ABA & Behavioral Therapy for Autism | Connect Plus Therapy

Adult ABA & Vocational Program

We provide a place for adults with autism, and those transitioning out of school, to continue to receive the ABA support and services they need, with flexible scheduling, and highly-trained staff.

Program Details

  • Monday – Friday
  • Ages 16 and up
  • Afterschool programming
  • Sessions available all day – flexible scheduling
  • Wide range of abilities welcome
  • 1902 Fairfax Ave., Cherry Hill, NJ

About Our Adult Vocational Center

Our highly-trained staff helps adults and young adult work towards gaining increased independence by building transferable self-care, employment, social, communication, and behavioral skills in a safe setting with clinical oversight.

Our specialized center includes a variety of workstations, fitness equipment, a kitchen, and laundry appliances. The center’s design allows skill development to happen in a natural environment.

We also provide opportunities for community engagement through volunteer programs and the development and creation of products to sell online, at public events like farmer’s markets, or in our storefront.

Growing Green - Storefront

At the heart of our program is the Growing Green boutique. The boutique has an online store and a physical storefront located at the center. The storefront will consist of all the items sold online and a few additional items that can only be purchased in person. The Growing Green Storefront offers opportunities for adults to work on money handling, customer service skills, organizational skills, and social skills.

Growing Green Boutique

Packaging & Shipping

Our adult clients will help prepare packages for delivery by prepping contents, attaching shipping labels, and confirming that all invoices reflect the correct information. They will also collaborate with peers to solve issues with delays, damaged products, or back-ordered items. They also maintain an inventory of packaging products, including labels, boxes, envelopes, bubble wrap and packing tape, tissue paper, and more.

Shipping & Packaging

Coasters, Seed Bombs, & Candles

Coasters
One of the Growing Green products for sale in-store and online are handmade coasters. Creating coasters involves gathering all needed supplies, following a task analysis, paying close attention to detail, using fine motor skills to cut and trim the coasters’ fabric, and applying a paintbrush to apply the modge-podge onto the coasters.
Seed Bombs
One of the Growing Green products for sale in-store and online are seed bombs. These colorful balls are packed with perennial seeds ready to grow! Our clients will create these items with the guidance of a step-by-step task analysis sheet and their behavior technician’s support.

Candles
One of the Growing Green products for sale in-store and online are our very own hand-poured candles. Our clients and staff create this item by following a task analysis. A task analysis is a step-by-step directive that can teach a person how to perform tasks more independently.

Community Outings

Our adult clients will regularly participate in community outings where they will have the opportunity to work on essential life skills in a real-world setting. These outings will aid in their ability to be independent, work, and enjoy recreational activities on their own. Past community outings have included bowling alleys, bookstores, craft stores, grocery shopping, apple picking, and so much more.

Community Outings

Technology, Occupational Skills, & Marketing

Technology & Occupational Skills

Technical skills are the abilities and knowledge needed to perform specific tasks. They are practical and often relate to mechanical, information technology, mathematical, or scientific tasks. One example may include computer knowledge. Learned skills include understanding and learning how to input data into files, retrieving and writing emails, updating inventory, sending out material requests, filing, paper shredding, and creating new documents.

Marketing

Oversee the strategies and marketing goals deployed to increase revenue and attract new business for the Growing Green Online Boutique and the Growing Green storefront. They will create advertisement dialogues, edit content, including social media posts, and update the online store. These activities will help them work on essential life skills including, communication, writing, problem-solving, and research skills.

Technology & Marketing

Donation Center

The donation center is an integral part of our program and introduces the importance of helping those in need, compassion, and having empathy towards others. 

We will conduct research to identify groups that need our support and determine how we can benefit those groups. 

We will have an entire year’s donation schedule planned out, and will donate supplies to organizations like Mat’s Cats, Philadelphia Friendship Circle, American Heart Association, Cathedral Kitchen, and more.

Some of our donation projects will include making sandwiches for the homeless, gathering blankets and food for an animal shelter, and cleaning up a local park.

Additionally, this program teaches adults how to track and coordinate donations and will improve their written and verbal communication skills. 

Lastly, they will gain strong problem-solving skills, the ability to multi-task, learn to be detail-oriented, how to email, and work independently.

Adult Daily Living Skills, Individualized Goals & Programming

ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) are tasks that you do every day, such as getting dressed, eating food, brushing your hair, and cleaning your living space. Adults will have the opportunity to practice and learn these skills during the program.

Our adult clients will work on and practice goals created by their BCBA to increase their social and communicative skills.

While each client will have their own custom goals, they will all share the same weekly skills goals derived from the 3rd edition “Skillstreaming” book written by Robert McGinnis et al., 2012. These social skills focus on problem-solving, anger control, asking for help, rewarding yourself, and more.

Laundry

Adults will learn how to sort soiled linen and clothing in preparation for the wash. Adults will be able to wash and dry linen and clothing according to a procedure for each machine.
  • Unload dry linen
  • Fold clean linen
  • Separate personal clothing
  • Fold undergarments
  • Hang dresses, blouses, shirts, pants, and other clothing appropriately on hangers
Laundry

Cooking

Adults will learn the importance of making healthy food choices and will prepare healthy snacks and meals.

Every day a lunch menu will be posted. Each client will choose a meal to prepare from start to finish, with the assistance of their behavior technician. This will include gathering ingredients necessary and noting whether or not we have all of the ingredients required to prepare the desired meal. If we do not, it will be the client’s responsibility to add the missing food item to our grocery list.

We will then use the grocery list at our next community outing to purchase any missing ingredients.

Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene is an integral part of good health maintenance, and understanding how to take care of yourself properly is essential for a healthy life. Each client will have a personalized bin with toiletries such as deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb to practice a healthy hygiene routine.

Health & Fitness

Health and Fitness are a vital part of everyday life. The 45-minute program offers daily health and fitness opportunities by providing a gym area and equipment for cardio, yoga, aerobics, and various types of exercise. There are three rotating stations, each with 15-minute workouts that are customized to the abilities of each client.

Social & Leisure Skills

Social skills are essential to everyone. They allow us to communicate daily in various ways such as; verbal, nonverbal, visual, and written. Adults will learn and have opportunities to practice social skills with their peers before practicing and using them in the community.

Leisure activities help reduce overall stress, provide a sense of purpose, and a sense of accomplishment, and self-management. Adults will be taught the self-management skills necessary to engage in leisure skills.

Social & Leisure Skills

Get started with our high quality ABA services ​

Connect Plus Therapy works closely with evaluation teams in the area. 

If you are in need of a referral, please contact us at contact@connectplustherapy.com.