Established 2011
12749 Nettles Drive, Newport News, VA 23606
Mission
Peninsula School for Autism is committed
to providing evidence-based
educational and behavioral support
programming in an innovative learning
environment to improve the quality of
life for individuals with autism and
related disorders.
History
 Peninsula School for Autism was founded by two families, Abbitt
and Kim, in 2009.
 PSA’s founding Board included three members and one advisory
member.
 PSA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, private day school facility licensed by
the Virginia Department of Education in July 2011 to serve students
with autism.
 PSA established a partnership with Navigation Behavioral
Consulting, an in-home ABA provider, in July 2011.
 The school opened its doors on September 6, 2011 with two
enrolled students in 1,200 square feet of the Boys & Girls Club.
Today…
 PSA’s Board of Directors has expanded to ten members and four advisory
members.
 PSA is currently licensed by the Virginia department of Education to serve up
to fourteen students with autism, intellectual disabilities and speechlanguage impairment.
 PSA has established partnerships that allow for collaborative programming
for students with the following organizations:
Hampton Roads International Montessori School
Williamsburg Montessori School at the Waterman’s Museum
in Yorktown
Boys & Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Living Museum
Peninsula Fine Arts Center
Services
 PSA serves students ages 5-22 with autism, intellectual disabilities and
speech-language impairment in the day school program.
 Programs include year-round ( days) educational and behavioral
support programming in the day school facility.
 Student-teacher ratio is 1:1
 Individualized student programming developed by a specialized
team.
 PSA offers related services in collaboration with Tidewater Physical
Therapy (PT) and Dominion Physical Therapy (Speech and OT).
 Wrap around services include 1:1 intensive after school programming,
social skills programming and parent coaching and in-home training.
Related Services
 Tidewater Physical Therapy --> Physical therapy
 Dominion Physical Therapy --> Speech therapy and
occupational therapy
 Adaptive PE --> Planet Fitness
Programs in development:
 Recreation --> Gymnastics, swimming, horseback riding
PSA’s Commitment
PSA strives to uphold its mission and core values through
dedication to quality programming and commitment to the
following goals:
 Intensive, individualized instruction using teaching
strategies based on the principles of applied behavior
analysis (ABA) to target a broad range of academic,
language, behavior, and life skills goals
 Opportunities for each student to learn to communicate
effectively, become increasingly independent, interact
appropriately with others, and be active participants in a
positive learning environment
Components of Student
Programming
PSA’s Commitment continued…
 Community partnerships providing opportunities for
students to engage with diverse student populations to
practice and generalize social and academic skills
 Access to training for parents, caregivers, and
professionals working with individuals with autism outside
of the school environment
PSA’s 3-pronged approach to
student success
Goals for PSA Students
 Return to the least restrictive learning environment
 Develop missing capabilities in language and communication
repertoires
 Increase socially meaningful and adaptive behavior
 Decrease interfering and maladaptive behavior
 Increase rates of responding, fluency, and skill acquisition
 Generalize new skills across environments
 Become active participants within the school and local community
 Increase independence across all environments
Student Programming: Lower School
Day school services for students ages 5-13 include program
goals in the following domains:
Academic readiness
Motor skills
Communication
Recreation and fitness
Language: Reading
Social skills
Academic content areas
Play skills
Self-help: ADLs
Enrichment: music, art
Student Programming: Upper School
Day school services for students ages 14-22 include program
goals in the following domains:
Communication
Vocational
Language: Reading
Recreation and fitness
Academic content areas
Motor Skills
Life Skills
Social Skills
Self-help: ADLs
Enrichment: music, art
What informs student programming?
Components of Daily Schedules
 6 hours school day; 8:30 arrival, 2:30 dismissal
 3.5 hours of intensive, academic instruction
 1.5 hours of enrichment activities to include: social skills
programming, peer buddy program, recreation and
fitness, cooking, community–based instruction, music and
art
 30 minute group lunch in the PSA café (meals not
provided) and 30 minute recess and/or leisure skills
Partnership Programs
Community Partner
Program
Crossroads Village: Boys & Girls
Club
Recreation and Social Skills
Hampton Roads International
Montessori School
Life Science: Oyster Gardening
Williamsburg Montessori School at
the Waterman’s Museum/Virginia
Institute of Marine Science
Life Science: Aqua Culture
Virginia Living Museum
Life Science
Peninsula Fine Arts Center
Art lessons
Parent resources
 PSA is currently developing a parent coaching and inhome training and support program.
 Coaching sessions will be offered monthly on-site at PSA
and in the home environment.
 PSA parent’s will be required to participate in an 8
session coaching and in-home training and support
program beginning in the 2013-14 school year.
 Monthly parent resource workshops will begin February
2013.
Regional Mentors
 Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), Carolyn Hodgins.
Educational Specialist, Compliance Officer
 Commonwealth Autism Service (CAS), John Toscano,
President and CEO
 Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA), Ethan Long, PhD, BCBA-D
 Ronald B. David, M.D., FAAP, FAAN, Pediatric and
Adolescent Neurologist, Child Development and Cognitive
Neurology
 Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI), Center for Autism and
Related Disorders, Carrie Roylance, MS, CCC-SLP
PSA Student Placement
Program
Public
Private
Tricare
Day school
5
6
2
2
1
After school
Public Placements
Placing district
# of students
Gloucester County Public Schools
2
Williamsburg-James City County
Public Schools
1
Poquoson City Public Schools
1
Chesapeake City Public Schools
1
PSA Team Members
 Student Team Supervisors
 Behavior Analysts
 Special Education: Teachers and Co-Teachers
 Behavior Specialist
 Lead Instructors
 Instructors (1:1)
 Enrichment: Music Instructor, Adaptive PE Teacher
PSA Team Member Credentials
 3 Licensed Behavior Analysts, BCBAs: 1 Staff, 2 Consultants
 3 Virginia Department of Education Licensed Special
Educators
 3 Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) supervisees
(Masters) – pursuing BCBA licensure
 1 Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst supervisee
(Bachelors)– pursuing BCaBA licensure
What’s new for 2013?
 Intensive Behavior Program (IBP): A day school program
to support students with intensive behavioral needs;
student-teacher ratio = 1:1.5, anticipated start date May
2013
 Commonwealth Autism Service (CAS) 2-year
collaboration for Competent Learner Model (CLM)
implementation to begin March 2013
 Parent training on-site course to begin Spring 2013
Questions?
For additional information please contact:
Sydney Mrowiec, M.S.
Executive Director
sydney.mrowiec@gmail.com
757.223.0558
Thank you!