The Rubicon School

Rubicon school is enrolling children ages 3 through high school.  The learning center provides services to children from age 3 to young adult. 

The Rubicon School and Learning Center is the only private day school expressly serving the needs of children with autism spectrum disorders in Oklahoma, and is the only not for profit school and learning center providing educational, therapeutic, and clinical services in one location for these children and their families in Oklahoma.  The Rubicon School and Learning Center is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization.

What are “Best Practices”?

Each of our programs is based on the best practices currently available.  Good enough, but what does the term “best practices” mean, you ask?  Or how can I be sure that what you do is indeed “best practice”?

The Understanding Autism Webbook (www.understandingautism.org ) identifies 10 universal best-practice features that have been shown to provide a successful program.

1) Successful programs emphasize early screening, diagnosis, eligibility for services and provide for continuous assessment in the application and implementation of appropriate interventions.

2) Successful programs are designed to meet the unique needs of each individual child.  Interventions match the child’s spectrum profile, age, developmental level, and emerging potentials.

3) Successful programs maintain a high degree of structure and involve the direct instruction of skills.

4) Successful programs include frequent informal and formal assessment of skill growth with continuous review and revision of educational/treatment plans.

5) Successful programs use motivational strategies and systems individually tailored to each child and use a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators.

6) Instructional areas are structured, orderly, organized, and free of environmental distractors.  Instruction is delivered in small group and one-on-one settings.  Instructional routines and activities are predictable, consistent but somewhat flexible.  “Down time” or time spent waiting is kept to a minimum.

7) Successful programs provide for the generalization of skills by providing instruction in multiple settings and providing consistency of methods across time and space.  It is suggested that instruction occur in at least three and up to six settings.

8) Successful programs are staffed by well trained and continuously evaluated personnel.

9) Successful programs utilize a team approach that seeks to use the family’s talents in a co-treatment model.  Such programs also provide comprehensive home programming and parent training.

10) Successful programs maintain full-day and year-round intervention strategies.  The research over the last two decades consistently shows 25 hours a week in year-round programs is the service level needed to produce positive levels of growth in the face of the effects of Autism on infants and young children. However, 40+ hours may be needed for optimum outcomes in behavioral programs that are seeking fully normative outcomes.

Visit www.understandingautism.org/uaorg_1FACT/UAORG_5bestpractice.html to learn more.

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Extended Care Program

Our Extended Care Program offers supervised care from 7 - 8:15 am and after school until 6 pm.  Extended Care is available as a drop in program.  The fee for Extended Care is $20 per day used.  This fee is in addition to tuition and is billed monthly.

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Social Skills

The social deficits of children on the autistic spectrum represent a major difficulty for both the children and their families.  These deficits also present major challenges to professionals who work with them.  Social skills training/education is an integral component to the programs offered by The Rubicon School and Learning Center at all levels.  Our approach utilizes modeling, role playing, performance feedback, and transfer training. 

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Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy

What is Occupational Therapy (O.T.)?
O.T. is a health care service concerned with an individual's ability to function in everyday life activities and occupations that provide meaning to the individual's life. O.T. is important when an individual's ability to participate in and / or perform these tasks (e.g., self-care, work, going to school, play, social interaction and living independently), is affected or compromised by illness, disease, disability or disorder.

How Occupational Therapy Helps the Autistic Child?
Children are assessed in terms of age-appropriate life tasks. Occupational Therapy addresses areas that interfere with the child's ability to function in such life tasks. O.T. may be provided to children in the form of play activities which are used to enhance or maintain play, self-help and school-readiness skills. O.T. consultation is warranted when functioning in these areas is significantly compromised.

Occupational Therapy benefits a child with autism by attempting to improve the quality of life for the individual through successful and meaningful experiences. This may be accomplished through the maintenance, improvement, or introduction of skills necessary for the child to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities. Such skills include coping skills, fine motor skills, self-help skills, socialization and play skills.

What Exactly IS a Speech-Language Therapist?

A certified speech language pathologist (sometimes called a therapist) must hold a master's degree. That person may work in a private setting, a clinic, a school or an institution, and may well work as part of an educational team. They use a wide range of tools and interventions, ranging from toys and play-like therapy to formal tests and speech curricula.

Why Would a Person With Autism Need to See a Speech Language Therapist?

Almost anyone diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder will be recommended for speech therapy. This may seem odd, as many autistic people are either non-verbal (at the lower end of the spectrum) or extremely verbal (at the upper end of the spectrum). But even very verbal people with Asperger Syndrome are likely to misuse and misunderstand language on a regular basis.  And even non-verbal people can certainly develop communication skills - and may even develop spoken language skills over time.

What Does a Speech-Language Therapist Do for People with Autism?

 Speech therapy involves much more than than simply teaching a child to correctly pronounce words. In fact, a speech therapist working with an autistic child or adult may work on a wide range of skills including:

• Non-verbal communication. This may include teaching gestural communication, or training with PECS (picture exchange cards), electronic talking devices, and other non-verbal communication tools.

• Speech pragmatics. It's all well and good to know how to say "good morning." But it's just as important to know when, how and to whom you should say it.

• Conversation skills. Knowing how to make statements is not the same thing as carrying on conversations. Speech therapists may work on back-and-forth exchange, sometimes known as "joint attention."

• Concept skills. A person's ability to state abstract concepts doesn't always reflect their ability to understand them. Autistic people often have a tough time with ideas like "few," "justice," and "liberty." Speech therapists may work on building concept skills.

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Strong Academic Program

The Rubicon School and Learning Center is founded on the premise that a complete, well rounded school program marked by high expectations can be designed so that our children can attain their highest academic, social, and affective potential.

Our school program is divided into three sections:

Early Childhood School

Our Early Childhood School is designed for children ages 3 through 6.   The Early Childhood School may be appropriate for children who are slightly chronologically older but whose developmental level fits the program.

Lower School

Our Lower School is designed for children in grades 2 through 5 (approximately age 7 through 10 years).

Upper School

Our Upper School is designed for children and youth in grades 6 through 12 (approximately age 11 through 18 years).

Program Options

Full Day Program - Mon - Fri 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

Part Day Program Morning- Mon - Fri 8:30 - 11:30 am

Part Day Program Afternoon - Mon - Fri 12:30 - 3:30 pm

Three Day Program - Mon, Wed, Fri 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

Two Day Program - Tues, Thurs 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

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