At Advance Academy we believe that the purpose of any education program is to enable a child to be an independent and productive member of his or her community. As a result, we work closely with each student and family to develop a highly individualized education program that will help achieve this goal. Students may work on vocational, leisure, self-help, and social skills in addition to traditional academics such as reading and math. Students also receive Speech, Occupational, and/or Physical Therapy to help with an identified need. We also work to ensure that students are able to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned at home or in the community in addition to here at school.

We employ the principles and techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a methodology that has been used to develop successful interventions for children with autism for over 50 years. ABA has been used to teach individuals a wide variety of skills, including language skills, self-help skills, and play skills. Additionally, ABA uses a function-based approach to decrease maladaptive behaviors such as aggression, self-stimulatory behaviors, and self-injury and replace them with more desirable and appropriate behaviors.

We work closely with families to help them understand and implement the ABA principles that we utilize here at the school to help ensure consistency in each child’s daily life.

At Advance Academy, we strive to serve our students and experience has shown that the best outcome is achieved when we all work together as a team – student, family, faculty, and community. Our goal at Advance Academy is for each student to learn to manage his or her own socially significant behaviors while achieving maximum academic potential – and make friends and have fun while doing it!

Advance Academy is the only year-round day school in southeast Georgia for children, ages 5-21, diagnosed with ASD. Advance Academy is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission and is a provider for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program.