Families long to communicate and connect with their children. The goal of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) programs at the UT Dallas Callier Center is to make those connections a reality.
We strive to enhance effective social communication for children of various ages who are diagnosed with ASD through our innovative group therapy programs.
| Early CLASS Preschool | Playmates |
| Early CLASS Afternoon Group | |
| Out and About |
Early CLASS (Communication, Language And Social Skills) Preschool
The Early CLASS is a classroom-based speech, language and communication program for children with ASD and their parents. The curriculum was developed using the SCERTS philosophy (Prizant and colleagues, 2006).
Intervention focuses on the core features of ASD and helps children become more competent communicators while preventing problem behaviors that interfere with learning and relationships.
We provide behavioral therapy with a developmental perspective. Speech-language pathologists trained in the SCERTS program are assisted in the classroom by graduate student clinicians.
The Early CLASS serves as an educational laboratory and research site for the UT Dallas program in communication sciences and disorders.
Early CLASS Afternoon Group Program
The goal of this program is to ease the transition for children with ASD into conventional preschool educational settings. Children participate in small groups (two to three children) with a speech-language pathologist and graduate student clinician.
Goals are individualized for each child but may include:
Consultation and planning with the child’s preschool ensures consistency and continuity across settings.
The Out and About program is a group social-communication experience for school-aged children with ASD who exhibit difficulty with social skills or other speech-language issues that interfere with social success.
The speech-language pathologist combines structured language therapy with fun community experiences so children can generalize their communication skills in a variety of settings.
Graduate student clinicians mentor children in appropriate use of communication strategies in social environments.
The Playmates program facilitates peer interaction and social success for children with ASD in a small-group setting. The speech-language pathologist and graduate student assistants develop individualized plans to teach important skills in the practical use of language. Organized games and collaborative play provide the context for practice of social communication skills.
Preverbal Communication Program
The Preverbal Communications Program provides intense communication intervention for toddlers who are non-verbal or in the early stages of developing the use of language. Children appropriate for the program include those diagnosed with receptive/expressive language disorder, ASD, developmental delay, or those who have difficulty producing speech sounds, as well as those for whom the diagnosis is unclear.
A one-to-one ratio of clinician to child ensures that children have adult support in their attempts to participate and communicate in group activities and individual speech-language therapy.
Although speech-language pathologists individualize intervention to meet the needs of each child, they also incorporate aspects of the SCERTS approach (Prizant, 2006), Floor Time (Greenspan, 1998), the Hanen Program (Sussman, 1999) and behavioral intervention with a developmental/relational approach.
The Preverbal Program serves as an educational laboratory and research site for the UT Dallas program in communication sciences and disorders.
