Bridges Infant Development Program provides an in-home intensive educational and behavioral program to children who are younger than three years of age and are at risk for or have the diagnosis of autism or another related developmental disability. Services are provided on a one on one basis within the child’s home. The early intervention program is modified to meet the needs of each child based on the results of an assessment process.

The following services are provided as part of the Infant Development Program:

1. Individual Assessment: Developmental, Cognitive, and Behavioral assessments using observational and standardized methods are conducted for initial and ongoing assessment.

2. Parent/Caregiver Training: Parent and/or caregiver training are an integral part of the Bridges Early Intervention Program. Caregivers are highly encouraged to participate in their children’s intervention sessions and are required to participate in parent training sessions. All adults who spend a significant amount of time with the consumer will be encouraged to participate in caregiver training. The training each parent receives is customized to each family’s needs based on their child’s disability and behavioral excesses or deficits.

3. Intervention Procedures: Bridges develops a comprehensive program for each child targeting the following skill areas: Language/Communication, Cognitive Development, Pre-Academic Skills, Social and Play Skills, and Adaptive Daily Living Skills. The following intervention procedures/teaching techniques are utilized: Discrete Trial Teaching, Pivotal Response Teaching. Structured Teaching Methodology, Picture Exchange Communication Systems, Activity Schedules.

4. Program Supervision and Evaluation: Each infant program would include the following: a) An individualized program of instruction, b) Remediation procedures, c) Parent/Caregiver participation and systematic training, and d) Data collection procedures for monitoring each child’s progress and the overall performance of the entire infant program. Bridges Infant Development Program provides developmental and behavioral specialists needed to implement the infant program. Bridges also provides supervisors to implement, monitor progress, and revise each child’s intervention plan as necessary on a continuing basis.

Bridges Intensive Behavior Intervention Program provides services to children who are older than age three and have a diagnosis of autism or another related developmental disability. Services are provided on a one on one basis within the child’s home. Because consumers of this program have their educational needs met by the school districts within which they reside, this program emphasizes behavioral deficits and excesses and adaptive daily living skills, rather than pre-academic goals.

The intensive behavior intervention program is modified to meet the needs of each child based on the results of an assessment process. The following services are proposed:

1. Behavioral Assessments: Individual Behavioral Assessments using observational and standardized methods are proposed for initial and ongoing assessment.

2. Parent/Caregiver Training: Parent/Caregiver Training is an integral goal of the intensive behavior intervention program. The following topics are recommended (but not limited to) for parent/caregiver training and education: General Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, Developmental Disabilities (including Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders), Discrete Trial Teaching Techniques, Pivotal Response Teaching Techniques, Speech/Language Development, Social/Play Skills Development, Teaching Independent Living Skills, and Functional Analysis of Problem Behaviors.

3. Intervention Procedures: The following intervention procedures/teaching techniques are utilized depending on the child’s need: Discrete Trial Teaching (to teach self-help, functional communication, and imitation skills) Pivotal Response Teaching (to evoke play skills and language skills); Picture Exchange Communication Systems (to teach functional communication), Social Skills/Play Groups (to teach socialization and play skills), Activity Schedules and Visual Schedules (to teach independence).

4. Program Supervision and Evaluation: Each intensive behavior intervention program includes the following: a) An individualized program of instruction, b) Remediation procedures, c) Parent/Caregiver participation and systematic training, and d) Data collection procedures for monitoring each child’s progress and the overall performance of the entire program. Bridges Intensive Behavior Intervention Program will provide behavioral tutors needed to implement the intensive program. Bridges also provides supervisors to implement, monitor progress, and revise each child’s intervention plan as necessary on a continuing basis.

Education Consulting: Bridges Education Consultants assist families with developmentally disabled children who are eligible for San Diego Regional Center services with the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) process. Consultants observe the child’s educational program, review and evaluate programs of instruction, and make recommendations for appropriate services. In attendance at the IEP meetings, consultants make suggestions and recommendations for appropriate goals and objectives, levels of designated instruction and services (DIS), classroom placement, and will mediate between families and school districts to obtain agreement about free and appropriate public education. Bridges Education Consultants are experienced with working with all local school districts and are knowledgeable about IDEA, IEP parent procedural safeguards, and individual services and placement options offered by school districts.

Bridges Educational Corporation provides behavior modification services to parents and children with qualifying behavioral deficits or excesses. Caregiver training is provided in the home or other relevant natural environment.

An initial assessment is conducted upon intake into the caregiver training service program. Caregivers are asked to collect data as part of the functional assessment of behavior. The behavior specialist will conduct a functional assessment and develop a behavior intervention plan to be taught and implemented by the caregiver with the specialists’ modeling, guidance, and feedback.

A series of meetings are conducted between the behavioral specialist and the caregiver of the consumer to address the target behavior(s).

Consultation services are designed to help families implement intervention programs for their child. In this model, families hire their own instructors. A Bridges consultant travels to the home for initial and follow-up consultation services.

Consultation services include assessment, individualized program design, behavioral training, data collection, and functional assessment training for challenging behaviors. The consultant will work directly with your child and will train the family and instructors how to implement specific teaching strategies.

Initial consultations are 2-3 days and follow-up consultation services are typically 1-2 days and occur every 4-12 weeks. The bridges consultant will give recommendations regarding length and frequency of consultation visits depending on the needs of your child. Other services may be provided between consultation visits to help you monitor the intervention program. These services include video reviews, phone consultations, and email correspondence.

Please contact our Executive Director of Intervention Services, Kimberly Schmittou Berman, M.S.W., BCBA, for additional information at (619) 840-9993.

Bridges Educational Corporation provides several services designed to meet the needs of students with developmental disabilities being served by local school districts.

The following services are designed to meet the specific areas of need:

1. Behavior Intervention including Development and Modification (BID)/Behavior Bridges staff is able to complete functional assessments of maladaptive behavior and design and implement behavior intervention and behavior modification plans. Staff has completed training and receives ongoing training in the use of behavior analysis procedures used to increase adaptive behaviors, including token economy systems, extinction, differential reinforcement, time out from reinforcement, overcorrection, response cost, planned ignoring, contingent observation, and contingency contracts.

2. Direct Service: Bridges staff is able to provide direct instruction of children in a 1:1 setting or in small groups using teaching techniques developed for children with developmental disabilities, including Discrete Trial Teaching, Pivotal Response Teaching; Structured Teaching Methods, Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS), Social Skills Facilitation and Play Groups, and Incidental Teaching techniques.

3. Supervision: Bridges staff is able to provide programming and instructional supervision of school district employees who are providing direct instruction using the techniques listed above. Supervision can be provided to school district staff working in both the 1:1 and small group settings.

4. Staff Training: Bridges staff is able to provide training and in-services to classroom teachers and instructional aides on use and implementation of programs using the teaching techniques listed above. Bridges is also able to provide in-services and seminars in other areas related to developmental disabilities, including General Principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, Developmental Disabilities (including Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders), Typical Child Development, Speech/Language Development, Social/Play Skills Development, Teaching Independent Living Skills, Functional Analysis of Problem Behaviors, Visual Schedules, Activity Schedules, Best Practices for Implementation and Monitoring of Programs of Instruction for Children with Developmental Disabilities, the IEP Process, and Writing and Implementing IEP Goals. Other in-services and training seminars can be developed based on the needs of each school district or classroom.

5. Classroom Management: Bridges staff is able to provide ongoing support and consultation to classroom teachers and staff for classroom management purposes. Specifically, Bridges will provide on-site support and guidance of implementation and monitoring of programs of instruction, specific teaching methodologies, review of progress on IEP goals, and direct modeling and feedback on implementation of instruction as needed.

6. In-Home Programming and Caregiver Training: Bridges is able to provide in-home Applied Behavior Analysis programs of instruction as well as caregiver training using a developed curriculum. Bridges will also provide supervision of in-home programs being provided to children in their homes by school district employees.

With each of these services being offered, Bridges Educational Corporation is committed to providing optimal services to the children, families, and school district staff. Bridges is dedicated to working as a team with school district employees through ongoing communication, cooperation, and sharing of ideas.

Privately Funded Contract: Most of the above services may also be provided through private funds.