Children with autism exhibit the same deficits and needs in the home as they do in school. At Ascent, continuous and systematic intervention is carried over to the home, as parents are encouraged to become part of the child’s learning experience. A home program component is collaboratively designed by the school with parent input. Parents are taught to use school-based intervention strategies in the home by conducting home visits with qualified teaching staff and by scheduled parental education and direct instruction in the school setting.
“For more than 20 years, we have known that parent and family involvement is an important factor in maintaining the behavior change achieved by children with autism. Research in the 1970’s and 1980’s documented that parents can master a full range of intervention techniques and use them to facilitate their child’s mastery of language, social, self-help, and related skills.”
Handleman, Jan S., Harris, Sandra L., eds., Preschool Education Programs for Children with Autism, 2d ed. (Austin: Pro-ed, 2001), 8.