The Vista Difference ...

"My motivation was inspired by the autistic person ... the potential within the autistic person ... the courage and the fortitude, the intellect underneath this disability, and the desire to bring it out." - Michael G. Jarman, Founder & President of The Vista School®

Parents and professionals working together founded The Vista School® in 2002 in order to bring state-of-the-art special education and therapeutic services to children living with autism.  Vista's two-fold mission is to (1) operate a day school and provide other educational and therapeutic programs for children diagnosed with autism employing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in a consistent and intensive manner and (2) to act as a resource to local school districts and parents striving to meet the considerable needs of the children in their care.  It is Vista's specific goal to become "obsolete" in the lives of the students as quickly as possible, enabling them to overcome the symptoms of their disability and to become the happy, productive adults they can be.

A Positive Experience, An Innovative Approach

1. Research-Based Educational and Therapeutic Programming

The therapeutic techniques and therapies used at Vista conform to the seven defining characteristics of Applied Behavior Analysis (or "ABA"). All techniques and therapies used at Vista are (1) applied (i.e., they are used to target problems that are important to the child or directly impact his/her level of functioning).  The intervention methods target measurable (2) behaviors and goals are written to promote observable changes.  Interventions are (3) analytic, meaning they seek to define and use functional relations to modify behaviors and teach skills.  Procedures are (4) technological, in that they are precisely defined and replicable.  Techniques are described using the basic principles of ABA, or are (5) conceptually systematic.  Interventions based on ABA must also be (6) effective – they must produce clinical or social significance.  Finally, the behavior change must be (7) general; it must last over time and appear in environments other than the training environment.  Vista's delivery of high quality ABA services is supported by the Competent Learner Model (CLM), which increases our ability to consistently meet the needs of our students across school, community, and home environments.

2. A True Partnership Between Parents and Educators

The Vista School® is a collaborative effort of dedicated parents, educators, and mental health professionals. The Vista School® exists to bring world-class autism education to Central Pennsylvania.  It is the first and only such school that exclusively meets the educational and therapeutic needs of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

3. Home-Based Support and Programming

Vista seeks to develop close working relationships with each family.  Vista aims to do so through its home-based services and other training opportunities for parents.  Home support and parent training is especially important for children with severe disabilities because the events of one environment can influence all other environments.  Knowledge of what is occurring in all environments is essential to developing effective treatment plans.  The home component enables the team to address behaviors that may be home-specific, and to assist parents in gaining the skills needed to address such behaviors effectively. 

The home component of each child’s treatment plan provides opportunities for training pivotal skills across multiple environments to facilitate generalization of these skills.  Consistent parent training is an essential part of the home component.  Parents are trained in procedures successfully implemented in the center-based program for independence in leisure activity, adaptive communication, and behavior management systems. This component of Vista's program also allows opportunities for the collection of information across multiple environments by staff  and parents and to promote communication from school to home and from home to school.  Most importantly, the home component aims to reduce the severity of the student's symptoms in the home and, in doing so, improve the home life of both the student and his or her family.

4. Community-Based Instruction

At Vista, the community is as important a learning environment for its students as the home or the classroom.  Vista's unique Community-Based Instruction ("CBI") Program provides its students with opportunities to put their skills to use at area restaurants, grocery stores, libraries, parks, and other public places.  The goals of Vista's CBI Program include promoting the student's independence and ability to engage his or her community and to further improve the quality of life of the student's entire family by better enabling them to enjoy the community activities many of us take for granted.

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