Our Commitment to
Professional Development
At the Trellis School, we recognize that the success of our instructors is inextricably linked to the success of our learners. The more knowledgeable our instructors, the better they can serve our students with autism.
That’s why we offer continual professional development and learning opportunities for our staff. Made up of individuals who have worked at the Trellis School for at least three years, our Professional Development Department provides initial new-hire training and ongoing support and training for Autism Instructors. We focus on increasing and enhancing instructor skills in the areas of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and the analysis of verbal behavior (VB), and we strive to create frequent opportunities for growth in a collaborative and supportive work environment.
Likewise, we offer focus meetings, team building activities, and guidance on professional career paths. Our focus meetings are provided frequently and enable staff to “brush up” on effective teaching procedures or learn new ideas and methods. Evaluations in the areas of Natural Environment Teaching (NET), Intensive Trial Teaching (ITT), and program management are conducted monthly to provide instructors with consistent feedback so they can learn and grow their clinical skills—and reach their potential as clinicians and educators.
Interviewing and Hiring
Interviews for Autism Instructors are conducted by our Professional Development Department. We utilize a “working” interview method to assess each candidate’s ability to capture and contrive students’ motivation.
Once hired, our new instructors attend a seven-day intensive training program that prepares them for all areas of instruction, including: an introduction to ABA, pairing, behavior principles, NET, ITT, and program management. Training takes the form of lectures, online modules, observations, and role-play. By the end of training, each new instructor begins to run sessions with the support of a trained staff member.
We closely monitor new instructor progress and provide feedback and modeling when needed. Additionally, a written competency is completed by the new hire following the training.
