THE RUBEN’S PLACE PROGRAM

Ruben’s Place is an NDIS registered, intensive Group-based Early Intervention Therapy Program focusing on the improvement and development of school readiness skills through the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). While attending the group, children work on skills such as increasing functional communication skills, facilitating group participation, improving socialisation skills with adults and peers, participating in group school readiness skills, following classroom routines, enhancing social play skills and cooperating with self-help skills such as toileting and dressing.

RUBEN’S PLACE IS A GROUP THERAPY CENTRE, NOT A PRESCHOOL OR DAYCARE

In addition to supporting the generalisation of skills, our program exposes participants to a group learning setting, to support participants to reduce barriers to learning in these settings. Individualised goals are chosen, in collaboration with participant’s support network (parents and caregivers), to improve upon their current skill set. Following is an overview of the general structure at Ruben’s Place.

INDIVIDUALISED EDUCATION PLAN (IEP)

The clinical team and therapy team meet with the student’s support network to collaborate on the goals identified for the student and develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The IEP is a personalized plan or document that outlines the student’s short-term program goals, aligned with their long-term NDIS goals. It includes the following components:

• Describes the student’s current level of functional skills (identified through formal skill assessment) including their strengths and weaknesses (identified through direct observation and indirect assessments)
• Describes the identified barriers to learning functional skills in a group setting as well as includes input from support network regarding their concerns, priorities, and goals
• Outlines the SMART goals which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound
• Outlines the therapy support or changes in the environment, program, or instruction that are necessary for the student to make progress toward their goals
• Specifies how and when the student’s progress toward their goals will be measured and reported to the student’s support network.

APPLIED BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS THERAPY (ABA)

ABA is a compassionate, person-centric, scientific, and data-driven approach to understanding behaviour of an individual and how it is influenced by the environment. While ABA focuses on various teaching strategies (including discrete trial teaching and natural environmental teaching) designed to increase socially important skills, it also focuses on compassionate and evidence-based approaches to teaching skills in way that is unique and comprehensible by each child.

ABA, as a discipline employs objective data to inform our decision-making. The data collected in each session provides direct measures of performance to determine progress. Programs and behaviour support strategies are designed to work towards goals and objectives, as discussed with the support network as well as external service providers, through a collaborative approach. We collect data and perform integrity checks to ensure therapists are implementing programs as they were designed.

ABA aims to improve socially significant behaviours by using evidence-based teaching techniques such as positive reinforcement, prompting, shaping, and chaining among many others. These techniques have been shown to be effective when working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to teach new adaptive skills, promote independence, reduce behaviours of concern and thereby, improve quality of life. 

JUSTIFICATION FOR ABA GROUP INTERVENTION SERVICES

Developing the ability to learn from others prepares children for a lifetime of healthier interactions in all aspects of life. The ability to learn through observation and engagement in a group teaching setting is an integral part of successful participation in a group setting and the ability to function within society. Remaining in a group, attending to a group leader, taking cues from those around them, following schedules, taking responsibility for personal daily routines, following social norms, communicating with others and demonstrating leisure skills are important components of successful participation in a classroom setting.

For children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders, these foundational learning skills do not come easily. The core, defining characteristics of ASD include functional difficulties in the areas of social interaction and communication, which inhibit the individual’s ability to learn in the same way as their neurotypical peers.

Early intervention strategies often employ intensive 1:1 instruction to support children with ASD in developing the ability to learn. While this intervention can be an important step in the learning process, other strategies should also be taught that generalize the skills learned in 1:1 intervention to group setting.  Student supports begin with 1:2 staffing ratio, with the goal of fading these supports to 1:3 or 1:4 across the year, depending on student progress and ongoing support needs.

The ability to independently participate in an inclusive group learning setting allows the child the opportunity to successfully integrate into a school environment and further in the community and achieve the best possible long-term outcomes. To be able to successfully participate in such a setting, the child requires intensive support now, in their early years. This support will enable the child to acquire the necessary pre-requisite skills needed to learn and participate in typical educational settings, opening the door to many possibilities and a wealth of significant long-term gains.

Lastly, intervention programs based on ABA are consistent with the NDIS Act that recommends “the support will be, or is likely to be, effective and beneficial for the participant, having regard to current good practice”. Ruben’s Place takes a collaborative approach by aligning our student goals with NDIS family goals.

If you have any questions or comments on the content of this report, please feel free to contact our Executive Administrator, Nadia Panetta either by emailing nadia.panetta@woodbury.org.au, or by phone on (02) 9639 6152.