Our team will talk to you about the best location of intervention for your child and your family. It may be that your child receives services in more than one location in order to meet the goals outline in their plan.
Intervention in the child’s natural environment is optimal as parents, siblings and the child’s own toys can be incorporated in intervention. A home-based location is a natural environment that may be considered if:
Intervention services may be provided in a licensed child daycare facility whereby a child may receive support from a behaviour interventionist in a classroom setting. The child may receive a combination of supported inclusion and separate instruction, as outlined in the personalized learning plan and agreed upon by all parties involved. Should the child require separate instruction, it will be important to identify a space where the intervention can be provided.
An agreement must be signed by the agency, parent, and the child daycare facility operator before intervention services are provided in a child daycare facility.
AIS may have centers in certain locations that can be used as a last resort when it is impossible to offer services at home or in a childcare facility. Agency based services are temporary and serve as a bridge until we find another location where intervention can be provided.
*Please note that an agency is not considered an optimal natural learning environment and therefore is not a big part of our program.
Intervention sessions may be cancelled due to: family obligations, illness or vacation.
A client is allowed to miss 10 days of intervention during a one-year period for vacation without incurring a reduction in intervention hours. A child is expected to attend 90% of scheduled intervention sessions.
Should a client need to cancel on a particular day, the family needs to contact their regional office. The regional office will ensure to contact the employees to inform the team of the cancellation.
AIS respects the following mandatory holidays:
In the event that a client must cancel, the family is responsible to:
In the event that a Behaviour Interventionist must cancel, the Behaviour Interventionist is responsible to:
If families are cancelling due to a scheduled appointment or vacation, this future cancellation should be communicated with the supervisor as soon as possible and will be written into the monthly schedule.
If the centre is cancelling due to a staff vacation request, this will be written into the monthly schedule and communicated with families as early as possible.
AIS may close and intervention may be cancelled on any given day due to extreme weather conditions (e.g., snowstorms, ice storms, power failures, etc).
If a weather closure is in effect, families are asked to call the center to receive information on closures. The voicemail at the center will inform of any cancellations by 7am. Information will also be shared on our website.
*AIS is not responsible to personally inform all families when a weather cancellation occurs.
There is a large body of research that shows that 30 hours per week of intervention is ideal for preschoolers with Autism in order to make ideal gains.
In New Brunswick, we receive funding for 20 hours, therefore AIS holds attendance in high regard.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood expects families to attend 90% of their scheduled sessions. Should a client not meet the attendance criteria for 2 consecutive months, AIS will be obligated to reduce the hours of intervention to a level that can be maintained by the family. In the event that intervention hours are reduced due to attendance issues, stability over two months is required before hours can be increased again.
The number of hours requested to the Department of Education and Early Childhood can be up to, and not exceeding 20, however this can be individualized based on the needs of the child and the family.
