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Frequently Asked Questions
about The Cyzner Institute
- I’m already taking my
child to an occupational therapist and a speech
therapist once a week. Why should I consider
also enrolling my child in The Cyzner Institute ?
- With all the different treatment
approaches out there, how will you know which
one is best for my child?
- Is your program too intense
for some children?
- How does The Cyzner Institute help parents
follow through with the instructional goals
at home?
- Are your services guaranteed?
How will I know if my child is making progress?
- How much do your services cost
and how do they compare with other educational
services and treatment centers?
- Is financing available?
- How long will my child need
to come to your center?
- How much testing is necessary
before my child can begin the program?
1. I’m
already taking my child to an occupational therapist
and a speech therapist once a week. Why should I
consider also enrolling my child in The Cyzner Institute ?
An essential part of a child’s occupational
or speech/language program is a sufficient amount
of daily practice and guided instruction. We follow
through with the occupational or speech therapist’s
goals and support the parents as they, too, use
the program at home. This coordinated response among
the therapists, parents and us gives the child the
intensity of instruction he or she needs at affordable
prices.
At The Cyzner Institute , children also practice integrating the skills
they learn during their weekly visits to the occupational
or speech/language therapists. For instance, a child’s
teacher at The Cyzner Institute might train the child to look at
her as she gives a direction (social skill), listen
to and understand the two-part direction (receptive
language skill) then catch and toss a ball (gross
motor and bilateral integration skill).
Or, the teacher might train the child to ask, “May
I swing?” (expressive language skill) then
have the child get on the swing and push him or
herself back and forth. This integrated activity
helps the child build upper body strength and endurance
(gross motor skill) and meets his or her sensory-based
need for vestibular input (the need to move or change
head position).
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2. With
all the different treatment approaches out there,
how will you know which one is best for my child?
At The Cyzner Institute , we deliver whatever the child needs. We
determine many of these needs during the enrollment
process. Then we closely monitor his or her daily
performance, observe how well he or she responds
to specific instructional approaches and make adjustments
as needed.
To maximize learning for each child, we often combine
two or more treatment approaches. For instance,
many students progress well when we combine applied
behavioral analysis strategies (ABA) with sensory-based
treatment strategies. When initially teaching a
skill, we often begin with direct instruction, or
teaching straight toward the targeted goal. Once
the child masters the skill in two or more settings,
we gradually shift our instructional approach to
include more experiential learning that is less
direct and intensive, yet promotes skill mastery
and generalization.
Effective instruction only works when the child
has sufficient practice to develop the skill. Therefore,
once we determine the most effective instructional
methods, we develop a daily practice schedule to
ensure that your child gets the intensity of instruction
he or she needs to make good progress. This schedule
includes the practice your child receives with us,
at pre-school and at home with you.
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3.
Is your program too intense for some children?
No. We adjust the intensity to suit the child’s
current ability to respond successfully. During
the initial stages of learning a new skill, a good
lesson is like a good physical workout. The more
correct responses a child produces in a given lesson,
the faster he or she progresses. Therefore, we conduct
our lessons to maximize these correct responses.
To make these “heavy workouts” appealing
to the child, we coach, praise and reinforce the
child frequently.
At the beginning of each child’s intruction,
we determine those foods, activities and toys that
are highly reinforcing for him or her. For instance,
if a child loves music, we put a musical toy in
his or her bucket of reinforcers and allow the child
to play with it for a moment or two before we begin
the next set of practice exercises.
We also schedule brief rest periods between each
lesson. During these breaks, the child might engage
in gross motor activities, such as shooting baskets,
jumping on the trampoline, swinging, or playing
a game with the teacher.
Our teachers develop strong and nurturing relationships
with each child. The child, therefore, becomes more
willing to tolerate the heavy coaching during the
lessons because he or she enjoys the teacher.
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4. How
does The Cyzner Institute help parents follow through with the instructional
goals at home?
As a parent of a child with special needs, you have
an unusual job description. First, you must learn
how to effectively parent your child and, second,
you must learn how to teach him or her skills that
other children often learn on their own. Both of
these jobs require considerable knowledge and skill.
At The Cyzner Institute , we give you the tools you need to do your
job well. First, we offer you a support system so
you don’t feel so isolated. Second, we train
you to be our co-teacher. As a co-teacher, you reinforce
the instructional goals at home. This home reinforcement
is an essential part of the treatment program. It
teaches your child to use the skills he or she learns
with us in different settings and with different
teachers. This leads to true skill mastery.
Our strategy for training parents to be co-teachers
is simple. First, we train you to use specific teaching
techniques during the lessons when the teacher works
with your child. The teacher models the teaching
strategy several times then coaches you as you practice
using them with your child. The teacher also models
how to deal with any noncompliant behavior your
child might engage in.
Once you are comfortable teaching a specific skill
to your child and managing any misbehavior, you
begin teaching the skill at home. You use the same
workbooks the teacher uses. These workbooks are
scripted and contain easy, step-by-step procedures
for you to follow. If you feel you lack the skill
and precision your child’s teacher has, don’t
worry. Your efforts will still have a tremendous
and beneficial impact on your child’s development.
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5.
Are
your services guaranteed? How will I know if my
child is making progress?
We guarantee the delivery of our service. We follow
a written system of accountability that shows you
at any given time the skills we teach your child,
the skills he or she has learned, your child’s
rate of progress and his or her work output.
Our education director and teaching staff regularly
review your child’s developmental growth with
each other, with you and with other professsionals
who may work with your child, such as his or her
pre-school teacher or speech/language therapist.
(Communications with pre-school teachers often include
observing your child in his or her classroom and
training the teacher to help him or her generalize
the skills learned at The Cyzner Institute .)
These frequent communications allow us to determine
if your child’s work with us contributes to
improved functioning and an increase in self-confidence.
They also reveal to us any changes we need to make
in your child’s instructional program.
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6. How
much do your services cost and how do they compare
with other educational services and treatment centers?
Because our services are comprehensive in scope,
our fees and tuitions vary.
The rates are higher when students work one-to-one
with a teacher and lower when they work in a two-to-one
situation or in small groups. While our monthly
tuition is higher than regular pre-schools, we can
offer what they can’t, highly focused and
customized instruction. This leads to greater and
faster progress.
Our hourly rates are one-third to one-half lower
than those of most speech/language or occupational
therapists. While we certainly don’t replace
the need for these therapists, we do follow through
with their treatment programs at affordable prices.
This allows parents and children to maximize the
benefit they receive from speech/language or occupational
therapy.
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7. Is
financing available?
Yes. We have arranged for third-party financing
through SLM Financial, a Sallie Mae company. SLM
Financial makes long-term loans at competitive interest
rates to qualified families. Similar to college
loans, families pay off the loans at relatively
low monthly payments over an extended time. People
interested in applying for a loan may contact our
center director for an application.
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8. How
long will my child need to come to your center?
Some students need only a few months of instruction
to succeed in their regular pre-schools. Others,
who have more significant learning or attentional
difficulties, may need one year or more. Once we
begin teaching your child, we can observe the rate
at which he or she progresses under optimal teaching
conditions. This rate helps predict how much individualized
instruction your child will need and for how long.
To keep you up-to-date, we chart your child’s
progress toward his or her developmental goals and
share these results with you regularly. We also
assess long-term progress by post-testing children
each year.
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9. How
much testing is necessary before my child can begin
the program?
Our purpose for testing incoming children is to
help us determine the exact goals your child should
work toward and the starting points of our training
and instruction. We test only as much as we need
to gather this information.
Therefore, our testing can range from one to two
hours. If you’ve had your child recently tested
with another professional, such as a psychologist
or neurologist, we use the results of that testing
and a light program assessment to build an instructional
program.
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©2003-2004
Manus Academy - The Cyzner Institute All Rights Reserved |
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monday-friday
morning & afternoon sessions
saturday
for special events
instructional opportunities for older students available
at: |
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