Snowflake School

Snowflake School is a registered charity dedicated to advancing educational opportunities for children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We operate across two sites and teach children from ages 4 – 16. We use applied behavioural analysis (ABA) and verbal behaviour (VB) methods to teach our children necessary communication skills. An inability to communicate properly can often lead to challenging behaviours such as tantrums, aggression and self-harm. Teaching children with ASD to express their needs and establish meaningful social contact with people around them reduces their frustrations and makes inappropriate behaviours less likely consequently improving their health. ABA/VB is a field of psychology based off the work of B.F Skinner. At Snowflake, each child has a tailor-made individual education plan (IEP) that focuses on their specific learning needs and ability. We use the principles of ABA/VB to teach our children according to their IEPs and help them on their way to greater independence. There is a large body of research to support the effectiveness of Applied Behavioural Analysis and Verbal Behaviours techniques when teaching children with autism. Aside from teaching the ability to communicate we also teach the pupils many other skills such as, self-help skills, social and play skills and the national curriculum. At Snowflake we teach our pupils the essential abilities for them to lead more fulfilling and independent lives. Across both our sites we have created a friendly and inclusive working and leaning environment both for our pupils and our staff. We constantly strive to be a centre of ABA/VB excellence and frequently provide our staff with extra training to ensure this.