Services are delivered throughout the center to offer children a variety of environments to generalize their learning. Environments such as Intensive Table Teaching (ITT), Natural Environment Teaching (NET), Small group, Gross Motor, Lunch Room, etc. offers a multidisciplinary approach to helping children learn new skills.

Intensive Table Teaching (ITT)

Several sections of the ABLLS (tacts, labeling, receptive language, intravals, echoics, motor and vocal imitation, etc.) are most appropriately taught at a child size table. This type of learning is called intensive table teaching or ITT During an ITT session mastered and acquisition tasks across several verbal operant categories are targeted.

There are a variety of effective teaching procedures that are performed when conducting an ITT session. When these techniques are balanced and consistently applied, the child is a willing participant in the learning process and may exhibit few, if any, challenging behaviors.

Natural Environment Teaching (NET)

Natural Environment Teaching (NET) involves generalizing skills acquired in ITT, as well as teaching new skills and appropriate play by using the activities of interest to the child in a natural environment. The use of both NET and ITT provides a variety of environments in which children with Autism can learn language. Unlike ITT, NET is informal, less structured, and the reinforcement given for correct responding is generally related to the child’s interest at the moment rather than being irrelevant. For example, the reinforcement for a correct response with a dollhouse is the opportunity to continue playing with it or the delivery of some item related to it (ex: doll) rather than something irrelevant (ex: movie).

Many children with Autism lack the ability to appropriately manipulate toys and may only manipulate a toy in a stereotyped repeated manner. For example, a child may line up cars or repeatedly spin the wheels versus pushing the cars on a car mat. NET is an excellent forum to teach the child appropriate play skills while also generalizing and teaching new skills. During NET, the focus is to teach all of the verbal operants instead of focusing on only one verbal operant. Therapists attempt to capture or contrive motivation for activities that will also enable NET type ABLLS program targets to be taught.

Small Group

Small group therapy refers to therapy sessions that have a child/therapist ratio that is different than that of a typical ITT/NET session. Un-like in-home therapy, where there are no peers available to learn and interact with, at PIE we have a unique opportunity to teach in small groups. A small group may consist of 1 therapist and 2 children (1:2) or at times the ratio of child/therapist may be greater.

Objectives for teaching in a small group may include:

1. Increasing peer interaction
2. Turn taking and waiting appropriately
3. Increased discriminative listening and responding skills
4. Following novel 1- and 2-step directions
5. Naturalistic learning from imitation or observation of peers
6. Peer prompting
7. Connectedness with others
8. Improved self-esteem
9. Group cooperation
10. Classroom routines
11. Manding for information (“Wh” questions”)
12. Independently completing tasks with multiple steps (ex: art projects)
13. Generalizing ITT and NET taught ABLLS skills
14. Appropriate toy play or thematic play

Gross Motor Activities

Children are given the opportunity throughout the day for gross motor activities. This is a large open space where children learn to ride bikes/trikes, throw and catch balls, learn and play childhood games such as duck, duck, gray duck and follow the leader. These activities are designed to teach play and leisure skills along with teaching physical developmental skills such as balance, coordination, isolated movements, and strength and endurance.

Lunch and Snack

Eating is one of the most essential activities in daily living and is an important part of our program. Each child is encouraged to eat a variety of different food types and textures. While this program focuses on eating, it also provides an opportunity to practice and improve areas of learning that go beyond mealtime. For instance, eating works on oral musculature levels, which helps the child improve speech articulation and facial expression. Another example is that the child eats using utensils and drinks using an open cup, which promotes hand-eye coordination. Many children with Autism are “picky eaters” and programs are developed to introduce them to various foods.

Self Care

Throughout each day the child is given opportunities to learn and practice self-help skills, including toilet training, hand washing, teeth brushing, and dressing and undressing.