Milford School District’s autism program scored highly in a recent assessment
At a recent meeting, Milford School District Board of Education heard results of an assessment of their autism programs conducted by ABC Consultants LLC. The programs are in place in all grades at the district.
“We use assessments we call APERS, which is the Autism Program Environment Rating Scale. It’s considered the gold standard in this country to assess how well the current supports for students with autism match the best practices, Philip Concors of ABC Consultants told the board. “The standards are based on research validated interventions, the things that are working, the things that are being lauded as most effective and being supported through health providers and also endorsed by agencies like the American Psychological Association the Office of Special Education Programs.”
Concors reported that they had classroom teachers do self-assessments midway through the year and then the company did walk throughs to spot check the results of the self-assessments. They also interviewed students and teachers, school psychologists and others at the end of the year. This assessment was conducted over five years, except for 2020 due to COVID.
“Based on this assessment, Milford School District does very well with respect to students on the autism spectrum,” Concors said. “The scores look at safety, organization and the materials used as well as structure, schedules and transitions. The positive learning climate is reviewed along with student progress and goals. We include a review of curriculum and instruction, communication, social competence and self-management. The implementation of functional behavior and the involvement of family is also included in the score.”
Based on data provided, out of a possible high score of 5, Milford School District scored a 4.1 in 2017-18; a 4.2 in 2018-19; a 4.3 in 2021-22, a 4.0 in 2022-23 and a 4.3 in 2023-24 for an overall five yar average of 4.18. In addition, a sample of 30 students at Morris conducted in 2023-24 found that those students gained 487 new skills during that school year.
“We give a comprehensive skills assessment to every student at the beginning of the school year and again at the end of the school year that provides a profile of skills, including language, early learning, adaptive behavior and others that students should have obtained by the time they are at that grade level,” Concors said. “Students with autism don’t have all of those skills, many have skill deficits. The skills profile for these 30 students showed that they acquired almost 500 skills over one school year and that is remarkable. We know that there are specialized programs and schools that have district centers supporting students with autism and other developmental disabilities. Although they are all good schools, none of them have the outcome data like this.”
Concors stated that this should be a source of pride for Milford as some of the children in the program have very challenging needs.
“These administrators, supervisors, teachers and support personnel should be lauded because some of these students tax the resources of the folks there to support them,” Concors said. “These professionals push through and helped these students gain almost 500 skills, making an instant impact on their quality of life in school, at home and in the community. These are skills that can be life altering, so this program has grown to show exemplary cultural support.”
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