Consultation and Training Services
Age range of individuals served: Primarily 3-21, but
will consult with adults
Type of Setting(s): Schools; Residential Programs, Family
Homes, Physicians/ HealthCare, Professional Offices
Geographic Location(s): Primarily New Jersey, Pennsylvania
and Delaware area (special arrangements can be made for other locations)
Bancroft offers customized consultations for school districts, families, and other provider agencies and organizations. Staff members evaluate the needs of both school districts and individual students, and design consultation programs to meet their specific needs. Services may include establishing a classroom for children with autism, developing programs for individual students, and training staff in evaluation, teaching and treatment techniques.
An interdisciplinary group of professionals is experienced in assessing and treating severe problem behaviors in a wide range of settings. Translating the sometimes jargon -rich terminology of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to the practical issues faced in today's classrooms and homes has been a goal of the consultants working with a variety of professionals. In the school setting, Bancroft assists the school district to better provide a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment in accordance with federal law (IDEA).
The clinical staff is composed of board certified behavior analysts, certified teachers, school psychologists, and certified brain injury specialists. The diversified backgrounds of the consultants have resulted in a service delivery model that is unmatched in the field.
The staff in Bancroft's Consultation and Training Services have extensive backgrounds in working in the home and residential settings. Extending the wealth of research-based best practices in the field of ABA to the home setting for problem behavior reduction and skill acquisition has allowed the consultants to improve the quality of home life of numerous families. A typical consultation involves interviewing the parents/guardians, observing the individual and collecting data in the areas where the problem behaviors may be occurring. In addition, they conduct more elaborate evaluation procedures if needed, such as a brief functional analysis, generating a report with recommendations, and training the family in the recommended techniques. Each family and consultation is unique and, therefore, requires individualized procedures and recommendations. Examples of types of consultations include assisting in developing a home-schooling program for a middle school-aged student who engages in problem behaviors, coaching parents through temper tantrums, and working with the school team to reduce a teenager's absenteeism.
Outcomes
Bancroft Consultation and Training Services has experienced a great deal
of success since its inception. Through collaboration with school personnel,
professional staff and families, Bancroft NeuroHealth consultants have successfully
transitioned numerous students from out-of-district placements to their
home schools and/ or intervened prior to students being placed out of district.
The result has been that many children now receive education in the least
restrictive environment, and at reduced cost to the children's school districts.