Pyramid Autism Center Structure: California Department of Education State Certified Non-public, Non-profit School founded in 1998. Our 501©3 tax identification number is 33-0827258.
Population Served: Students ages 5-22 years old with a primary diagnosis of Autism or Pervasive Developmental Disorder –Not Otherwise Specified (PDD).
Classroom Structure: One teacher and two paraprofessionals staff each class of 6 students for our elementary and middle school program. One teacher and three paraprofessionals staff each class of 8 students for our high school and vocational program. Teachers are California State Certified Education Specialists (Moderate-to-Severe). All Staff members are trained in contemporary Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) procedures and the use and instruction of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
Support Staff: A Board Certified Behavior Analyst is our Supervisory Level Pyramid Educational Consultant who consults onsite on a monthly basis to provide ongoing staff training and classroom monitoring along with hands-on classroom consultation to ensure that functional communication and the Pyramid Approach to Education are in place. An Occupational Therapist consults with staff once a week to recommend gross motor activities that promote and support gross motor skill development for our students.
School Calendar: Pyramid Autism Center is a year round day school operating for students from 8:45am – 2:45pm daily totaling 180 regular school year days, and 40 extended (summer) year days.
Curriculum: Overall, Pyramid Autism Center consists of teaching skills that are functional or useful in one or more life domains. Those domains might include Domestic Skills (e.g. Toilet Training, Personal Hygiene, Meal Preparation, etc.), Functional Academics (e.g. Use of Money in Community, Reading and Understanding of Functional Words/Phrases, Computer Skills, etc.), Community Skills (e.g. Shopping from a Visual List, Staying with the Group, Safety/Sign Awareness, etc.), Communication Skills (Functional use of Communication System, Requesting Wants and Needs, Asking for Help, etc.), Social Interactions (e.g. Staff/Peer Greetings, Requesting from Peers, Group Games, etc.), Gross Motor Skills (e.g. Engaging in Structured Outdoor Activities, Riding a Bicycle, Walking a Mile on Treadmill or Outside Area, etc.), Recreation/Leisure Skills (e.g. Increasing Time on Task, Expanding on Student’s Interests and Activities, Self Monitoring with use of Timer/Clock, etc.), Vocational Skills (e.g. Off-site Work/Training, Housekeeping, Fluency and Rate of Production, etc.), and Behavior (e.g. Decreasing Contextually Inappropriate Behaviors, Increasing Functionally Equivalent Alternative Responses, Teaching Alternative Communication Strategies, etc.).
Current Population: We currently have 4 classrooms. Our upper limit of admissions for the 2012-2013 school year is 36 students. For information regarding enrollment please contact our director, Stacey Kochanowski at 714.637.1292 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Tuition Rate: Currently the tuition cost is $225.00 per day. Pyramid Autism Center seeks to contract with each student’s local school district or SELPA to cover the daily cost; in accordance with state and federal law students attending Pyramid Autism Center are served under master contracts.
“Serving the needs of children and families touched by autism.”