Our Distance Training Program

successful home-based program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders photoOngoing training and support is a major component of any successful home-based program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. We have helped to pioneer distance education for parents of children with ASD. We have successfully provided our Distance Program for hundreds of families worldwide for almost fifteen years, while continuing to evolve its effectiveness.  

All training is done from your home by means of video, telephone, video conferencing (Skype) and email. All services will be provided by Steven Wertz, BCBA

We recommend this program for:

  • Parents who currently have a home-based program for their child (either full or part-time) and want training to maximize their program’s effectiveness.
  • Parents wanting to breathe new life into home programs that have lost momentum. 
  • Parents who are not satisfied with their child’s current progress or sense that their child is capable of making more progress. In this program, we can identify the reasons why a child’s developmental progress may have slowed or stalled and support you in implementing methods to help your child to begin moving forward again at a rate commensurate with his or her potential. 
    child’s developmental progress photo
  • Children whose progress has slowed after successfully using an intensive interaction program, such as Son-Rise, or Floortime. If your child increased eye contact, social interaction, speech and affection in these programs, but then seemed to reach a plateau, we can help. 
  • Children who have progressed well in an ABA program (for example, he or she is doing well when working one-on-one in school) but are not translating those skills into other areas of life. 
  • Children whose development seems stuck, especially in a specific skill area such as speech acquisition, academic skills, toilet training, communication or social skills. Parents observe that the child reaches a certain point and then can’t get beyond an apparent impasse.
  • Parents who cannot find effective local training and support to understand their child’s needs and learn methods to help him or her. 
  • Parents who want help to supervise and integrate other therapies and providers while keeping the big picture of your child’s development. From a distance, we can help you to maintain an overview of your child’s development and to evaluate his or her changing needs. We can also assist you in making best use of your resources by recommending what services will deliver the most benefit and value for your child at any given time.  
  • Parents who want help coordinating and overseeing their child’s program. If your child is provided with various therapies and education programs, we can help you make sure that these are working together in concert to be effective treatment. We can also pinpoint and fill in any gaps in what is being provided. 
  • Parents who want to support their child’s continued progress after participating in Growing Minds in-home training or seminars

The Distance Program is individually designed and can be adapted to support early intervention as well as the needs of children with PDD-NOS, “Severe” or “Classic” Autism, Asperger Disorder, High Functioning Autism, Nonverbal Learning Disability, Rett Syndrome and other neurological difficulties. 

Read what other parents have to say about our Six-Month Distance Program 

The Six-Month Distance Training Program Includes:

Learning Disability photoDetailed Assessment: 
Using video and written evaluation materials, we assess your child’s current social, linguistic, cognitive, motor and self-help skills and more. We use this detailed information to create a program design tailored to your child. To read more about the importance of thorough assessment for your child’s treatment.

Written curriculum design/individual education plan.
This written plan will include specific methods, resources and activities to use at home. It will enable you to set appropriate goals, targets and priorities and to track your child’s progress. Parents can request a focus on a certain domain, such as language development. We help you revise and update your curriculum throughout the program. (Note that, in some instances, these written plans have also been helpful for parents seeking funding from education authorities or other parties for their home program).

Two consultations per month, by phone or video conferencing/Skype (4 hours per month). 
Consultations are designed to improve your effectiveness in teaching your child, to supervise your child’s progress in the program, to make changes as necessary, to assist you in resolving areas of concern and to support you in remaining motivated, inspired and effective. These are 50 minute sessions conducted by Skype or phone, according to your preference. We ensure a safe, supportive, professional environment to work confidentially on questions and concerns about your child. One or both parents can participate. You can include program aides, behavior therapists or others working closely with your child in some or all sessions if you wish. 

During the session, you can focus on solving a problem or clarifying some area of concern. If you’ve sent a video, we will provide specific feedback and coaching to increase your understanding and skill.

Each consultation includes:

  • 30 minutes of pre-session preparation, including video review or other research or preparation needed to meet your goals for the consultation.
  • 50 Minute Session on the phone or Skype. (This can include 30 minutes of post-session development of supporting materials.)
  • Each consultation involves 2 hours of our time focused on meeting your needs. 
  • Read more about how the consultations work.

Web Curriculum Tracking

program curriculum for ASD photoIn most circumstances, we will set you up with an internet service for creating and updating custom curriculum. This electronic feature will enable you track your program and generate individual education plan (IEP) Worksheets. This web tracking system can also be used to easily generate reports about your child’s progress toward specific goals and targets.  

While the web curriculum tracking is private and secure, you can share it with us, allowing us to make comments, suggestions and updates that you will receive automatically. You can also choose to share the web curriculum with program aides or others who are working with your child. You will have complete control over sharing rights to your program curriculum.

Program Fee: $3100 for the Initial Six Months of Support and Training
Renewal Fee (for additional six-month increments): $2750.
(The renewal includes curriculum update, but not a full assessment). 

The Distance Program is not recommended for parents who have are just beginning to work with their child and who have no prior training in either an ABA or intensive interaction (Son-Rise or Floortime) methods. In these instances, we strongly recommend beginning with in-person assessment and training. This can be done through our Comprehensive Program in Colorado. In situations where the child’s health or behavior makes travel impossible, we attempt to arrange for services in the home. 

If your primary focus is treatment for severely self-injurious or aggressive behavior, this distance program would not be appropriate as a primary means of therapeutic support. We invite you to contact us to discuss your specific circumstances and whether we can help.

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