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About Us

Your Child Is in Great Hands

Who We Are

The Ascent School consists of a group of extremely dedicated staff specifically trained in teaching individuals with autism using Applied Behavior Analysis. Each staff member agrees with and supports the use of evidence-based treatment and the difference it can make in the life of children with autism. All targeted goals and objectives are developed specifically for each individual learner with no two students having identical curriculum. Each student learns in a different way, and we specialize in discovering that way and teaching directly to different styles of learning. We not only teach our students the necessary academics but we also teach effective communication, daily living skills, vocational development, and community awareness. We are dedicated to helping our learners develop into productive and independent citizens.

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Parent Caregiver Participation

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.  

Our Goals

The primary goals of Ascent are to prepare children with autism for enrollment in public school classrooms, for vocations that will enable them to become productive members of society, and ultimately to help them acquire the skills necessary to lead independent lives. Ascent is a model education program providing appropriate levels of supervision and expertise in a research-based, applied behavior analytic forum. With appropriate educational technology, and a highly dedicated team of professional supervisors and teaching staff, Ascent is able to make dramatic strides in the lives of children with autism. 

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Program Description

Ascent is chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.  Ascent's Educational Program is far reaching and provides broad curriculum writing and teaching tools for educators of the future. Ascent (independently evaluated and named as a model program) plays an integral role in writing curriculum for New York State's only Masters in Autism Education program-(one of four in the nation). Ascent provides direct support to children and families living with autism while investing in the professional development of our educational system. Ascent's program is currently being applied in: Teaching university level courses for educators of our future; providing internships for graduate level students; creating model classrooms; training school district personnel; and writing textbooks and curriculum for the New York State Education Department. Ascent also helps to lead mentor programs to promote social consciousness in all youth. 

Ascent provides individualized behavioral, pre-academic and academic programs best suited to the unique characteristics of autism. All teaching strategies are based on the scientifically-derived principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Intensive one-to-one sessions alternate with small group sessions that teach children to relate to classmates and to participate cooperatively in-group activities. Instruction emphasizes language development, social interaction and multiple functional skill areas. Each child’s schedule of learning activities is designed to meet his or her unique needs. All instruction and treatment activities are data-based, providing instructors and parents with objective feedback and ongoing evaluation of the effects of intervention.

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