The entire focus of this web site is that the child knows best. Evidence-based instruction is determined by the measurable evidence  of increased learning. The child is the evidence. If the child is not learning, the teaching is not working. If your goal is your child's accelerated learning, welcome!

I.M.A.G.IN.E® is a "system of strategies and tactics for the self-monitoring of learning". It is a combination of specific  instructional tactics developed by  Dr Giordana Hrga  and the principles of Precision Teaching founded by Professor Emeritus Ogden Richardson Lindsley (1922- 2004). This site is dedicated to Ogden, with love and gratitude for his legacy of Precision Teaching.  In transforming the nature of teaching from "art" to "pure science" learning is guaranteed - regardless of the nature of the teacher or the learner. Precision Teaching is "pure" science in that it embodies the essence of the natural sciences - discovery.

Ten years of experimental research by Dr Hrga has resulted in the discovery of “what works” to accelerate and maintain the learning  of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and severe developmental delay. Precision Teaching can be undertaken with any child where the instructional goal is the acceleration of learning.

Children require a maximum of  5 to 15 hours of instruction per week (1 to 3 hours per day) to attain permanent gains in their development.  Precision Teaching is a fast-track, evidence-based alternative to all other forms of instruction.

Performance accelerates in very short periods of instructional time with skills being attained permanently within as little as 6 minutes of practice! A learned skill is one that retains over calendar time, and can be performed in any setting.

I.M.A.G.IN.E® provides a permanent bridge for the ever-widening developmental gap in children with autism spectrum disorders, and their non-autistic peers.

A strategic system

I.M.A.G.IN.E® has evolved from the natural sciences. It is a data-based instructional system that accelerates the acquisition and generation of skills through the continuous daily monitoring of performance. In that sense, it is experimental behaviour analysis.  Through its practice over multiple randomized self-paced presentations of learning materials, a child "learns how to learn", and is in control of the learning. 

This strategic system monitors the daily increase and decrease of performance, and immediately records the learner’s performance count using standard ratio measures. Where a required skill indicates a performance decrease, or errors increase, alternate instructional tactics are implemented immediately to counteract these performance effects. The foundation rule of I.M.A.G.IN.E® is: "if it is not working - change it!" The child determines the need for instructional change, hence, "the child knows best".

By precisely monitoring performance in real time on a daily basis, instructional changes can be implemented accordingly and the acceleration of learning is assured.

Evaluate and focus on effective teaching

The I.M.A.G.IN.E® strategy provides a way to objectively evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching. It allows you to: identify what works and what doesn't on a daily basis; modify teaching tactics according to what works and what doesn't; increase the amount of learning time by decreasing time spent on tactics that are not working and; decrease the amount of instructional time by eliminating wasted learning opportunity.

Through continuous evaluation, the focus of I.M.A.G.IN.E® is both effective instruction and accelerated learning. Teaching can only be deemed effective where:

1. the child is learning

2. the learning is permanent.

In order to evaluate teacher effectiveness, a standard tool must be used to monitor the learning. For Precision Teaching, this standard universal measure is the Standard Celeration Chart.

Typical achievements

During the research, 90 children attained a range of 1 – 3 years developmental gain  for each year of  I.M.A.G.IN.E® instruction. A minimum month for month gain in development for each month of instruction, and two months gain in development for one month of instruction is a typical result. It is atypical to achieve beyond these outcomes, however, it has been observed in 10% of cases. In other words, for every ten children diagnosed with Autistic Disorder (DSM IV 299.0) who undertake I.M.A.G.IN.E®, one child will make developmental gains to a level that may warrant a "change of diagnosis". 

The change of diagnosis has been observed most frequently with younger children (aged 3 - 5) that have undertaken I.M.A.G.IN.E®for a minimum of 2 years. Children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (NOS) have achieved typical levels of academic and social functioning - for their chronological age - in 50% of cases.  

Outside of the research conditions, parents and teachers who undertook I.M.A.G.IN.E® training and maintained the standard procedures and measures have reported similar results for the children in their home and school based programs. To date, all children that have undertaken I.M.A.G.IN.E® have shown substantial improvements. 

I.M.A.G.IN.E® is NOT a "cure" for learning disorders!  It is effective instruction. All effective instruction allows compensatory and functional skills to be learned. Some examples of typical skill acquisition are featured on the Case Studies page of this website. 

Who can teach using this method?

No prerequisite professional skills are required to become a Precision Teacher so that any parent, teacher, therapist, or caregiver can train to be a Precision Teacher. The principles of learning, and performance acceleration tactics, are easily implemented and monitored once the training is complete, as you learn directly from the child what is, and is not, working for that child.

Parents often make the BEST Precision Teachers. However, some parents may find the dual role – of both parent and teacher – difficult to undertake, and very demanding. In this instance, it is recommended that parents undertake the training but act in a supervisory role for the precision teachers conducting I.M.A.G.IN.E® with their child. For this reason, once training is complete, continued direct support is available through the subscription section of this site to parents and teachers implementing I.M.A.G.IN.E® and/or supervising the Precision Teaching of their child . 

Learn to teach using I.M.A.G.IN.E®

You can learn how to teach using I.M.A.G.IN.E® by:

• attending seminars and workshops (check Becoming a Precision Teacher for dates and locations);
• accessing information in the subscribers section of this website;
• accessing consultation services available within the subscriber's section of this website.

Find out more about subscribing if you would like to accelerate the learning of a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, or that has a significant delay in development and learning.