Lifestyle
Approach
PACE Place does not teach a program.
PACE Place teaches a life-style.
Parent-led intervention is the
foundation of the family-centered model of PACE. Guiding families within
a home environment and within the community, focusing on “real-life
situations,” allows PACE Place to develop strategies that empower
parents. The PACE professionals are no longer solely in clinical
settings, removed from the real challenges families face. They now have
experience sitting with families in restaurants, struggling with kids in
the barber’s chair, and facing tantrums at the zoo. Despite training in
child development, there is no education like hands-on experience. It
is our goal to empower parents to be the primary force in their child’s
development. Then parents will be able to share their expertise of
their own child with their support systems. It is our goal to support
families as they enhance their relationships with each other.
PACE Place does not provide a program
for your child’s development. We provide guidance to develop your
child’s desire and ability to create and maintain relationships that
will last a lifetime. Our main goal is for your life and your child’s
life to become easier and more rewarding. An empowered life is a
fulfilling life. Empowerment is not an epiphany. Empowerment is a
gradual process that builds momentum as it grows. That is why our
program is one week in length. A sense of lifelong empowerment comes
from close and trusting relationships. That is why we have reduced
access to technology. Empowerment for men and women can take different
courses. That is why we have men and women on our staff. Opportunities
for empowerment do not follow an hourly schedule. That is why we spend
five hours a day with your family. Empowerment does not come from being
told what to do. That is why we start the week with your family’s
uniquely created priority list. Empowerment comes from taking risks
while staying safe. That is why we spend so much time in the community
with you and your family creating experiences.
PACE Place works because:
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We empower parents to regain the
primary role in the growth and development of their child and their
family.
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We support and guide families, in
practical everyday situations, as they develop and grow the
relationships within their family.
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We guide the parent-child
relationship using typical human development as our guide.
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We guide interactions that create
neurological change within the context of your family’s everyday
relationships.
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We help families recognize which
experiences are related to a diagnosis and which are not.
PACE Place works because our approach is
grounded in three fundamental truths.
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Children develop within a secure,
primary relationship.
Although the staff of
PACE Place has expertise in
child development and clinical diagnoses, we will never be experts
on your child. Thus, the parent-child relationship is always
pivotal to child progress. Both parents provide base relationships
that shape the development of an individual throughout life. Early
experiences with parents create a foundation of trust and security
from which the child can explore and discover the world around
them. The relationship is vastly more complicated when the child’s
style of thinking is shaped by ASD.
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Human development is our guide.
Although the staff members of PACE have devoted their professional
lives to understanding autism and related disabilities, their
in-depth knowledge of human development provides a stronger
framework for guiding children and their families. Most of the
problem areas families describe can be found in typical
development. Thus, our knowledge of child development and family
dynamics guides our thinking and influences our teaching
techniques. Regulation, organization, and social connectedness are
three powerful forces in human development. There are developmental
patterns, both progressive and debilitating, that unfold within
these three areas. Individuals with ASD can get stuck in various
stages and/or can deviate from the typical unfolding of these
developmental patterns.
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Parent-led interactions create the
foundation of our family-centered model.
As with all children, we believe that children are the happiest,
most secure, and most available for learning when the parent is in
the lead. Thus, our approach focuses on fortifying the parent’s
resolve to be the driving force in the family. A child should not
be in charge of a family. A diagnosis should not be in charge of a
child. Our approach strives to find an appropriate balance between
the needs of each family member. We believe that it is the
responsibility of the parent to ensure that balance. When the adult
leads, the child can explore and discover rather than attempt to
control and contain it.
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