The Practice Of Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy

Various approaches exist to treat autism. One that has been around for a while and has proven effective is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Applied Behavior Analysis was derived from data and research. The strategy was designed to teach children who are on the autism spectrum or have similar diagnoses.

A variety of things can be taught with Applied Behavior Therapy; skills such as: communication, relationship development, daily life skills, and other valuable skills that are needed to be productive. A specialist will work with you to develop an ABA intervention. One intervention does not work in every circumstance, they have to be custom tailored to the child. To plan an intervention the specialist will take into account all of the aspects that make up a child’s life from preferences, to interests, and especially their needs.

Applied Behavior Therapy For Your Home

It is possible to receive help from a therapist in your home in order to get the most effectiveness from your ABA treatment. Our in-home services are provided by a Registered Behavior Technician. Services can be arranged for those who are over 18 months and have a diagnosis of autism or similar condition.

We can provide the following services:

• Interventions custom tailored to your child by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Supervision provided by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Treatment goals designed to meet the needs of the child and the desires of the family
• Develop skills with the child to enable him to live a productive and happy life
• Meetings to ensure that goals are met and progress is on track
• Regular analysis to ensure adjustments are not needed to the plan
• Work with parents to educate them on interventions and prepare them to train family

Payment For ABA Therapy In Home

Our goal is to be able to work with all families to ensure they get the help they need. That means we work with health insurance companies and Medicaid. Further, we accept private payment in a wide variety of forms. Contact us today to start learning how ABA can help your child.

How To Choose A Therapist For An In-Home Program

Finding an in-home program for therapy is a big decision. Not only do you want to find a good program, you want to find one that is right for you. Take a look at these key points and use them to help guide your choice:

• You want to find highly qualified therapists that are trained to help your child with their specific needs.
• The program must be able to provide the appropriate number of therapists to cover your child’s needs.
• Therapists that are involved in the in-home program must be under the supervision of a credentialed therapist with no less than 4 years of experience in child therapy. That supervisor must not just supervise the program but spend time with your child.
• Determine the number of hours your child needs help with every week, work with your primary doctor or therapist to come up with the required coverage.
• The program either provides the right tools for the program or works with you to get them.
• Those running the program should have a plan for tracking your child’s progress. You should have access to the progress logs.
• You should work with the supervisor to create a quite space for your child to work on ABA.
• At home ABA should be performed in a one-on-one style.
• Your child’s care team should have regular meetings at least once a month in order to stay on top of your child’s team.

Regular documentation of everything that happens in sessions is incredibly important. Without documentation progress is hard to track and it is hard to keep the care team accountable. Not only should there be a documentation plan be set up but it should be uniform so that it is easy to understand every therapist’s documentation.

There are a variety of options to create an appropriate program. Some parents decide to fund a program themselves and work directly with an agency in order to develop the program. Other parents work with a school district or public agency to create a program. Some areas do not provide public funding for one-on-one programs and if this is true about your area, you can contact an advocate, attorney, or work with a company to get your program funded.

There is no best route to go. You need to decide by becoming an educated and prepared patient. To do that, you are already on the right track by reading material such as this.

For parents that want to provide ABA therapy themselves, this is an option. However, it is incredibly important that you take the time to receive ABA training and learn to keep proper records. You can also still have your personal program supervised by a trained specialist.

Hiring The Therapists For Your Program

Different programs come with different options. For example, some programs only provide the supervisor for your ABA therapy program. Others will provide the supervisor along with the therapists who will work with your child on a daily basis. Other programs will coordinate with you to help you hire therapists.

Choosing to hire your own therapists gives you more freedom but you do have to be the manager of the program. Another advantage that you will find to hiring your own therapists is more leeway in setting the hourly rates of your therapy team. This route takes more time and effort in exchange for the lower price. You also have to pick the therapists in the first place.

Talk with your provider in order to determine what they expect from you and how their program works. No matter the program, they will still expect involvement from you as the parent. This helps to provide a unified approached.

The three most important parts to finding an ABA therapist is to find someone who is experienced in the program, has the training needed, and most of all that they like to work with children. Many professionals compare the questions you should ask to those you would be asking a babysitter.

Here are some of the questions you should ask:

• Can you detail your experience?
• What education and training do you have and where did you receive it?
• What follow-up training do you receive?
• How many families have you worked with?
• What was your reason for leaving past families?
• How do you manage misbehaving children? What about different levels of misbehaving?
• Do you plan to work with my family a while?
• What are your plans for the future?

It is important that you discuss specifics during the process such as how you plan to handle discipline and how you plan to record the program. This helps the potential therapist to understand the program they are going to be a part of. You should also be crystal clear on the basics of the job such as pay, agreements, reimbursements, etc.

Performing a background check is a good step to take, one that is crucial for anyone who will be working with your children. During the interview you can ask them background questions, but it is always a good idea to follow that up with a formal background check. The references you ask them to provide will help to further aid with screening the person. We recommend a minimum of three references but a maximum of around five.

The Supervisor For Your Child’s Program (Case)

The person who oversees the program that your child will be a part of is known as the supervisor. Your supervisor will be the person who leads the program, leads those who work with your child, and helps you to understand the process. The supervisor plays a crucial role in the treatment process as they are the most educated part of the team and do a large portion of the training. They also lead the regular case meetings and ensure proper tracking of progress.

For a supervisor, you are looking to hire someone who has a higher-level degree in addition to a good number of years working with children. A majority of their experience should be in working with children with autism. It also helps if they have worked in lower level positions in the past so they can thoroughly understand the role of the Registered Behavior Technician (therapist).

A therapist plays different roles depending on your specific program. Some therapists only spend a couple of hours a week with your child. Others might spend up to ten. The number is dependent on the program and should fluctuate with the amount of attention your child requires from the supervisor.

The supervisor should give you many of the things that shape the program into what it is.

These might include:

• Training therapists that will be working with your child.
• Developing curriculum for your child’s program.
• Interfacing with other members of your child’s care team.
• Working to establish a proper schooling plan.
• Holding and leading regular clinical meetings to keep your program dynamic to your child’s needs.
• Verifying all work that is performed with your child.
• Observing your child in their various surroundings.
• Set appropriate goals and helping the team to help your child achieve them.
• Submitting work and goal completion to your school district.
• Perform regular testing on progress along with annual standardized testing to determine overall progress toward goals.
• Regularly be looking to identify where you child is needing help.
• Helping you as the parent to help your child along in the program.
• Work with any siblings to aid in the home.

Your child’s supervisor must be someone that you can turn to when you have needs or questions. It is an important role and should be someone that you choose with care. They will be the one helping your child to succeed and advising you along the way.

At Children’s Wellness Company, we offer ABA Therapy through licensed providers at a Masters or Doctorate level. To learn more about our ABA Therapy services, contact us at 305-310-4245 or you can email us.