K-12 Schools
Our schools offer the highest quality of autism education through teaching strategies catered to each student and a program-wide desire to implement whatever is necessary to help each student be successful. Gersh Academy strives to meet every need of the students–socially, emotionally, academically, and vocationally–in order to allow our students to thrive both inside and outside of our building.
ABA Therapy
ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy has been widely recognized as one of the most effective therapies for individuals on the autism spectrum. For that reason, the Gersh Academy incorporates ABA therapy as a core component of our school offerings. We are proud to be a trusted source of quality services in order to meet the unique needs of all of our students.
Equine Therapy
Animal-assisted therapies have long been recognized as highly effective tools to help individuals on the autism spectrum both behaviorally and academically. For that reason, we have added both services with animals and proximity to animals in order to enhance the lives of all of our students. Our Cougar Mountain campus in Washington is adjacent to an entire zoo that students use and incorporate into their education. Our New York campus has partnered with a world-class equestrian center. Such interactions greatly assist in managing and improving social skills, behavior, self-regulation, and anxiety.
Occupational Therapy
Offered to all students as part of our core school program, our occupational therapy services are designed to help students build the skills needed for all areas of life. Our team of occupational therapists use their specialized expertise to help our students adapt to their learning environment so that they can successfully participate in the academic setting. By working with these therapists, all of our students have the time to specifically work on improving gross motor, sensory motor, fine motor, and executive functioning skills.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy, offered to all students as part of our school program, works towards maximizing the potential of each student so that they can function independently and safely. Our Gersh Academy physical therapists work with the students to improve gross motor skills and functional mobility skills, as well as offer suggestions for better classroom participation, all making it possible for students to actively participate in the school environment. The physical therapists collaborate with other related service disciplines to ensure the students can carry over the skills they are working on.
Vocational Training
Gersh Academy wants every child to graduate as independent, confident, and prepared for the real world as possible. For that reason, vocational training is a core component of our school program. Each student is trained in job skills, starting with responsibilities within the school and eventually leading to internships and job training placements at well-known national brands and local businesses. Upon graduation, our students are ready to enter the workforce and/or college with the tools necessary to thrive.
Social Skills
At Gersh, one of our primary focuses is the development and advancement of social skills. These skills, challenging at first for many of our students, are routinely practiced and honed in a variety of ways. Students participate in social skills classes, attend community outings, join clubs, and engage in real-world interactions, all chances to work on forming connections through communication.
Life Skills
Gersh believes all the students of all skills levels should learn independent living skills, including self-care, how to manage a home, how to build a career, travel training, and AOL skills. As a core part of all of our programs, and the focus of our post-secondary program for young adults, students are taught to feel comfortable on their own and as part of a community. These lessons are instructed both in the classroom and in the greater community in order to ensure mastery and generalization.
Transition Planning
Graduation, or leaving school, is an exciting but scary time. At Gersh, we believe in supporting our students for a lifetime, not just until they leave our walls. From the original diagnosis to graduation and beyond, Gersh works closely with each student to prepare them for whatever their next steps might be. Our school programs work with companies, colleges, and even its own programs to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
Residential
We recognize, for some students, a fully immersed residential program is the best way for them to learn all of the skills they need. Therefore, we offer several programs, including Gersh Experience, that teach independent living skills as a residential program. Students live in their own apartments, hold their own jobs, and engage in adult life experiences with the unparalleled support of on-site Gersh staff and continued education/training.
Driving Instruction
Travel is by far one of the most critical components to independence. We are proud to offer all of our students education in transportation and navigation skills. Many of our students also take the next step and learn how to drive a car independently. Gersh offers specialized programming developed exclusively by our educators, allowing students who have struggled in similar classes to better absorb the material and more easily reach this pinnacle of independence.
Early Intervention
The best day to start anything is yesterday. The second best is today. Our early intervention programs set our students up for maximum success, and begin as early as the initial diagnosis. Early intervention has been widely praised as an effective method of beginning to teach individuals on the autism spectrum the skills and behaviors needed to excel in other areas of life.
Support
The Gersh family is, first and foremost, a family. When a student graduates out of our programs and achieves the highest level of independence aimed for, the student can still expect to be a part of our strong community. Gersh staff and leaders work to support all of our students, both current and former. Many graduates even go on to mentor younger students or become part of the staff themselves.
Life Plan Management
A core Gersh philosophy is that if a necessary program or service doesn’t exist, we’ll make one. The full portfolio of Gersh programs cover the full spectrum of age ranges, development levels and needs of individuals in their community. In order to bring the highest quality of life to all of our students, we develop plans to support our individual students throughout their lives, whether they stay with Gersh or move on to higher levels of independence.
Independence
Preparing our students for life beyond Gersh is one of the main goals of all of our programs. We want to not only set up students to succeed within our programs, but outside of them as well. Through our life skills, vocational skills, and social skills programs, students learn how to communicate, travel, build a career, and live on their own. We want each student to leave our programs as independent as possible.
Events
At Gersh, we are always looking to give back and serve the wonderful communities that open their doors to us. With that in mind, we regularly create and sponsor events that bring our community together and give our students a chance to engage in new and exciting activities. Recently, we created Autism Day at Six Flags Great Adventure, a massive undertaking that allowed individuals on the spectrum and their families to enjoy a day at an amusement park free of worry or judgment.
