About Helping Hands Behavioral Outreach, Inc.

HHBO, Inc. is a socialization program for children and teenagers with Autism and developmental disabilities that relies on the power of peer mentors to teach social behaviors.  We provide very fun activities such as Art therapy, Music therapy, crafts,  cooking, singing, dancing,  creative learning ( including putting on puppet shows), sports and gym lessons ( e.g., football practice, soccer drills, Olympic sports such as the luge, obstacle courses, etc.),  group games and much more.  

We meet every Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm in Old Bethpage, NY.  We are open all year except for major holiday weekends and offer a sliding scale to all in need. 

Our staff is abundant and highly trained.  We have Special Education teachers, certified school counselors, many people in graduate programs with extensive experience, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who will be finishing her doctorate in Educational Psychology with a specialty in Human learning and developments in the summer of 2006, a few BCBA’s in training,   a School District Administrator with a doctorate in Education, and many support staff who have wonderful expertise.  Most of all out staff care for all of the children and love the time they are interacting.  The staff also has a unique bond and work well together.

We have a unique day where things run smoothly because the day is based on basic principals of behavior analysis.  We create behavioral momentum by reinforcing all compliant and on task efforts early on in the day, we use the Premack Principle “Grandma’s rule” by offering more preferred activities after some time is spent attempting those that are more challenging, we have group reinforcement plans and token systems as well as the use of a proactive break card procedure that enables each participant to escape any event in a socially appropriate manner. We use visual systems, and other procedures as well (detailed a bit more below).

Participants are broken down into groups of no more than eight and there are always mentors around to help.  Participants have the benefit of being in a small group.  We operate on a hierarchical system where ach person has someone to teach and someone to learn from.  Even out highest functioning participants have peers they can relate to as well as peer mentors to learn from.

To date our program continues to grow, accepting approximately 4 new students per month and a half.  We have 40 currently and will max out at 60. 

The reason for the success at HHBO, Inc.:

• High staff to participant ratio
  
• 1:1’s as needed
• Highly trained & credentialed staff
• Caring, loving and fun staff
• A dynamic and lively atmosphere
• Peer mentors to build self-efficacy

• A Saturday socialization program focusing on the power of peer models
• Friday Night teen /young adult "hang out" program that includes community integration
• Socialization program includes:
• Music Therapy
• Art therapy
• Sports instruction
• Cooking
• Acting/singing/talent show practice
• A future summer camp
• A future respite home
• A future after-school program