MISSION STATEMENT

A commitment to bring motivated professionals, fresh ideas and research based treatment to a population of students with a growing voice…

The Academy for Advancement of Children with Autism is a non-public school which is committed to helping children reach their highest potential. It is our goal to assist students to increase academic focus and build upon strengths while minimizing challenges. We at AACA understand that research in the area of Autism Spectrum Disorders is ongoing and hope that we will have answers soon. However; while we wait for those answers, as parents and educators our primary focus must be on what can be done now to assist this rapidly increasing population of students to achieve academic and social success. Education, treatment and remediation at The Academy is not relegated to a single approach or recipe, but rather one that is fluid and tailor made for each individual student. In the end, it is each student achieving his or her best potentiality that is most important.

AACA has a systemic approach to education and treatment. We believe that in order for a person to achieve their highest level of functioning that we need to acknowledge the fact that they come from a family, attend a school, and live in a community. If we do not educate and support the various systems so that they can be proactive in the accommodation of each and every child then we do not set the child up for achieving complete success.
 

AACA provides an academic solution for children facing developmental challenges, which incorporates individualized treatment programs geared toward the advancement of each child. We realize that no two children sharing the same diagnosis will respond equally to the same exact educational program, course of treatment or approach to remediation. Additionally, we are aware that transition is extremely difficult for most children facing these types of challenges. Therefore, we have determined that it is necessary for the best results to make available different types of treatment options so that each child’s specific needs can be addressed.

The treatment modalities offered at AACA are the most cutting edge, research based treatments available to date. These treatment modalities include Applied Behavior Analysis, DIR/Floortime Therapy, Adaptive Physical Education, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Skills, Functional Life Skills, Community Based Instruction, Career Guidance, Work Experience, and Physical Therapy.
 

Our Staff at AACA are all licensed, credentialed, or appropriately trained in their areas of specialization. Each staff member shares the AACA philosophy and vision. They work hard to remain in collaboration with each student’s family/caregiver, school (in the case of clinic based services), and community organizations. The staff is especially conscientious in maintaining an open line of communication with all of the therapists and treatment providers for each student.

OUR PROMISE
 

It is our promise to our students to do all in our power to find the most personally relevant way (to the student, of course!) in which to deliver an education truly designed to meet each student’s individual needs. To that end, we are committed to remaining in flux, changing with the times; subscribing to the latest research and stepping outside the boundaries of traditional ways of teaching in an effort to reach each child. Being entrusted with a Parent’s most precious commodity, their child is a gift we take seriously. We are committed to greeting each student, every day, with a spirit of positivity, and an unwavering belief that there is no limit to what each student can accomplish given the right set of tools. It is our desire that each Academy student become academically and socially successful. These students are our future and they have vast untapped talent, skills, and gifts to offer the world! We are always mindful that the true gift is in the journey; not necessarily the destination.
 

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OUR PHILOSOPHY

The collective mind of the Academy board of directors, agree that the most important thing for each student enrolled at one of our schools is that they feel a sense of community and belonging; which will ultimately translate into a feeling of peace and well being while on campus. So many of our children are experience profound challenges in the areas of sensory input/output, social skills, transition, vocal ability, level of general function, and often have behavioral issues within their immediate family. When they first come to the Academy as a student, many present with significant behaviors as a result of years of having to cope in sometimes socially unacceptable ways; with their specific challenge. Once they get a sense of what type of people our staff are, their level of compassion combined with experience; the student almost automatically begins to relax a bit without any formal intervention at all.
 

We believe that this comes from an immediately perceived understanding on the part of the student that our staff “gets” them. We understand that once the level of frustration is reduced, we can begin to give our students more appropriate and meaningful ways to communicate their wants, needs and desires. This in turn will make their ability to focus, and attend to learning infinitely more successful. We believe that any child is capable of learning and growing. We understand that an inability to function well in any or all of these areas will ultimately result in poor academics as well as poor social skills. That having been said, our staff utilizes their behavioral skills to impart a sense of positivity and a can-do attitude. Our school program is not punitive. Our programs are set up so that students can earn various re-enforcers. We want to catch them being good rather than setting them up for daily failure, which in turn leads to diminished self-esteem. We honestly believe that within each of our students lies a fountain of untapped potential, which if harvested in the right way, will be the building blocks for their future lives. We believe that all of our students are on a journey to self-actualize to their absolutely highest potential and we at The Academy wish to do all in our power to facilitate them reaching those goals.