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What is ABA Therapy?
Backed by empirical evidence, Applied Behavior Analysis is considered the gold standard for improving lifelong outcomes in children with Autism.
Through intensive, one-on-one ABA therapy, our RBTs will use your child's individual motivation and interests to help them achieve milestones in the following areas:
Step by step approach:
Larger skills are broken down in to attainable skills and taught one by one.
Individualized
Each program is created to meet their individual need, and based on their assessment results.
Measurable
Goals are specific and measurable allowing for easy analysis.
Comprehensive ABA Programs
Goal: to bring the client’s functioning to levels typical for that chronological age or maximize independence in multiple areas
(Typically 26-40 hours / week)
Focused ABA Programs
Goal: to address a limited number of areas such as decreasing dangerous behavior or improving social skills
(Typically 10-25 hours / week)
A typical priority for parents and guardians is communication. Our RBT's target echoics (repeating words and sounds), manding (requesting), receptive language (understanding), tacting (labeling), intraverbals (answering questions, conversation skills, etc.), etc. as these are important foundational skills required to develop and maintain relationships with others across the lifespan.
Communication is one of the first priorities of therapy no matter where on the spectrum your child falls. Language is not a 'one-size-fits-all' skill; especially when it comes to the neurodiverse community. We have experience working with children who have not yet begun to talk, who use devices or other forms of communication, who speak but demonstrate rigidity or repetitive speech, or just have trouble initiating or maintaining a meaningful conversation.
ABA therapy teaches communication and different language skills while in collaboration with other auxiliary services like speech therapy.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
ADAPTIVE LIVING SKILLS
Every day you follow a routine, whether it’s getting dressed, going to work, going to the store, preparing a meal, cleaning the house, etc. Each of these routines are considered vital adaptive living skills that a person learns in order to better adapt to their surroundings with ease.
Adaptive skills lead to in increase in community integration, self-independence, and equally as important, quality of life. A behavioral technician works with the BCBA to assess skill level in each of these areas and then provides the tools to both the child and family, encourage independence and success.
Play is one way that children develop relationships and bonds with others. Play may consist of cause and effect, be pretend or imaginary, and include both social vs. independent activities. World exploration often takes place through touch, effects, and new experiences.
Play may feel instinctual, but, in fact, it often involves very specific goals, rules, and structure. Our RBT's contrive opportunities for children to target skill areas such as the ability to plan and sequence play activities, problem-solve challenges and generalize skills from one environment to the next.
PLAY SKILLS
SOCIAL SKILLS
Social skills can include any of the following: verbal social skills, written social skills and non-verbal social skills. Through ABA therapy, we target both the concrete skills as well as soft-skills which are just as essential.
Empathy as a social skill consists of two key components:
Recognizing the emotions of others, while understanding what they are feeling & thinking. Though this sounds very conceptual, the principles of ABA and reinforcement are used to increase a child's understanding and their ability to put this new skill (as well as others) in to practice.
The behavior technicians at xyzABA create various opportunities for growth which are then generalized to interactions at school, with siblings or with new friends.
School readiness skills are taught to prepare learners for the next step in their journey. These skills include attending to a task, waiting for attention, critical thinking, advocating for wants, needs and non-assent (not wanting something), as well as pre-academic skills related to reading, writing, and math (working memory).
Each of our learners are given support in the form of an individualized program plan and 1:1 support. xyzABA closes the gap between 1:1 instruction and other learning environments by teaching school readiness skills (in conjunction with all of the previously mentioned skills).
SCHOOL READINESS SKILLS
REDUCE CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS
The presence of challenging behaviors, if not targeted for reduction, can significantly limit the effectiveness of ABA and other treatment programs (ST, OT, etc.), as well as compromise social, educational and vocational opportunities. Our team of behavioral technicians carry out individualized behavior intervention plans (BIP) created by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). All behaviors are analyzed to identify the cause (antecedent), function, and strategies used for reduction. We place a heavy emphasis on manipulating the environment and other antecedents (variables that occur before the challenging behavior). We also work hand in hand with your family to ensure that reduction is seen during session but also during every day life and across all environments.
What makes us different?
PARENT SUPPORT
Parents play a vital role in the success of a treatment program. At xyzABA, we believe that our job is just as much to support you, the family, as it is to work with your child. One way we do this is through regularly schedule parent support / training sessions (usually weekly). Not only is this often an insurance requirement, but studies show that children whose parents are actively engaged in the therapeutic process excel more quickly, in comparison to those whose parents were not.
THERAPIST SUPPORT
RBTs practice under a BCBA and received supervision (a BCBA directly overseeing their work) for a minimum of 5% of the hours that they provide each week.
At xyZABA, we aim to provide 10-20% supervision to our RBTs. One way we do this is through asynchronous supervision. This is where the BCBA reviews video of a session and provides feedback to the RBT.
'Asynch' allows the BCBA to remain informed, even when they are not scheduled with a client that day. They are able to give feedback when new behaviors present themselves, a new target was introduced, or the RBT just wants extra feedback.