Services at the Astor Residential Programs

Children in residence at Astor receive intense individualized attention, as each class of 6-8 students has one certified teacher and one or two teacher assistants. Speech-language and occupational therapies complement the academic program.

We offer many opportunities for further enrichment and skill development — sports, creative activities, music, dance and crafts. We provide religious education according to family wishes, and services if the family desires, through our spiritual development coordinator and community clergy.

Our residential units each accommodate 10-11 children. On units for children needing the most intensive support and supervision, there are typically 3 child care staff members on duty. The staffing ratio for other units is 2 staff for 10-11 children. Each residential unit has a treatment team led by a Clinical Psychologist, Child Care Supervisor and Social Worker. Our Nurses attend to children’s routine and special health care, and staff Psychiatrists provide evaluation, clinical consultation, and when needed, medication prescription and monitoring.

Therapy at Astor:
What comes into play?

Every child and family is unique. That’s why we offer a wide spectrum of therapeutic services and techniques — individual, group and family therapy — to insure that each child is fully engaged in his/her program. In addition to our daily milieu programming, our therapy programs feature:

• Doctoral-level psychologists trained to tailor therapy sessions to each child’s unique needs.
• State of the art play therapy rooms — carefully designed to spark children’s imaginative and symbolic play — offering unlimited opportunities for less verbal children to express their emotional concerns. Modalities include:
  • Sand tray work
  • Expressive arts
  • Puppet play
• Weekly social skills group for each and every child to foster crisis management skills, problem solving strategies and interpersonal interaction skills.
• Cognitive behavioral techniques that are designed specifically for young children to help them regulate their behavior and emotions.
• Specialized group therapy for problematic sexual behavior and fire-setting.

Astor Takes a Leadership Role in the Reduction of Use of Physical Restraint

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