Pasadena Independent School District

The Academic and Behavior Learning Environment II (ABLE II) program is an educational program for students who are kindergarten through 8^th grade with Autism Spectrum Disorders who are able to function academically in the general education or resource setting, but require social or behavioral support from a specially-trained staff member in order to facilitate the development of socially appropriate behaviors. 

Students who participate in the ABLE II program receive their core subject instruction in the general education, support facilitation, or resource setting.  Students will attend the ABLE 2 classroom for direct social skills instruction with their peers.  These services typically will consist of 30-45 minutes per day to target skills identified within the student’s IEP.  Typically, students who are eligible to participate in the ABLE II program have social skills and mild behavioral difficulties.  Prior to proposing a more restrictive placement (ABLE II), the campus should attempt to provide the required social skills and behavioral supports for a minimum of 6 weeks.  If the data indicate the social skills and behavioral supports are unsuccessful, the campus should contact the district level specialist to schedule a staffing to review behavioral data.  

Students assigned to the ABLE II program will be included in the general education setting to the maximum extent possible as determined by the ARD committee.  The level of support provided to the student during times in an inclusive setting shall be determined by the ARD committee.  Participation in inclusion should change via an ARD committee decision as deemed appropriate for each individual student and will depend on the student’s ability to reach mastery criteria on the specific IEP objectives.  

The ABLE II program is founded on the belief that students benefit behaviorally from educational experiences within the mainstream setting and academically from participation in the general education curriculum.  The function of ABLE II services is to target socially inappropriate behaviors, identify replacement behaviors, and provide the opportunity for practice of appropriate behaviors across school settings.  The ABLE II program implements an intensive monitoring schedule to allow for students with social and behavioral difficulties to participate as fully as possible in the general education environment.  

The schedule of services for students participating in the ABLE II program should document the social skills instructional services, as well as expected amount of behavioral support required from the ABLE II program (i.e., 30 minutes per week).  If the student is requiring more than the ARD agreed upon behavioral support minutes, the campus will hold a staffing to discuss the student’s behavior and propose an increase in time for the ARD committee.