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At the TOHUM Autism Foundation Educational Institutions, affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, early childhood, preschool, school education, and support education services are provided to children with autism.
The intensive special education services provided at TOHUM Autism Foundation Educational Institutions have a history of over 50 years in many countries, especially in the United States of America (USA). Applied Behavior Analysis It is based on the ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) model. Applied behavior analysis is the known scientific and most effective educational model for children with autism.
TOHUM The education services based on the applied behavior analysis model carried out at the Autism Foundation Educational Institutions are sourced from PCDI (Princeton Child Development Institute) in the USA.
Many of the children who receive education from PCDI no longer require special education; many continue their education in the same classrooms with their typically developing peers instead of special education institutions; some are college graduates or currently attending a university, and some have finished high school or are working.
The success of these students is a result of the use of applied behavior analysis in educational programs, and for this success, PCDI was deemed worthy of the ‘Enduring Contribution to Behavior Analysis’ award presented by the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABA) in 1999.
The most important features of the educational programs carried out at TOHUM Autism Foundation Educational Institutions are as follows:
- At our school, which is affiliated with the Ministry of National Education, we provide education to autistic children in early childhood and school age through full-time and session-based programs.
- At our school, we conduct scientifically based practices based on the educational model of Applied Behavior Analysis from the PCDI (Princeton Child Development Institute) in the USA. Our educational model is not limited to one-to-one instruction; it includes group work, school preparation, social interaction and peer relationships, cognitive theory, executive functions, daily living and independent living skills, and professional skills. The practices are selected according to the individual’s needs, the effects are monitored through data, and the programs are developed through regular supervision. PCDI renews its curriculum every year in line with current scientific developments and shares these updates with our institution.
- In the trainings, each individual is accompanied by an educator; each module includes a responsible facilitator who guides the educators and closely monitors the implementation.
- We implement a rich curriculum that meets the needs of individuals with autism of all ages.
- We regularly provide families with practice-based training on autism at home and/or school.
- We provide educators with continuous professional development support through on-the-job supervision and in-service training.
- To determine the level of goal achievement in individual education programs, we continuously evaluate children's performances, collect data, and monitor the development of our programs.
- Our evidence-based educational practices are evaluated annually by PCDI experts, and our entire teaching staff is trained.
- We teach language and speech skills such as imitating sounds and words, expressing desires through speech, conversational turn-taking, tone of voice, speech rate, and fluent speech.
- We teach large muscle skills such as running, jumping, climbing, balancing, and riding a bicycle, as well as small muscle skills such as gripping objects with fingers, writing, drawing pictures, and buttoning.
- We are developing programs for children with autism that cover approximately 2000 different skills in 36 different developmental areas.
- We provide appointment-based educational assessment services to our guidance unit to identify the educational needs of individuals with autism.
- In addition to other developmental areas and academic skills, we place great emphasis on the areas of communication and social interaction, which are very important for individuals with autism.
- We prepare individualized education programs in line with the views of the families for each individual, and we share the development regularly with written reports.
PCDI, Princeton Child Development Institute: It is an institution that has been educating children with autism in America for over 50 years, and is recognized worldwide for its community-based and rich curriculum, evidence-based and data-driven practices, scientific research, and dissemination branches. TOHUM Autism Foundation Educational Institutions is a dissemination branch of PCDI and provides education with the know-how of this institution.