Hands-On Family Empowerment Courses supplement therapy and are offered year-round in: More Than Words, DIRFloortime®, Sensory Processing, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
These Hands-On Family Empowerment Courses are for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and foster parents and caregivers of children with an autism diagnosis up to eight years of age. Each session is uniquely and specifically designed to meet the needs of the child and family. Because courses are one-on-one and involve hands-on learning, all Hands-On Family Empowerment Courses are be held at Autism Community Network.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Hands-On Family Empowerment Course
Caregivers of children with autism enrolled in an ABA therapy program now have the opportunity to learn ABA techniques they can apply at home. This course is also offered in Spanish.
Families enrolled in the course will be empowered with the tools and strategies to:
- Decrease challenging behaviors in their child, and
- Increase inappropriate behaviors in their child.
Time: The individual training sessions will be 1 hour per week for 8 weeks during ACN office hours on Monday through Friday.
Trainer: One of ACN’s certified behavior analysts (BCBA-D/BCBA/BCaBA) will work with you and your child.
Pre-Training Session:
One additional group session without the child at ACN. This group session is free.
Cost: Session price is calculated on a sliding fee scale based on family income.
$40 (full price) to $10 (families on Medicaid).
Call Adriana at (210) 435-1000 for more information.
DIRFloortime® Hands-On Family Empowerment Course
DIRFloortime® is both a developmental paradigm and a therapeutic technique developed by Child Psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan. The DIRFloortime® Model is founded upon the understanding that development occurs within the context of the caregiver-child relationship. It focuses upon the individual ways that children experience the world around them and upon their capacities to self-regulate, to share attention, to be reciprocal and to explore and learn.
Parents and Caregivers in the DIRFloortime® Hands-On Family Empowerment Course will learn:
- How to take an active role in helping their child relate and communicate with others,
- How to support the development of sensory integration and social-emotional connectedness within the brain,
- To identify the unique challenges and strengths of their child as it relates to the ability to process sensory information and to learn,
- How to fortify their relationship with their child, and
- Facilitate their child’s intention and engagement to build the foundation for maximal emotional, sensory, motor, language and cognitive development.
When: The first 3-hour caregiver training will be in a group format. Subsequent classes will be held individually on a weekly basis.
Therapist: Carrie Alvarado, OTR, Ph.D.(c), DIRFloortime® Expert Provider and Training Leader
Cost: 3-hour group training is free. If you are unable to attend the 3-hours group training, an individual training will be on a sliding scale fee (see below). Individual follow up sessions will be on a sliding fee scale based on family income—$40 (full price) to $10 (families on Medicaid).
Email Carrie at carrie@acn-sa.org or call (210) 435-1000 for more information.
More Than Words Hands-On Family Empowerment Course
More Than Words® provides parents and caregivers of young children with autism or social communication difficulties with practical tools to help their children communicate. This unique program was developed by expert speech-language pathologists at The Hanen Centre and is offered around the world by Hanen Certified Speech-Language Pathologists. Visit hanen.org for more information.
Parents and Caregivers in the More Than Words® Hands-On Family Empowerment Course will learn:
- Practical and powerful strategies to help your child communicate and interact during everyday routines and activities,
- Your child’s communication level and how to improve communication,
- What motivates your child to communicate,
- How to talk so that your child can understand you,
- How to develop your child’s play skills and help them learn to make friends, and
- Why your child behaves in certain ways and what you can do to change it.
Time: The hands-on parenting course will take place over 12 weeks. Weekly classes will be held in group-format, with individual recorded sessions taking place in the home every fourth week.
Therapist: Marie A. Wilson, MS, CCC-SLP, Hanen-Certified in More Than Words®
Cost: Individual and group sessions will be on a sliding-scale fee based on family income—$40 (full price) to $10 (families on Medicaid)
Email Toni Wilsom at toni@acn-sa.org or call (210) 435-1000 for more information.
Sensory Processing Hands-On Family Empowerment Course
Sensory Integration is the process of taking in sensory information from our environment and using it in a functional manner. When our sensory systems do not process this information appropriately we may see problems in other areas. This course helps family caregivers develop better sensory integration for the child.
Families enrolled in this Hands-On Family Empowerment Course will be empowered with the tools and strategies to:
- Familiarize themselves with sensory processing disorder,
- Identify strengths and areas of need in child's sensory system,
- Identify and decrease sensory-based meltdowns and behaviors,
- Prepare their child for daily routines, and
- Develop an individualized sensory plan to meet the needs of the child.
When: The first 3-hour Hands-On Parenting Courses will be in a group format. Subsequent classes will done individually on a weekly basis.
Therapist: Adrienne Gaither, OTR, C-SIPT
Cost: 3-hour group training is free.
If you are unable to attend the 3-hours group training, an individual training will be on a sliding scale fee (see below). Individual follow up sessions will be on a sliding fee scale based on family income—$40 (full price) to $10 (families on Medicaid).
Email Adrienne at adrienne@acn-sa.org or call (210) 435-1000 for more information.
NOTE: Your child will not be counted absent from school with a valid note provided after each session.
