FAQ

All children at PALS undergo a thorough assessment of language, learning and life skills to determine their current functional level and skills. Each child is provided with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that follows the B.C. Education Curriculum.

Students are placed into the class that best fits their current level of ability to participate in group instruction. Functional communication and peer interaction is encouraged through small group instruction of subjects including social studies, science, the arts and physical education. Students are taught core skills through individualized tactics that reward good behaviours and eventually bring students to a level where they can practice these skills independently. The core skills are then reinforced intermittently to ensure the students generalize and maintain them, building a solid foundation for life.

Each student is guaranteed at least 1.5 hours of one-to-one instruction each day, targeting skills that are more challenging to learn in a group format.

Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Intensive Behaviour Intervention are available to every student to support their Individualized Education Plan and development at PALS Autism School.

PALS Autism School teaches students communication, social skills, play skills, life skills, and functional academics. We break learning objectives down into small, achievable components. We prompt students, as necessary, to respond independently, and we reinforce approximations towards target responses. Prompts and reinforcement are then faded systematically as students demonstrate mastery of learning objectives. Generalization of skills across different people, places, and environments are built in to all objectives, and once a skill is considered mastered, it is maintained with a systematic probing schedule.

PALS staff receive intensive hands-on-training at the beginning of their employment. As they demonstrate competency with teaching procedures and behavioural protocols, they are then provided with brief performance reviews every 6-8 weeks, and more formal performance reviews annually. New skills are taught using Behaviour Skills Training (i.e., trainer provides written and verbal instructions, trainer models the procedure, staff rehearses the procedure, trainer gives staff feedback). All staff meet for weekly clinic meetings to review updates to student programming, and to practice American Sign Language. There are 2-3 full-day professional development opportunities each year, as well as 6-7 half-day professional development opportunities each year which take place during after school hours so the students can still come to school those days. Classroom Teachers attend workshops on literacy, math, and executive functioning skills as they become available in the educational community. All staff and families have 24/7 access to an online subscription of courses in autism, ABA, and special education.

PALS staff are trained and overseen by School Nursing Support Services to administer emergency medication as mandated by medical alerts. A Public Health Nurse also visits the school regularly to provide support to PALS staff and students as needed.

PALS currently has 18 students enrolled. At this time, that is the maximum capacity for the resources available.

PALS Autism School provides schooling and programming year-round with a 2:3 instructor to student ratio. For some students requiring more support, we provide a 1:1 ratio to ensure their needs are met.

Graduates of PALS Autism School receive a School Completion Certificate from the Ministry of Education.

PALS Autism School focuses on educating students with autism; however, the principles of ABA can be applied to any individual requiring a more systematic approach to learning. PALS will intake a student who has a different disability as long as they qualify for the Level 2 Special Education Grant from the Ministry of Education.

At present, the Mary and Gordon Christopher Foundation has donated funds to provide Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) consultation for all students. Occupational Therapy (OT) consultation is provided on a regular basis and staff at PALS implement recommendations and strategies of OT and SLP throughout the day.

PALS has a range of facilities onsite including individual and group learning rooms, spaces for children with a personal safety issue, a full kitchen with laundry, an ABA resource room, a meeting room, a gymnasium with specialized play equipment and a unique outdoor play structure.

The PALS school day is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in addition to an hour of intensive intervention from 2 p.m to 3 p.m. after school. This hour is billed monthly and families can use their autism funding for reimbursement.

PALS is a year round school with the following closures: statutory holidays; Professional Development days (approximately 1 per month); two weeks off for Christmas holidays; one week off for March Break; two weeks off at the beginning of July; and two weeks off at the end of August.

Before school (8 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and after school (3 p.m. 5:00 p.m.) care is optional and available at PALS for an extra cost. Please contact us for further details.

Please visit our admission page.

There is a growing waiting list for attendance at PALS Autism School. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please send a completed intake application. Once a spot is available, we look through the list to identify the child that would fit best in that grouping. This selection is based on age and functioning level of the child.

Please see our tuition and fees page for details.

To apply the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis to our students’ education plan, we ask that parents participate in monitoring their child’s behavior at home and review a detailed analysis of their behaviour and activity at school to help ensure the student’s success and progress at PALS. We provide an online portal for parents to easily provide and access this information at home.