subjects, individualized IEP goals aligned to common core standards and community based instruction.
Level III Classroom - Reintegration Prep Learning and Behavior Program
The Level III classroom design is unique in that its primary function is to help students re-integrate back to their home district with the least amount of support necessary to maintain successful academic and functional progress. While the 1:1 student teacher ratio is faded for most activities, the support for each student is available when necessary (i.e., teaching a new skill, generalization, etc.). The paraprofessional’s role changes from a direct support model into a coaching model. At this level, learned functional academic skills and social-emotional regulations skills are tested and strengthened for generalization, flexibility, and perseverance.
For students learning in this program, communication with school districts, potential reintegration settings and their staff is very important. This program will assess potential environmental challenges the student may face in the reintegration setting. Once identified, the student’s coping strategies will be modified/transitioned into specific behavioral strategies and the positive social language the utilized in the reintegration setting’s program.
At this level, the focus is on student’s acquiring the necessary new skills they need to be successful within group instructional settings and the reduction of individual instruction. Changes in the program structure that occur for students learning at this level may include a discontinuation of the Behavior Intervention Plan, behavior supports are no longer based on an individual plan and instead are structured around group contingencies, and classroom goals focus on student responsibility and self-monitoring of their own behavior and emotions as appropriate. Social skills and leisure instruction focus on exposure to the types of activities offered outside of the program, self-determination and self-advocacy, and continued instruction for age appropriate activities and the independent management of downtime. Academic instruction is based on individual needs and may or may not require modification of grade level common core state standards, and curriculum taught is similar in content and format to a general education classroom setting.
As an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) school, our teaching methods, data collection system, and evaluation process support the application of behavior principles to increase or decrease targeted behaviors. CDH's educational program identifies each child’s specific areas of need across core diagnostic areas specific to autism diagnosis and related disorders including, but not limited to: communication & language, adaptive functioning, relationship development, social/emotional learning, leisure/play, problem behaviors reduction, and educational supports for all areas of core curriculum. The success of the students is also the success of the teachers. Oversight and accountability of student programs and staff implementation is provided by a highly qualified BCBA to ensure meaningful progress is made and ensure high quality instruction.
The program is tiered with three levels of program intensity to support students. Students are placed in the program level that best supports their needs. Ongoing evaluation and systematic support reduction helps students move to less restrictive program options with the goal of transitioning to back to a program in their home district or an appropriate alternative program. Student placement within program is determined by a multi-factor assessment which includes, but is not limited to: grade level, instructional supports needed for academic success, types of behavioral support needed for social emotional growth and the level of medical or other specialized supports.
Speech-language services, occupational therapy, and music therapy will be provided to all students at CDH, unless the IEP team determines that these services are not necessary. Related services will be diagnostic in nature, outcome- orientated, curriculum based, integrated with educational activities, dynamic to fit student’s changing needs, derived from research based strategies, age appropriate, and designed to promote access to the general education curriculum. The school utilizes an integrated therapy model of support that provides students with the majority of their instruction with their peers either through individualized, small, or large group instruction. Because the service delivery approaches are selected based on the student’s needs, there may be an occasion in which for a short-term basis (i.e., introduction of a new skill, evaluation, nature of the goal requires discretion for part of the goal [dressing]) the goal will be taught in a pull-out setting. Related service providers are expected to consult and work with each child’s team members to support student growth and maintenance of previously learned skills as student goals are practiced and learned throughout the day.
Level 1 – Intensive Learning and Behavior Program
This is the most intensive level of instruction and support with a 1:1 student to staff ratio. Students in this program most likely would either have not had exposure to a school setting or have not had success in a traditional self-contained special education classroom. Students in this program often receive assessment scores reflective of an ‘Early Learner’ profile and require direct instruction in the following areas: Requesting basic needs and other communication skills; Safety awareness and awareness of others; Identification of individual preferred items and activities and the expansion of those repertoires; Creating positive relationships; and Identification of calming/soothing tools. For the majority of students in the classroom level, appropriate and challenging curriculum and instruction is aligned to the Common Core Essential Elements specific to their grade level. This program focuses on intensive teaching of prerequisite and school readiness skills necessary for participation in a classroom with peers. Many students in this program work on specific skill areas such motivation for learning, cooperation and compliance, maladaptive behavior reduction and receive intensive instruction for replacement behavior.
Level II Classroom - Therapeutic Learning and Behavior Program
This is a less intensive level of instruction and support while still maintaining the 1:1 student teacher ratio and utilizing behavior supports. Students in this program have demonstrated success with the Level 1 program, have become more aware of their immediate environment and their effect on their surroundings. Students initially placed in this program have shown inconsistent success in a traditional self-contained special education classrooms or do not have the foundational skills needed to generalize or maintain their skills in a less restrictive placements. Students in this program often receive assessment scores reflective of an ‘Intermediate Learner’ profile.
This program focuses on generalization and maintenance of motivational strategies, cooperation & compliance skills. Maintaining low rates of maladaptive behavior is possible through positive social relationships and instruction for sensory and emotional regulation strategies. At this level, students are beginning to experience systematic decrease of support including, less dependence on paraprofessional support and functional independence is emphasized using systematic support fading.
Within this type of classroom, individual instruction time begins to decrease and learned skills are demonstrated in didactic or group instruction. Students are beginning to receive additional social skills instruction and instruction for age appropriate activities to support peer friendships. Academic instruction focuses on moderately modified grade level curriculum identified for all subjects, individualized IEP goals aligned to common core standards and community based instruction.
Level III Classroom - Reintegration Prep Learning and Behavior Program
The Level III classroom design is unique in that its primary function is to help students re-integrate back to their home district with the least amount of support necessary to maintain successful academic and functional progress. While the 1:1 student teacher ratio is faded for most activities, the support for each student is available when necessary (i.e., teaching a new skill, generalization, etc.). The paraprofessional’s role changes from a direct support model into a coaching model. At this level, learned functional academic skills and social-emotional regulations skills are tested and strengthened for generalization, flexibility, and perseverance.
For students learning in this program, communication with school districts, potential reintegration settings and their staff is very important. This program will assess potential environmental challenges the student may face in the reintegration setting. Once identified, the student’s coping strategies will be modified/transitioned into specific behavioral strategies and the positive social language the utilized in the reintegration setting’s program.
At this level, the focus is on student’s acquiring the necessary new skills they need to be successful within group instructional settings and the reduction of individual instruction. Changes in the program structure that occur for students learning at this level may include a discontinuation of the Behavior Intervention Plan, behavior supports are no longer based on an individual plan and instead are structured around group contingencies, and classroom goals focus on student responsibility and self-monitoring of their own behavior and emotions as appropriate. Social skills and leisure instruction focus on exposure to the types of activities offered outside of the program, self-determination and self-advocacy, and continued instruction for age appropriate activities and the independent management of downtime. Academic instruction is based on individual needs and may or may not require modification of grade level common core state standards, and curriculum taught is similar in content and format to a general education classroom setting.
