Tulare SELPA - Autism Resources

Educational Intervention Approaches

Walden Early Childhood Programs
at the Emory University School of Medicine

The Walden program was developed in 1985 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where the primary function was as a laboratory preschool to accommodate research in incidental teaching. Following relocation to Emory University in Atlanta, toddler and prekindergarten programs were added to complete an early intervention continuum. The classrooms include children with autism with a majority of typical peers. The incidental teaching approach is based on behavioral research, although there are developmental influences on goal selection. There is a toddler program with both center- and home-based components, and initial goals include establishment of sustained engagement, functional verbal language, responsiveness to adults, tolerance and participation with typical peers, and independence in daily living (e.g., toilet training). The preschool is aimed at language expansions and beginning peer interaction training. The prekindergarten emphasizes elaborated peer interactions, academic skills, and conventional school behaviors (McGee et al., 2000).

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Jim Vidak, County Superintendent of Schools