Milestones - Excellence in Child Development Since 1994

Intensive Intervention

Milestones celebrates and respects the four primary learning styles that children have.

Auditory learners learn best when an adult provides instruction by simply talking and giving instructions.
Visual learners learn best through their eyes, using lots of photos, graphics, and drawings (often paired with verbal instruction)
Tactile learners learn best by touching and experiencing new concepts
Kinesthetic learners need to get up and physically move to learn new concepts (“hands on learning”)

For children, learning is not only a matter of presenting material, but presenting it in a way that a child can understand, absorb, and retain. If the teaching method doesn’t match the child’s learning style, the method ineffective. At Milestones we evaluate the child’s learning style and choose methods to maximize educational gain.

Each method used to educate children falls into two different domains, Behavioral-Based (for example ABA, Verbal Behavior) and Child-Centered (for example Floortime, RDI, SCERTS, and sensory play). One method is not better than another, but simply represents different ways to teach the same information tailored to the child’s individual learning style. Our staff are trained in all methodologies to ensure successful treatment.

Child-Centered

All child centered methodologies focus on teaching students through emotional connections. Children are not taught a systematic curriculum, but rather how to connect with people and develop intrinsic desires to relate. Child-centered methods mimic how typical children develop. However, because our children generally do not learn from the environment by imitating peers, therapists "turn up the volume" by using highly animated interactions with children. “Turning up the volume” often breaks through the barriers of communication and interaction, thus permitting learning.

FLOORTIME, created by Stanley Greenspan, focuses on expanding the child's "circles of communication". In this Methodology, the parent’s and therapist’s job is to provide stimulating materials and follow the child's lead. Once the child is engaged, the parent / therapist alters the environment in order to create a desire for the child to interact. For example, if the child is moving his/her trains around in a circle, the parent or therapist might put a block in the way so the child needs to say, "up" or "move" in order to achieve the goal of moving the train in a circle. This would be considered one circle of communication (from child to parent). Once one circle is achieved, further circles can be created until more complex interactions can occur. (www.floortime.org)

RDI, created by Steven Gutstein emphasizes authentic emotional connections. This method is primarily family-based training focusing on flexibility and becoming more aware of surroundings and the nonverbal cues of others. (www.rdiconnect.com)

SCERTS, created by Barry Prizant, addresses social communication, emotional regulation, and symbolic play, systematically moving children through early developmental stages children learn to generalize and increase their interpersonal interactions. (www.scerts.com)

SENSORY PLAY involves understanding how the child processes sensory stimulation from both the environment and internally. Some children can be under or over reactive to stimulation, may misinterpret stimulation, or may have difficulty regulating themselves which can lead to behaviors. Although our Intervention Specialists are not Occupational Therapists, we do use a variety of "best practices" sensory play intermixed with our daily lessons.

Behavior-Based

APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS (ABA) is what all behavior based programs are based upon. ABA is a scientifically based treatment based upon the principles of B.F. Skinner. Skinner discovered that when two event were linked together they began to form an association. (For example, when an infant cries -event A- and his parent feeds him -event B- the child learns to cry when he needs food, effectively linking the two events together and learning that event B reinforces event A, increasing the likelihood that when the child needs food he will cry.)

The principles of ABA can be used for children with disabilities as well. In an educational sense, ABA methods presume that learning can take place based upon a system of reinforcement (i.e., for eye contact one might say, "Look at me" and when the direction is followed through by the child looking, this looking action would be reinforced by verbal praise, a preferred toy, or in some cases food). In essence, the more the child is reinforced for an appropriate response, the more likely the child will be to continue the response.

For educational purposes, all information is funneled through the following formula: antecedent (what comes before an event), behavior (the physical manifestation of an event), and consequence (the result of an event). In the above example, the antecedent might be that the child was hungry. The behavior is the child's response to being hungry (i.e., crying), and the consequence is what the reaction to the behavior was (i.e., parent picks up child and feeds them). *Consequences don't necessarily have to be another person's reaction, but simply what follows the behavior. For example, some children bite themselves to feel pain. In this case, feeling the pain would be the consequence. ABA is a pattern of reinforcement, but does not specify educational goals. What specific goals are worked toward is determined by specific methodologies.

DISCRETE TRIAL TRAINING (DTT) was created by Ivar Lovaas and provides systematic lessons that are organized in a hierarchy. DTT primarily uses tangible rewards such as food or objects for reinforcement. (www.lovaas.com)

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT & BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT are not specific methodologies to teach, but rather systems to decrease or increase typical behavior (such as crying, tantruming, obsession, etc.)

VERBAL BEHAVIOR relies on an intensive teaching setting, fast tempo, and a rapid secession of questions from the adult and later the child. Interspersing easy and hard questions reinforces correct answers and decreases frustration. Unlike DTT, Verbal Behavior does not require a specific number of trials before decreasing prompts. This permits children to move through programs as quickly as possible and allows for a fast paced learning environment and quicker success. By using this method the child is able to be more flexible and less rote because of the variety of topics touched upon.