General Information About the Forbush School*
- Applied behavior analysis, sensory integration, individualized plans
- Ages: 5-15
- Non-public day school, year round
- 30 hrs/week instruction
- 1 student: 2 staff ratio
- Non-graded
- Individualized schedules
- Goal: integrate into public school
- Restraint only used when child is harm to self or others
- “Block and Ignore” technique
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Unconditional positive regard
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No punishment policy
- Promotes fear, lashing out
- Punishment only effective when punisher is present
- Only teaches what not to do
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No punishment policy
- Reinforcement for positive behaviors ~ every 5-10 min
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Same curriculum as public schools
- Tailored to fit individual students
Forbush Schools in Prince George's County
- http://www.sheppardpratt.org/sp_htmlcode/sp_locations/sp_loc_pgco_forbush.aspx
- http://www.sheppardpratt.org/sp_htmlcode/sp_locations/sp_loc_pgco_forbush_jbm.aspx
* For more detailed information about the Forbush school’s teaching methods, please see the notes on the Autism powerpoint at the bottom of this page.
Information for Parents
The student must be referred by the county. In order for a student to be referred to any non-public school (ie. Forbush school), it is necessary to show that the Public school cannot or is not providing an appropriate education. It is not enough to show that the other school is better; the team of educators (ie. Parents, teachers, administrators, speech therapists, and occupational therapists) must show and agree that the current school is not meeting the student’s needs. Unfortunately, the option of alternate schooling is often hidden from parents of Autistic children, for the simple reason that it will cost the county much more money to send the child to a specialized school (the school is completely paid for by the county and government).
However, once it is determined that the child does need alternate schooling, parents are typically given referrals to 1-3 other schools, and may compare them (ie. teaching methods, staff, punishment policy, etc.) to determine which they would prefer their child to go to. Once the choice has been made, the school must accept the school and agree that they can meet the child’s needs.
If you do not live in PG County
Unfortunately the two Forbush schools in PG county (at Margaret Brent and Jessie B. Mason) only accept students from PG county mostly because they utilize PGCPS facilities. However, the Forbush School in Towson and the Autism Program at Frost (a Forbush school) do take students from other counties. The links for these two programs are provided below.
Web Page format
PowerPoint format
