CasaBlanca Academy Increases Options for Children With Autism

-- Annual Conference Features DIR/Floortime Expert Ricki Robinson--

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- If you live in Florida and your child has an autism spectrum disorder your options are few. Many therapeutic interventions and education options rely on traditional approaches focused on building routine skills.  A new approach to treatment, however, is gaining ground thanks to the effort of a small school in Hollywood.

CasaBlanca Academy offers the only program in the State of Florida solely based on the Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based model, know as DIR®/Floortime™.  The approach is unique because it targets social, emotional and intellectual capacities rather than routine skills and isolated behaviors.  

"For my son CasaBlanca Academy has had a remarkable effect," admits school Co-Founder Jim Barrett. "The benefits can be seen in his enthusiasm about school, his academic accomplishments, his relationship with his friends and family and his overall engagement with the world around him."

Offering a one-to-one teacher-student ratio, CasaBlanca Academy emphasizes independent thinking, problem solving and life skills while incorporating therapeutic interventions with the Sunshine State's academic standards.  In addition, the school brings a nationally and internationally recognized team to train a hand-picked staff of teachers and paraprofessionals.

On Saturday, February 5 the school will host a one-day conference on autism and the DIR® model.  The event's nationally sought-after speakers include Dr. Ricki Robinson, who has appeared on national news outlets including the Today Show, Larry King Live and Good Morning America.  She is also the author of Autism Solutions: How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child.

The event, which aims to attract attention to the relationship-based approach, will take place at the Hollywood Hills United Methodist Church in Hollywood (400 North 35th Avenue).  For more information, please contact Rebecca Dinar at 305-710-5361 or at [email protected].

For more information about CasaBlanca Academy, please visit www.CasaBlancaAcademy.org or call 954.415.1149.

For more information about DIR®/Floortime™, please visit www.icdl.com.

For more information about the U.S. Department of Health Survey on the rising numbers of children with autism, please visit http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-1522v1.

An autism spectrum disorder includes Autism, Aspergers Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). For more information, please visit: http://www.umcard.org/facts.php

SOURCE CasaBlanca Academy