Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

Services for Children on the Autism Spectrum

Communication Skills

We help to develop language skills based on the works of B.F. Skinner, James Partington, Mark Sundberg, Vincent Carbone and others. We work on developing manding (requesting), tacting (making relevant comments), intraverbals (conversation), grammatical and articulation skills. We help to improve both receptive and expressive language skills. Our goal is to assist children and adolescents on the autism spectrum (AS) to effectively communicate with their family members and peers. If needed, we also use assistive technology and augmented communication devices such as the Proloquo2Go and Touch Chat applications on the iPad along with the Word Power software. We focus more on natural environment training (NET) and conduct limited intensive teaching at the table (ITT) sessions.

Social Skills

We focus on developing play and verbal skills so that we can promote socialization for our clients with their family members and peers. We teach engagement with toys, games, sports and other activities and help to develop conversational skills. We also work on learning to utilize appropriate methods of gaining attention and socializing with other individuals.

Friendship Groups

We host weekly Friendship Groups. We match our clients by age, interests, and skill levels and their Technicians and BCBAs attend to facilitate activities to promote socialization.  

Behavior

If a child has difficulty with communication skills and/or also has sensory challenges, they may demonstrate maladaptive behaviors. Our goal is to utilize the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and positive reinforcement methods in order to reduce maladaptive behaviors. However, more importantly, we also focus on helping the child to develop socially appropriate and functional behaviors, in order to reduce the maladaptive behaviors. A functional behavior assessment (FBA) is conducted by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) prior to determining behavioral interventions. In addition, support and training is also provided to caregivers.

Caregiver Training 


We offer Caregiver Training to provide support to and to help out clients generalize the skills they are acquiring during sessions to other members of their household.

Collaboration 


Our BCBAs work with the other professionals in our clients’ lives such as their teachers, doctors, and providers of related services to ensure consistency in all environments. Consent is required before any collaboration.

Leisure and Self-Care Skills

Depending on the child’s age and developmental abilities, we help to develop self-care skills such as toothbrushing, dressing, etc. along with developing skills in order to complete household chores such as folding laundry, setting the table, etc. Our goal is to make the child or adolescent as independent as possible.

Toileting

Children on the autism spectrum often do not respond favorably to typical toilet training methods. Therefore, research based methods of toileting with autistic individuals are utilized with children, along with support being provided to caregivers during this process.

Feeding

Due to sensory and behavioral challenges, children on the autism spectrum can have a limited diet. We implement interventions in order to teach children to eat a variety of healthy foods within all food groups. The method of intervention is selected based on the child’s behaviors and challenges.