Ivymount Professional Collaborative

A learning platform that drives effective services and shares what works.

 

For six decades, Ivymount has provided leadership for professionals plus exceptional education and therapeutic programs that respond to the needs of our community.

Evidence-based, interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with universities and professionals invigorate the field and enhance the services we provide.

We’re dedicated to establishing community connections while developing, implementing, and measuring the effectiveness of training programs. By doing so, we use our knowledge to help grow the education community more broadly.

Training Programs for Professionals

Partnerships & Collaboration with Universities

Professional Training & Consultation for Agencies & Other Schools

Tools, Resources & Training

Join Us

Joining the Ivymount community offers a unique opportunity to work side by side with hundreds of people who believe in what they do and are dedicated to supporting our neurodiverse community of students, clients, and their families.

Training Programs for Professionals

Enhance your professional skills with training on the latest in evidence-based, interdisciplinary programming for neurodivergent people.  

What We Provide

We value continual professional learning, including a strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration. 

We provide a dynamic yet structured environment so interns and professionals receiving advanced training can grow alongside our students and clients. In addition to the strong supervision and coaching model provided across the organization, we provide specialized supervision in:  

We offer a robust Supervised Fieldwork experience for eligible employees applying the science of behavior change with a commitment to client dignity and autonomy.  Our Supervised Fieldwork experience includes: 

  • Ongoing training and professional growth for employees through individualized supervision experiences, practice with a diverse set of behavior analytic skills, and a robust group supervision curriculum. 
  •  High quality, ongoing supervision and feedback, with a client-centered and compassionate approach to behavior change.  
  • Specialized rotations for qualified employees in the areas of: academic teaching and assessment, reduction of severe problem behavior, group instruction; adaptive assessments and skill acquisition programming; early intervention assessments and skill acquisition programming; training and supervision; behavior analytic research; parent training; and collaboration across disciplines.

We work with universities to provide teaching practicum placements for provisionally certified teachers and teachers looking for advanced supervision. 

  • Placements allow teachers/trainees to gain high quality supervision and training to employ evidence-based instructional practices with autistic students and students with other developmental disabilities
  • Strengths-based approach to teaching supports students in achieving goals and increasing their autonomy across school, community, and workplace settings
  • Placements foster collaboration between and across educators and related service providers with emphasis on student and caregiver values and involvement

We provide specialized advanced training to graduate interns and Master’s level therapists that includes training in evidence-based therapy techniques, data collection and analysis, in addition to in-house professional development opportunities and discipline-specific supervision and training listed below.  

  • Speech-language therapy 
    • Supervision of graduate interns plus those in their clinical fellowship year (CFY) 
    • Individualized, hands-on support and training, plus a network of experienced speech therapists with whom to collaborate  
  • Occupational therapy
    • Level 1 and Level II fieldwork experiences 
    • Supportive environment that promotes client choice and autonomy 
  • Social work
    • Supervision and support for Licensed Master Social Workers (LMSWs) 
    • Emphasis on client autonomy and involvement in therapy

We collaborate with local universities, medical centers, and other institutes to provide fellowship and/or observation experiences for professionals. 

Examples of Practicum, Fellowship and/or Observation Experiences: 

  • In collaboration with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and MedStar-Georgetown University Medical Center, Ivymount offers eight week rotations for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows who have already completed their training and residencies. 
  • In collaboration with George Washington University and other local universities, Ivymount provides supervision for speech-language therapy graduate interns.
  • In collaboration with Georgetown University Hospital, Ivymount offers a monthly rotation for first year developmental and behavioral pediatric residents.

All of our supervisors and trainers receive initial and ongoing training on the use of evidence-based decision making to guide their practice. This approach combines the best available research evidence with our clients’ values and preferences and our staff members’ clinical expertise.  We take care to integrate these three perspectives in a way that helps every young person live their best, most fulfilling life.

All supervisors are Ivymount-trained special educators, therapists, behavior analysts and specialists. All professional training takes place in Ivymount Organization Programs or in partnership sites. 

Partnerships with Universities

We collaborate with our partners to combine science and the art of implementation to drive results and share what works.

We integrate science with the values, needs, and input of our clients, their families, professionals, and university and research partners. We believe that this integration provides the best platform for learning, collaboration, and growth. Our partnerships and applied research collaborations help us to support our staff, students, and clients in becoming enriched, lifelong learners.

How We Can Partner

In addition to working with partners as a training site, we partner with universities, organizations and practitioners throughout the Washington, DC metro region to improve services and supports for our students and clients, as well as increase the accessibility of education for all by: 

  • Developing and testing programs and curricula 
  • Providing training and support to staff outside our setting 
  • Engaging in applied research collaborations 

 

Collaboration between Ivymount and our partners continuously shapes our work. Evidence-based, interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with universities and professionals provide training, research opportunities, and a dynamic environment for the development and evaluation of effective services for autistic individuals and those with related disabilities.   

Examples of Partnerships 

In collaboration with the Children’s National Medical Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Ivymount staff authored Unstuck and On Target, a curriculum for teaching executive function skills to students on the autism spectrum. A series of randomized controlled trials indicate that students using this program improved significantly in terms of flexibility. 

Project SEARCH is a one-year transition-to-work program for young adults with disabilities. A national program founded in Cincinnati, Project SEARCH came to the DC metro region in 2010, and Ivymount partners with SEEC (a local adult service provider) to manage Project SEARCH programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Montgomery County Government, and Smithsonian Institute. Ivymount and SEEC also launched a program at Embassy Suites/Hilton Worldwide which is now managed by SEEC and DC Public Schools. 

Professional Training & Consultation for Agencies & Other Schools

We’re on your team. Our Professional Training and Consultation services share Ivymount’s excellence and expertise with the broader community through a variety of individualized consultation services to organizations, agencies, schools, and professionals

How We Can Help

  • Provide data-driven program assessment and recommendations, including external reviews, to other professionals, agencies, and organizations 
  • Administer comprehensive staff trainings and workshops to strengthen the special education community as a collective 
  • Offer individualized, short term consultation services to other professionals and organizations on instruction and student learning practices, compassionate behavior change procedures, systematic staff training and supervision, and caregiver involvement and training. 

 

Examples of Consultation

  • Helped a charter school reduce dangerous behaviors and employ best crisis management practices by providing ongoing assessment, recommendations, and technical assistance 
  • Assisted a daycare with strategies and supports to prevent challenging behavior and to increase participation among 2-4-year-old children 
  • Used our staff’s expertise to develop strategies for a residential setting to maximize student engagement and learning during school day activities 
  • Conducted Individual Student Functional Behavior Assessments, developed Behavior Intervention Plan recommendations, and facilitated staff training in public schools