Day School FAQ
Our Day School at TRC utilizes a number of research-based curriculum options to meet the unique and diverse needs of our students. No two students learn the exact same way or on the exact same place in their journey. All academic program and objectives are individualized to each student to meet his or her needs, as well as Alabama state standards. Give us a call to learn more!
Our Day School comprises grades K-12, serving students 6-21 years of age.
For students needing ABA therapy in addition to school services, we do have a couple of options. If students require 10 or fewer hours of ABA, we can often provide this after school hours in our Launch Outpatient Clinic. For students requiring more ABA hours, we can usually offer a medically necessary modified school day. Call our Day School Administration for more info!
Yes, as part of our intake paperwork and record review, we ask that you submit Diagnostic Reporting indicating an ASD diagnosis. If you are seeking a diagnosis or are unsure if your child’s is eligible based on testing results, please contact our front office at 256-882-2457.
Absolutely not! Although this is a major goal for all students that enroll in our school, it is a goal we are here to help you reach. Our staff are well-trained in this area, and are BCBAs can help develop schedules and contingency plans to promote toileting success and independence for you child at school, at home, and in the community.
We generally follow the Huntsville City Schools calendar, making adjustments as needed. A copy of our current school year’s calendar can be found here on our website.
Our hope is for every student to participate in the least restrictive environment that is for successful for him or her. We strive to help students reach grade level performance during their time at TRC. As students gain independence and confidence in themselves and their abilities and reach grade level competency, we will work with your family to determine the best educational placement for your child through careful transition planning. We have excellent working relationships with local public and private schools in the area, putting your child at the center of the decision making process!
Outpatient FAQ
We are currently only network providers for TRICARE. We are working on being credentialed with other companies and will continue to give updates on that process.
In ABA therapy your child will work in a 1:1 setting with an RBT (registered behavior technician). All goals and objectives for your child’s therapy sessions will be based on their individualized needs and learning will occur at their pace.
We focus on treating the skill deficits and behavioral challenges specific to each child. They will learn functional communication skills, social skills, eye contact, letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc. just as they would in school, but in a teaching technique that works best for them.
The national standards for best practice for children with Autism recommend 20-40 hours per week. Our BOOST clinic is designed for children Birth-5 and those children are recommended to receive 20-40 hours per week. As the children transition into the day school or into our LAUNCH ABA clinic, the recommendation for less hours will be made based on progress.
All of our applicants are put through a voluntary 40-50 hour RBT training (including quizzes, lectures, and hands-on trainings and evaluations) before even being offered a position as an RBT. After being offered a position, the staff must pass the RBT exam at a local testing center. Ongoing training and supervision is provided by program directors and BCBAs on a daily basis due the small group nature of our clinics.
We have 2 different ABA clinics. BOOST is birth-5 and LAUNCH is 6-21.
– The BOOST program focuses on providing ABA therapy during the early intervention period of the child’s life. We want to focus on intensive therapy to prepare them for school once they must transition into school. While our ABA clinic is not a school, it is often the primary placement for our birth-5 group.
– The LAUNCH clinic focuses on providing additional ABA services to those enrolled in our day school, outside schools, or homeschools. The goal of the LAUNCH clinic is to help children and young adults maintain skills, generalize skills, and continue to learn executive functioning, daily living, and social skills on an individualized level, as well as continue to work on teaching replacement behaviors for any maladaptive behaviors.
The Riley Center is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, meaning that all of our private pay families come in at a financial assistance rate. Please talk with program directors for specific cost information for your family.
The first step is to schedule an intake. The intake assessment will allow the child or young adult to be assessed by the assigned BCBA and program director to ensure recommendations, goals, and objectives for the child prior to having them start in our program. The intake assessment is not diagnostic. If you are seeking an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis, please speak with the program directors on recommendations for diagnostic referrals.
-Each month you will meet with your assigned BCBA and go over your child’s progress, as well as have a training topic to show you more specifically how to generalize the skills and behavior plans to the home setting.
THRIVE Program
Yes, as part of our intake paperwork and record review, we ask that you submit Diagnostic Reporting indicating an ASD diagnosis. If you are seeking a diagnosis or are unsure if your child’s is eligible based on testing results, please contact our front office at 256-882-2457.
Unfortunately, at this time, most insurance coverage applies to ABA outpatient services only, which does not cover vocational training. However, we are currently looking into other funding and accreditation options that may change this in the future. Contact our insurance department for any billing questions.
CBT is the naturalistic teaching of skills in the community settings in which they are most likely to take place. For example, teaching shopping skills in a local market or department store, leisure skills in a park, navigation skills downtown, social skills at a group gathering, vocational skills in a place of business, cooking in a kitchen, or ordering and meal time behaviors in a local restaurant. These are only a few examples to illustrate learning beyond our “four walls.” Research consistently shows that skills are most likely to be maintained and generalized when taught in the environment and with the people and materials they will most often occur, so CBT is crucial to overall independence for our participants. Want to know more, just give our young adult program a call!
CBT can take place in ANY community environment- office, mall, library, theater, busy street, or quiet park… literally ANYWHERE. The purpose is to generalize skills across people, settings, time, and materials so one can be successful across the many environments that make-up an individual’s world.
Caregivers are responsible for transportation to and from The Riley Center; however, all transportation during program hours for CBT and other outings will be provided by center vehicle(s).
Services are currently provided Monday-Friday from 8 am – 3 pm.
THRIVE operates at a 3:1 student to teacher ratio. Smaller ratios may be recommended and provided depending upon safety concerns or the need for more intensive instruction.
It is our goal to help all individuals and families affected by autism in our community. However, The Riley Center is a non-restraint facility, and we are not the best fit for every individual. Our intake process is structured to ensure we provide the best recommendations for each individual and family, whether or not we are the best choice in provider. We encourage every interested family to reach out… behavior is what we are all about, the good and the “bad.” We can provide additional supports, intensive training, and behavior planning to ensure each participant can and is successful in the community!
The THRIVE program draws from a variety of research-proven resources to ensure the most effective teaching strategies and materials are used for each participant, but our program is founded on the Syracuse Community-References Curriculum Guide.
We use multiple assessments tools to identify strengths, weaknesses, needs, and preferences across academic, adaptive, social, behavioral, communication, and vocational skill sets. In addition to formal assessments, we also utilize a variety of informal assessments and observation methods to drive goal selection.
All programs and goals, type and amount, are completely individualized for each participant. Goals are selected based on assessment results, need, parent preference, and participant input as well. Primary focus is placed on those goals that will produce the greatest change for the individual- promoting an independent and enriched life!
Not sure where to turn? Give us a call, and we will be happy to suggest other community resources that might be the perfect fit for your need!
We do offer families an Informational Meeting at no cost to learn more about our programs and to tour the facility. Please contact our office for more information and to be directed to your program of interest.
We accept checks, money orders or cash. Unfortunately, at this time, we do not accept credit or debit card payments due to the high fees charged by both the card companies and the bank.
Early Education Program FAQ
Several exciting characteristics, actually! First, our Early Ed program is graciously housed in Asbury United Methodist Church, in their Weekday program. This amazing partnership allows our students to learn and practice group and classroom skills safely and comfortably within a self-contained classroom, and then practice and generalize these skills with neuro-typical peers in other classes, on the playground, and at meal times. At Asbury, our Early Ed students also have the opportunity to work and play side-by-side with typically developing peers in exciting activities such as art, music, Spanish, story time, and on field trips.