Consultation and Training Services
Training and Workshops
To provide quality services to people with developmental disabilities, brain
injuries and other medical and neurological challenges, professionals must
stay abreast of the most recent studies, trends and treatment methods. Bancroft
provides training and workshops designed to educate professionals and families
on the most effective treatments for individuals with disabilities.
For additional information on consultative services, seminars and workshops offered through the Institute, please contact Stephen Bruce at (856) 429-5637, ext. 347.
Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders
For special education teachers, instructional aides, student support staff,
administrators and parents.
Discrete Trial Instruction
For special education teachers, instructional aides, student support staff,
and parents.
Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities
For special education teachers, instructional aides, student support staff,
and administrators.
Functional Behavior Assessment
For special educator teachers, instructional aides, student support staff,
and administrators.
Applied Behavior Analysis: How Do I Get Started?
For special education teachers, student support staff, administrators and
parents.
Applied Behavior Analysis: Taking it to the Streets
For special education teachers, student support staff, and administrators.
Functions of Behavior
For special education teachers, student support staff, and administrators.
Antecedent Interventions: Managing Behaviors
BEFORE they Happen
For special education teachers, student support staff, and administrators.
Reinforcement
For special education teachers, student support staff, and administrators.
Classroom Behavior Management Strategies
For special education and regular education teachers, student support staff,
and administrators.
Crisis Prevention
For special education and regular education teachers, student support staff,
and administrators.
Translating Assessment into Practice
For special education teachers, student support staff, and administrators.
Providing Constructive Feedback
For special education and regular education teachers, student support staff,
and administrators.
Performance Management: Creating and Maintaining
a Happy and Productive Staff
For special education and regular education teachers, student support staff,
and administrators.
Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorders
Today, more children are diagnosed with autism and related pervasive developmental
disorders (PDD) than ever before. This workshop provides an overview of
the diagnostic criteria, history and characteristics of these disorders.
Participants will become familiar with the behavioral characteristics of
children who are affected by these disorders. Participants will also learn
about effective environmental interventions to assist with programming in
both the educational and home settings.
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Discrete Trial Instruction
Research suggests that individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities
can experience difficulty acquiring academic, social, language and daily
living skills. The discrete trial is the primary teaching method for a number
of the behaviorally-based interventions used in teaching children with developmental
disabilities. A discrete trial is a single cycle of a behaviorally based
instruction routine. A particular trial may be repeated several times in
succession, several times a day, over several days (or even longer) until
the skill is mastered. The specific methodology of discrete trial instruction
will be discussed during this presentation, along with opportunities to
apply the material to specific student examples.
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Vocational Education for Students with Disabilities
Developing vocational training and placement opportunities for students
with autism and other developmental disabilities is a much-needed and emerging
area of disability education. This presentation will review the design,
implementation and outcomes of a successful vocational program for students
with disabilities. Also covered in this session will be collaboration with
private industry and the use of computer technology to enhance the transition
to work sites.
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Functional Behavior Assessment
Interventions are only as good as the assessment they are based upon. In
fact, some interventions may actually worsen the situation. Fortunately,
a number of easy-to-use assessment techniques are readily available. Functional
behavior assessment is the first step to a happier, better-adjusted client
and a more empowered staff member. This workshop will teach staff how to:
1. Administer and interpret several popular checklists and interviews
2. Conduct and interpret the results of a brief functional analysis
3. Collect ABC Data (e.g. antecedent - behavior - consequence)
4. Identify preferences and reinforcers for their clients
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Applied Behavior Analysis: How Do I Get Started?
Applied behavior analysis has been enormously successful across an array
of settings, yet many people are unfamiliar with the principles underlying
the discipline even though they may often use them in their everyday lives.
This workshop will teach staff how to:
1. Collect information on a variety of behaviors and then to place that
information on a graph
2. Measure the rate of behaviors both before and after an intervention is
developed to determine if the intervention really is effective
3. Assess and intervene on multiple behaviors across multiple settings or
individuals
Some familiarity with Microsoft Excel™ or other commercially available
software would be helpful, but not required.
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Applied Behavior Analysis: Taking it to the Streets
Topics critical to the effective and compassionate care of individuals will
be discussed. Issues addressed in the "Applied Behavior Analysis: How
Do I Get Started?" workshop will be elaborated upon. This workshop
will teach staff how to:
1. Implement positive and negative reinforcement-based treatments
2. Distinguish between negative reinforcement and punishment techniques
3. Effectively implement extinction in conjunction with other interventions
4. Focus on the individual client to provide the most effective, powerful
and ethical interventions for a range of difficult behaviors.
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Functions of Behavior
The key to successful treatment of problem behavior is a functional behavior
assessment. By identifying the environmental factors that are influencing
behavior, an effective plan to address problem behavior can be developed.
This presentation will discuss the environmental factors that influence
behavior as well as various assessment tools that can be used to identify
and isolate these factors. The participants will become familiar with the
functions of behavior as well as data collection methods that can be used
in the classroom to examine these functions.
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Antecedent Interventions: Managing Behaviors BEFORE
They Happen
Behaviors are preventable. Too often we address difficult behavior after
the behavior has already occurred (i.e., a child is required to clean up
the mess after having a tantrum). This workshop will teach staff how to:
1. Decrease the likelihood of difficult behaviors
2. Enhance the educational/therapeutic milieu for these individuals
3. Enhance choice-making and personal control for individuals served
4. Remove impediments to positive behaviors in the individuals surroundings
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Reinforcement
Reinforcement is an essential principle for changing behavior, as it can
be used to increase adaptive behavior as well as reduce problem behavior.
The manner in which reinforcement can be utilized, and the behaviors it
can change, are numerous. The purpose of this presentation is to develop
an understanding of the basic principles of reinforcement, including methods
for identifying personal reinforcers. Once reinforcers are identified, they
can be incorporated into interventions to successfully increase adaptive
behavior and/or decrease problem behavior. The participants will become
familiar with various ways to implement these interventions across a variety
of situations.
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Classroom Behavior Management Strategies
A chaotic classroom can be frustrating for teachers and staff, as well as
students. Classroom Management Plans are used to increase adaptive behavior
while decreasing problem behavior that may necessitate the use of an individual
behavior plan. Reinforcement of appropriate behavior will increase the likelihood
that those behaviors will occur again. This presentation will introduce
positive techniques that can be implemented for an entire classroom to improve
learning and on-task behavior while decreasing problem behaviors.
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Crisis Prevention
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Crisis situations will
occur in your classrooms from time to time, however there are ways to prevent
these types of situations. This training will help classroom staff identify
potential problems, de-escalate arising crisis situations, and evaluate
how you affect the situation.
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Translating Assessment into Practice
Psychological evaluations are often included as a component of child study
team evaluations, or can be stand-alone assessments conducted for children
with learning difficulties, behavioral, psychiatric, emotional, developmental
or acquired brain disorders or injuries. Unfortunately, they are often also
not easily interpreted in terms of how they might be best utilized by educators
and parents. This presentation will review the key elements of psychological
assessment procedures, reports, and terminology with an emphasis on practical
implementation of results and recommendations. The presentation will provide
information about both when and how to make referrals for psychological
assessments, and how to incorporate evaluation data into educational plans
and accommodations.
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Providing Constructive Feedback
Teachers struggle with one of the most important, yet trickiest and most
difficult management tasks: providing constructive and useful feedback to
others. Performance feedback is an essential element for everyone in a classroom.
This training will focus on letting people know how they are performing
and where to go next in terms of expectations and goals — yours, their
own, and the school's.
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Performance Management: Creating and Maintaining
a Happy and Productive Staff
Now more than ever, it is vital to employ staff who perform their jobs with
a high degree of skill while simultaneously maximizing their job satisfaction.
Fortunately, the tools of applied behavior analysis extend to employees
and managers as well as clients. This workshop will teach managers and staff
how to:
1. Use positive reinforcement and feedback to make the workplace a happier,
more productive environment.
2. Maximize staff involvement in developing strategies to allow individuals
to work more productively and independently.
3. Implement a balanced scorecard approach across the organization.
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