• Autism Certification Course
• Disorders
• General Treatment Interventions
• Child-Centered & Behavioral Treatment Methods

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Autism Certification Course   The Autism Certification course is an intensive (120 hour) course which provides a rigorous training on the Autism Spectrum Disorders and therapies provided to children. This is the only certification course that provides hands-on training that encompasses:

• Overview of the Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Executive functioning
• Sensory Processing
• Theory of Mind
• Both behavioral and child-centered interventions
  (such as ABA, Verbal Behavior, and Floortime therapies)
• Language interventions
• Sensory interventions
• Social interventions

MILESTONES, Inc. is proud to offer our Autism Spectrum Disorders Certification course.  This course is designed to provide an intensive training program where participants will understand the symptoms of the Autism Spectrum, the reason behind the symptoms, and useful interventions for an array of issues.  Participants will learn via presentations, group discussion, and hands-on modeling with real children!  When participants graduate from the course, they will be able to pick interventions which are useful to children and be able to apply those interventions to real life scenarios. 

Course instruction is provided by various leaders in the field from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from Ph.D.s to Board Certified Behavior Analysts.  In our unique course, participants will not only learn, but will also get to apply their skills with real children in real settings.  In this way, their knowledge is not only book based; participants gain experience in real life situations.  This course is perfect for parents who want to learn better ways to work with their children, educators who want to learn more about the Autism Spectrum Disorders (including Early Intervention Staff), people who want to break into this field, and for paraprofessionals who will be guiding children on the Autism Spectrum. 

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Disorders:

• Introduction to (pick one or a combination): General Information about the disorders listed below, how the symptoms impact children both medically, psychologically, and educationally, and treatments  recommendations. 
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism, PDD, and Asperger’s)
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
  • Anxiety Disorders / Panic Disorders
  • Sensory Integration Central Auditory Processing Disorders
  • Oppositional Defiant Disorder
  • Nonverbal Learning Disabilities
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
  • Tourette's Syndrome
  • Semantic Pragmatic Disorder
  • Sensory Integration Dysfunction
    
    
• Early Warning Signs of Developmental or Psychiatric Disorders: Understand how to detect children at a very early age who might be at risk for developing various developmental or psychiatric disorders
  
  
• Executive Functioning: Why might some children on the Autism Spectrum have difficulty with organization, literal thinking, attention, problem solving, transitions, and learning from past mistakes?  At this workshop you will find out the answers and helpful solutions.
  
  
• Theory of Mind: Learn why children on the Autism Spectrum have difficulty with perspective taking and social skills. Understand the theory behind “theory of Mind”, understand the symptoms lacking perceptive taking can cause, and take away a treatment curriculum including hands-on activities to teach Theory of Mind skills.

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General Treatment Interventions

• Sensory Integration:  What is our sensory system and how do our senses help us learn?  When children are over- or under –aroused or have mixed arousal levels, how does this impact them and what can be done about it. 

• Increasing Communication Skills: Learn how to increase communication skills in both structured and naturalistic settings. Participates will learn basic sign language, using gestures to communicate, basic oral stimulation exercises, and when to use visual communication (such as picture-exchange communication systems, icons, or photographs). 

• Increasing Social Skills: Participates will learn why children have difficulty with social skills, what prevents interactions and concrete and practical solutions to help children increase social skills.  This workshop focuses both of verbal and nonverbal social interaction (i.e, tone of voice, eye contact, posture, etc.)

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Child Centered & Behavioral Treatment Methods:

• Effective Interventions for Elementary, Middle, or High School Programs:  This workshop outlines specific and concrete interventions which are useful to children with neuro-cognitive disabilities (such as Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, etc.).  Interventions can be used by the layperson and implemented the very next day. 

• Treatment Options: What are the various treatment options offered for children on the Autism Spectrum (brief overview of behavior based such as ABA or Verbal Behavior vs. child centered treatments such as Floortime and other options such as sensory integration, communication systems, and behavior plans), and when it is appropriate to use each methodology?

• Discrete Trial Training and Applied Behavior Analysis: Including what is ABA/DTT, understanding how to begin programs, how to collect valid data samples and graphing data, and when to move beyond. 

• Introduction to Verbal Behavior: In this workshop you will learn about the functional categories of language (Mand, Receptive Language, Tact, Inter-verbal, FFC, Echoic, Motor Imitation) and how we can use these concepts to teach functional communication skills to children with Autism.

• Behavior Management:  This lecture will uncover reasons for behavior, help you develop techniques to decelerate aberrant behavior, and teach appropriate replacement skills to help improve the quality of life of your child.

• Introduction to Child Centered Therapies (such as Floortime and RDI):  Through interactive exercises you will gain valuable insight into how to apply this methodology and how to create activities that are fun, exciting, meaningful, and motivating to children. Learn what play therapy is and how to gain skills using what the child is interested in. Additionally, learn how to expand language and keep children regulated. 

• Understanding and Implementing a Gluten Free / Casein Free diet:  information explaining the theory behind the diet (in laymen’s terms), which children may benefit from the diet, and why the diet can be useful in some children on the Autism Spectrum and how to implement it.  Participants will learn to read and interpret food labels and have a starting point to implement the diet the next day.