Admissions

Cyzner Institute serves a close-knit student body in our Day School program. Our school calendar follows a typical school year from late August to early June. We have a rolling admissions policy and can accept new students throughout the academic calendar year. Please note some students may not matriculate into a classroom right away as they may benefit from participating in our 1:1 services first. Contact Us for more information about our admissions procedure and/or to schedule an initial consultation or site visit. Site visits are conducted Mondays between 9:45am and 11:30am (note: Please see procedures being followed currently due to COVID-19).

Cyzner Institute reviews all applicants for admission on the basis of individual need.  The Cyzner Institute does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation,  gender identity, age, or disability. Because of the probable genetic and/or environmental predisposition studied and documented in research related to autism and related neurological disorders as well as studies which explore that these disorders ay cross all racial, color, religious and ethnic backgrounds, as part of the admissions process, first and foremost, in the need of the child and his or her family.  Thus, dempgraphics do not impact acceptance and  subsequently are not collected.

Our Admissions procedure is as follows:

Initial contact
After the initial phone contact, a PDF document will be sent to you via email which will be the Admissions Packet. Then, you can meet with the Director and / or Clinical Director (BCBA) to tour the institute, to learn about our services, and to share information about your child’s needs. If you have written medical, health care or other evaluations about your child, please email / scan them prior to the meeting for the Administrative team to review. For those considering placement in our weekday program, you will be asked to bring your child for a visit as part of an observation prior to the evaluation and placement testing.

Since mid-March of 2020, due to COVID-19, this process has been adapted in order to maintain safey and is primarily conducted virtually. The stepas are as follows:

• In person visits are temporarily suspended. Therefore, once the initial contact has been made, an Administrator will contact you to set up a phone call or video conference which takes the place of the tour and meeting. This will be utilized also to gather pertinent information via conversation, and if supporting documents are needed, the Administrator will request those to be sent via email. Upon receipt, these documents will be reviewed.
• In addition, you will be asked to provide your permission for us to contact at least one primary therapist or teacher. This individual must have worked with your child for a minimum of 6 months on a consistent basis.
• Once we have received permission to contact a primary therapist or teacher, ideally, we try to set up a time to virtually join a session in order to observe the child.
• All of the aforementioned is used to determine best fit for our programs.

Application and Evaluation

Once fit for our program is confirmed, the assessment evaluation process begins. At the time of the evaluation, when we are able to schedule it, full payment is required before the session can take place. The Director and / or Clinical Director will have reviewed any previous evaluations your child may have had with other professionals. Your child will be evaluated depending upon age, grade, etc. using a possible combination of standardized and non-standardized measures. It is important to note that this is not a diagnostic evaluation. Immediately after the evaluation, if time permits, those conducting the evaluation will meet with you for a brief interpretive. Depending on method of payment, particularly if you are using insurance, this process is subject to change as approval may be needed initially for this assessment evaluation process and subsequenty a treatment plan is derived. Please note timing of the entire process is dependent upon the insurance company. Once a family decides to enroll, a customized instructional program is developed for the child whether attending the day program, 1:1 program, or home program. If the Administrative Team determine that your child needs an additional occupational therapy and /or speed and language evaluation, they will discuss this with you and give more information.

When you bring your child for the evaluation, if you have not already returned the paperwork, please provide at that time your completed application and signed “permission to share information” forms. Please also bring a snack and a drink for your child as well as favorite toys, books, etc. which are motivating for your child. Please also be prepared to pay a fee. All fees are provided in the admissions packet.

Evaluation
Our Director, Clinical Director, and Parent Liaison will review any previous evaluations your child may have had with other professionals and then work with your child one-to-one, observing his or her specific skill development in different areas. A variety of assessment tools are used depending upon a child’s age, grade, and needs e.g., whether in need of ABA services or tutoring. If time allows, we will meet briefly at the conclusion of the evaluation for an interpretive. After the initial evaluation, a comprehensive report is then written by the Parent Liaison and/or Clinical Director within 2-4 weeks, with recommendations. The report is sent to the parents for review as long as payment was provided at the time of the evaluation. Once a family decides to enroll, a customized instructional program is developed for the child whether attending the 1:1 sessions or the Day School program.