A Paramus school that celebrates its 14th anniversary this week will not need to make a wish before blowing out the birthday candles. The Educational Partnership for Instructing Children (EPIC) already had its wish—or wish list—granted last month.

The EPIC school learned in December it is one of six organizations to share in the 2011 grant awards, totaling $48,000, awarded by the Drive for Autism Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises and distributes funds for educational facilities specializing in students with autism. 

"We received $6,250," said Miriam Cotto, executive director of EPIC. "That's an enormous gift for us, and we are very grateful."

Cotto said the funds will enable the Farview Avenue school to purchase TV sets, educational reading programs and special furniture, all to enhance instruction at the school.

Founded in 1997, the non-profit school is dedicated to providing educational services to individuals ages 3-21 with autism and Pervasive Development Disorder, developmental disabilities that affect a person's ability to communicate and interact with others. EPIC offers individualized educational programs, in one-on-one settings, for each of its 28 currently enrolled "learners," as students at the school are called.

This is the first grant EPIC has received from the Drive for Autism Foundation, according to Thomas Trezza, the founder of the New Providence-based charity, who learned about the Paramus school from the grandmother of a learner there.    

Near the end of each year, the foundation asks organizations that meet its qualifying criteria to submit a wish list.  

"Then we decide who gets how much based on what we have to give," said Trezza.

The grants are funded by money raised through the foundation's yearly Drive for Autism Golf Outing as well as other events, and must be used only for educational programs or equipment that the school would otherwise not be able to acquire.

Cotto was surprised by the initial letter from the foundation asking for EPIC's wish list.  

"They said they wanted to make some dreams come true," she recalled. "I thought that was beautiful."  Though school tuition covers salaries and other basic expenses, anything beyond that, the director said, depends on fundraising. "We are thrilled to have this grant," she added.

The TV sets EPIC will purchase are to be used for instructional videos that demonstrate social interaction and other important behavior skills. The school also plans to buy special furniture, including pre-school desks, shelving to house curriculum more effectively, and tables that will enable learners to practice daily living skills, such as folding laundry.

"The skills of our learners vary widely," said Dr. Paul Argott, Clinical Director at EPIC,  where a method called "applied behavior analysis" (ABA) is employed to teach new skills and increase independence. "Our goal is to enable our learners, to achieve as much independent function as each is capable of, so when they leave the school one day, they can function as independently as possible in the natural world."

Correction: An earlier version of this article said the Educational Partnership for Instructing Children was founded in 1977. It was founded in 1997.