• Please view our detailed Shore Center Program Manual HERE.

     

    Applied behavior analysis (ABA) The Shore Center, a program of the Bayshore Jointure Commission, is a New Jersey public school out of district placement for students with autism, ages 3-21. Although the foundation of our program is ABA, the staff at The Shore Center is fully trained in implementing general education curriculum in all academic content areas aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS). We look at the whole child,
    educating each student not just in academics, but also with a strong focus on functional communication, social-emotional learning, behavior intervention, and transition planning. We ensure that each student's individual needs are met by providing the appropriate modifications and accommodations. Additionally, each lesson is differentiated to address the unique levels and learning styles of every student.

    Verbal Behavior (VB) began as a 1957 book by psychologist B.F. Skinner that analyzes human behavior encompassing what is traditionally called language, linguistics, or speech. For Skinner, verbal behavior is simply behavior subject to the same controlling variables as any other operant behavior,  although Skinner differentiates between verbal behavior which is mediated by other people, and that which is mediated by the natural world. A growing body of research and applications based on Verbal Behavior have occurred since its original publication, particularly in the past decade.

    The science of Verbal behavior believes in teaching and generalizing all the meanings of a word.  For example, if you are teaching a child about an"apple," you must have the child complete the following steps before the item is considered mastered:

    1. Manding (Requesting)
    2. Tacting (Expressively Labeling)
    3. Echoic (Vocal Imitation)
    4. Intraverbal (Answering a question, What is your favorite fruit?)
    5. Receptive (Understanding, non-verbal comprehension)
    6. RFFC (Receptive Labeling by Feature, Function, and Class)

    Generalization occurs in steps and prevents the child from just learning how to only expressively label "apple" or how to only identify apple among pictures and places.  Verbal behavior places more emphasis on day to day involvement and understanding of what apple is in context, versus teaching information out of context, hence making the teaching more functional.