JumpStart Families

• Most JumpStart children are newly diagnosed and are about to start early interventions.
• JumpStart families will learn how to motivate their child to learn and how to gain their attention using new parenting sratigies.
• Our goal is that families leave with a plan for how to help their child, and how to advocate for their child in the home, school, and community
• After your JumpStart week, we can go with you to your childs IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting to support your family in transitioning into services offered by the school district. We can also assist you in choosing a classroom setting and ABA company appropriate for your child.

Why JumpStart Learning to Learn?

• Research shows that parents who have been trained to understand their child’s learning, and how to support it by using teachable moments, often achieve the best outcomes.
• The goal of JumpStart is to teach you as well as your child. This is so the lessons learned at jumpstart can be continued after the program and help your child grow.
• JumpStart is committed to the whole family. Grandparents, and other caregivers are all welcome! It takes a village to raise a child with autism.
  

  A JumpStart Week

  • Behavior coaching: We use pivotal response methods as well as advanced ABA methodology rarely used in home ABA programs to increase educational readiness and target learning barriers such as tantrumming, inattention, and perseveration.
  • Communication coaching: Our speech and language pathologists focus on initiating communication, working with non-verbal communication, establishing joint attention, and integrating verbal and non-verbal communication. This includes setting up a communication system that is best for your child in the home.
  • Social skills and play coaching: We use child-initiative as a reinforcer (similar to Floortime therapy) to structure play with the child, family, and peers. Play is how children learn and we teach play as a way to build communication, imagination and social skills.
  • Parent education and treatment planning: Dr. Siegel, whom has worked with children with autism for 40 years and has written several books on autism spectrum disorder, meets with each family for a week-in-review to discuss how to apply what they’ve learned in individualized plans for schools, therapists, and other services. She is also there to answer the question of “what does autism mean for our family”. This can include the planning of future children as well as the effect that raising a child with autism has on parental relationships.

   

Families attend with their children, Monday through Friday for structured sessions induvidualized for each family. Time and spaces for meals and naps are included each day as needed. Follow-up visits in the home, school, and community are common part of our induvidualized approach.

For more information, on funding or appointments contact Kristen Wong at 415-391-3417 or kwong@acnc.org or info@acnc.org.