Each of The Institute's three unique offerings for children and their families within Connecticut rests upon a rich understanding of the many contributors to child health and well-being:

  • The importance of early experience, primary attachment to loving parental figures, and constancy of natural supports;
  • The value of fully appreciating what the child brings to the world, and what his or her developmental trajectory, needs and talents are;
  • The role that diagnostic clarity plays in assuring that ameliorative treatments for medical, behavioral, social, and cognitive challenges are in place, and are found to be effective;
  • The significant benefits of applied behavioral analysis in shaping the child's world in ways that are similar across settings - home, school, community - so that healthy behavior is supported and celebrated while adaptive alternatives to unhealthy problem behavior are taught and become embedded in the child's repertoire.

Children come to us from many junctures and receive our support through three primary programs.  First, in the context of the Professional Parenting Program (PPP), many children need help in the slow and painful process of building relationships within a foster family while their biological families work with The Department of Children and Families to acquire improved parenting skills and regain custody. Others join their PPP foster family with a vision of permanency in mind; they need special psychological support to understand their early life experiences, recognize their innate worth, and establish a bridge of trust to members of their new families. The Professional Parenting Program provides specialized and intensive foster parent supports to over 100 children in Connecticut. (If you would like information on becoming a Professional Parent please come to our Open House Monday March 22 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at 1764 Litchfield Turnpike, Woodbridge, CT)

Second, The Institute's Services for Children with Autism are provided in close collaboration with public schools throughout Connecticut as they provide comprehensive special education.  The Institute provides and supervises behavior therapists who work directly with children, their public school teachers and administrative staff; it also is responsible for the program's overall clinical coordination.  Children receive the best of two worlds - a solid and individualized special education close to home with the benefits of integration with typically developing peers when appropriate, and sophisticated behavioral treatment based on applied behavioral analysis geared to specific clinical challenges.

Third, we recognize that children with developmental and related disabilities, and their families, often need help not just at home and at school, but during difficult transitional times (such as when moving from early intervention to school, coping with a family crisis, negotiating the teenage years, or taking on the challenges associated with acquiring good pre-vocational skills in mid-adolescence).  Consultation and Training Services help children and families deal with a variety of problems, some perhaps considered minor but others significantly affecting health, safety and family status.  Consultative interventions may be brief or extended, and interdisciplinary training and collaboration with other service providers is always highlighted in our treatment plan.