Responses to Questions - ASAP



ASAP – A Step Ahead Program, LLC

411 King George Road, Suite 207

Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

Phone: 908-542-0002 Fax: 908-542-0003



Frequently Asked Questions

1. How is the school day segmented?

Learners work with all the teachers and instructors on a rotation basis, whether every 60 minutes or every 30 minutes, depending on the service provided and the programs being administered.

2. What is the staff/student ratio for each part of the day

The staff:learner ratio throughout the day is 1:1 or 2:1 depending on the learner’s individualized educational programs and skill sets.

3. Staff certification/credentials.

All teachers are certified as NJ Teacher of the handicap, and all related service professionals carry New Jersey licenses and professional certifications in their respective fields. All teachers are supervised and trained in the application of the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis by Board Certified Behavior Analysts Lina Slim-Topdjian, Dr. Sudha Ramaswamy, and autism specialist Robin Mammone, on a daily basis.

4. What professional development opportunities are afforded to your staff this year.

All teachers and instructors receive ongoing, weekly, onsite training as part of

ASAP employee performance improvement plan, by board certified behavior

analysts, and related service professionals, on topics related to evidence based

educational and behavioral interventions, and related service tactics.

In addition to onsite workshops, all teachers and instructors attend off-site

workshops on several topics pertaining to the field of autism, behavior management, behavioral tactics, social skills, evidence-based interventions, speech and language development and interventions, as well as sensory motor processes.

5. Does your staff have weekly/monthly/daily meetings on students (formal) to assess progress?

ASAP utilizes a wide range of behavioral methodologies and tailors the curriculum to meet each child's needs. Each individual program is based upon initial assessment and ongoing evaluations and is an active part of each child's Individual Educational Plan (IEP). The program's instructional interventions utilize applied behavior learning principles and evidence-based practices; and provide daily decision analyses and ongoing functional assessments, via daily data collection.

The curriculum follows a holistic multi-modal teaching approach, incorporating the arts, music and movement, and is adapted to every child's learning styles.

6. Is there a regular communication system w/ the parent? Is it daily/weekly? Is it a book or email or phone?

Parent-teacher communication occurs on a daily basis through the use of a notebook, folder, phone calls and e-mails.

7. How many students are in the program now?

The maximum enrollment at ASAP is 10 students.

8. How is independence facilitated for skills?

As a tenant of a behaviorally-based program, is following the 7 Dimensions of ABA set forth by Baer, Wolf, Risley, 1968, 1987. One of the dimensions addresses programming for generalization of skills throughout the teachings in order to promote generalization of newly learned skills.

9. How is generalization facilitated for skills?

ASAP applies all 7 Dimensions of ABA (Baer, Wolf, and Risley, 1968, 1987). These support teaching skills that have social significance to the learner, and that are observable and measurable, while applying a systematic scientific approach to the teachings of functionally relevant skill sets (i.e., analytic, technological conceptually systematic and effective), and ensuring generality of skills through exposure to multiple exemplars of stimuli, across people and settings.

10. How do you connect school to home currently (if so)?

ASAP has an additional parent training component that addresses all parental concerns and provides training to parents on behavioral tactics, in order to ensure consistency of application of learned skills across settings, and ensure generalization and maintenance of acquired tasks. ASAP also supports efforts in community inclusion and social skills application. Parent Training hours are additional to the program.

11. Are there any outside the school day family support groups or other services included as part of your program?

ASAP provides Parent Training and Support: Parents receive the guidance, training and support needed.

ASAP provides Consultation Service to the Schools: Teaching staff will receive the training and guidance either through in-services or hands-on training during classroom activities.

Although ASAP staff is available to provide outside school family support, any involvement of ASAP after program hours is additional to the program.

12. Are there any other parent education services provided currently?

ASAP provides ongoing parental support throughout the year via classroom visits and observations, and conferences. Also ASAP provides (3) Clinic Day workshops per year for families.

13. Is there any involvement of typically developing peers in the program?

ASAP does engage typically developing peers in the program whenever the learner has acquired and mastered pre-requisite skills for social engagement with adults. There is a progression of skill acquisition prior to placing the learner with a trained typical peer, as the learner’s success in engaging in social interactions is paramount, given the nature of the diagnosis.

Our goal at ASAP is to have the learner reach age-appropriate levels in the educational, language, communication, social, and personal development skills and to be able to transition into and function successfully in an inclusive, least-restrictive educational environment as well as the community.

14. How often do you provide report cards or progress reports?

Present Level of Performance reports are sent to sending districts and families on a quarterly basis.

15. How do you measure parent satisfaction (if so)?

Parents are an integral part of the educational team. Parental feedback and input in the development of their child’s educational and behavioral goals is always encouraged. Progress at ASAP and in the home is assessed on a regular basis in order to ensure skill transfer and generalization. Parental feedback is assessed through informal questionnaires and conferences.

16. How do you plan for systemic improvement?

Systemic improvement is demonstrated through behavioral outcomes as skill acquisition trends increase and new skills are introduced. Incidental teaching is an important part of ASAP teachings, and achieving functional communication is the goal.

ASAP's philosophy is to provide each child the opportunity to reach maximal development and cognitive potential. Our goal is to provide the children early and intensive intervention such that they ultimately function successfully and independently in the school, home and community. ASAP also recognizes the importance and the critical factor that early intervention plays in the development of social- cognitive skills for children with developmental impairments. ASAP's methods further facilitate smooth inclusion into schools and communities.

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