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Our “Blended Therapies”
Approach
Our philosophy at Pinnacle suggests that the spectrum of autism is a
wide and ever changing range of characteristics. In an effort to
meet the unique needs of every child, we must incorporate a variety
of approaches and teaching strategies. We know that most children do
not respond well to a program which is solely adult-directed or uses
an inflexible, prescriptive or closed-ended system. Our methodology
is drawn from a range of effective practices, which have been
developed over the past three decades for children with autism
spectrum and related disabilities and have proven clinical and
educational success for children with other disabilities, as well.
We depend on motivation to drive the learning environment.
Opportunities for active learning are embedded throughout the day in
cognitive zones, art, meals, and movement. The teachers and
therapists utilize existing teachable moments, which lead to
increased social learning, curiosity, and generalization across
environments. The atmosphere provides emotionally charged
interactions, designed to capture the child’s interest and sustain
attention.
“Blended therapies” is a term we have given to this approach to
individualized treatment and education. With applied behavior
analysis as a core for analyzing and supporting positive behaviors,
we incorporate other best-practice methods, such as incidental
teaching, pivotal response training, picture exchange communication
training, affect-based play, joint attention training, and an array
of exciting, new techniques in social skills training. Empirical
data to support the efficacy of these therapies is very important to
us. It is also imperative to maintain a frame of reference related
to the principles and research in child development, so that
children are developing spontaneous, functional abilities and
relationships with partners to enhance all areas of development and
independence to the best of their ability.
Even though our students are unique and require individualized
programming, we find that their success lies in the consistency
across settings. At Pinnacle Academy, we look to parents as partners
in a child’s education. Together, we can follow strategies that can
be incorporated into natural routines across school, home, and the
community. These are the contexts for learning and the development
of social competence. |
