STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Local news

• Edison State College hopes to provide students with more opportunities under new name
• Fewer Collier high school students take SAT but score better
• Rambosk ready to reapply to Collier Sheriff’s Office before taking over in January

Share and Enjoy [?]

Eden Florida is experiencing growing pains.

As its educational programs grow bigger, there is a need to trade up to a bigger facility.

After years of planning, the organization is ready to move its kindergarten through 12th grade school from Fort Myers to East Naples.

"We needed more space," said Armando Galella, director of Eden Florida. "Our Fort Myers school is too small. It was not conducive to our needs. It will become a clinic geared towards preschoolers."

The new six-acre campus, named the Eimerman Educational Center, is located at the former site of the Sunrise Academy on County Barn Road between Davis Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road. The building is located just south of Eden Florida’s residential facility for adults.

Sunday afternoon, Eden is inviting the community and current and future students to an open house to see the new facility, which will open June 16 for a summer camp. The open house will be held from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and will include a barbecue.

The school uses Applied Behavior Analysis, which means therapists working with students with autism teach them through repetitive, often one-on-one, sessions. Treatment is based heavily on data collected during session. Therapists use reinforcements and punishments during the sessions to slowly build skills, such as dressing or writing one’s name. The same principles are also used to reduce the negative behavior often exhibited by people with autism.

"We serve students who are all over the spectrum," said Galella. "It is our goal to provide life-span services while meeting the individual needs of students with autism. That includes everything from behavior modification to communication to learning."

They are the same principals that David Holmes used when founding Eden more than 30 years ago in Princeton, N.J. They are the same principals Holmes brought 12 years ago to Southwest Florida.

"He came at the request of families and opened Eden Florida with the idea that it could grow," Galella said.

Eden Florida purchased the land more than a year ago with the help of donors, Galella said, and has spent the past six months renovating the building.

The campus includes several classrooms, each with its own observation room to allow parents or therapists to observe the students during class or therapy. One of the classrooms has a kitchen where students will be able to learn chores for every day living.

The facility also has a room that will be used for early intervention for autistic children two-and-a-half to five-years old.

The facility also has a 40,000 gallon swimming pool.

"Physical education, especially in the water, is very conducive to children with autism," said Galella.

The school will start programs June 16 and will last eight weeks. The regular school year will start two weeks later, Galella said.

Those interested in Eden Florida and its programs should call the school at (239) 992-4680, or visit www.edenservices.org.