Our Services
At Kendall Behavior Therapy, our highly trained Behavior Analysts (BCBAs, BCaBA’s, Licensed Counselors and Social Workers) offer individualized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for children, teenagers and adults with diagnoses that include the Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, Learning Disorders, and other conditions that affect development and behavioral functioning.
Treatment can be provided in the home, school and community settings. The goals of intervention are not only to improve behavior, but also to enhance the overall quality of life for children and families.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Applied Behavior Analysis is an empirically based teaching methodology involving the application of basic behavioral principles to teach socially significant behaviors including language, play, academic, motor, self-help, and adaptive living skills. One such behavior principle is positive reinforcement, when a behavior is followed by a reward then the behavior is likely to increase or occur again. The strategies can be effective in reducing challenging behaviors such as aggression, destruction, self-injurious behaviors, etc. ABA includes a broad range of techniques that are effective with individuals of all ages and individuals with autism and other developmental disorders. The methodology utilizes teaching techniques such as incidental teaching, discrete trial teaching, verbal behavior, and pivotal response training, as well as many other scientifically proven strategies.
1:1 ABA THERAPY
Once a comprehensive evaluation of the learner’s skills is conducted to assist in creating an individualized intervention plan, intense 1:1 therapy sessions may then be conducted to address the needs of the child. Parent training is also a component to assist with the generalization and process of new skills. Length of therapy sessions may vary depending on the client’s needs. A minimum of 4-hours per week is usually suggested for more serious cases up to 40 hours per week of combined services (Behavior Analyst and Behavior Assistant). Each session may be up to 6 hours in length, depending on the child.
Treatment may be provided solely by an Analyst or a behavior assistant may be trained to work with the child through supervision of the Analyst. Progress is monitored through data collection and graphing and is shared with the caregivers. The data is what guides the treatment decisions, thus it is a very important tool and crucial for any 1:1 ABA therapy progress.
FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOR ASSESSMENT (FBA)
A functional behavior assessment is generally considered to be a problem-solving process for addressing a child’s problem behavior. It relies on a variety of techniques and strategies to identify the purposes of specific behavior and to help select interventions to directly address the problem behavior.
A functional behavior assessment looks beyond the behavior itself. The focus when conducting a functional behavior assessment is on identifying maintaining variables, pupil-specific, social, affective, cognitive, and/or environmental factors associated with the occurrence (and non-occurrence) of specific behaviors. This broader perspective offers a better understanding of the function or purpose behind a child’s problem behavior. Behavioral intervention plans based on an understanding of “why” a child misbehaves are extremely useful in addressing a wide range of problem behaviors.
A functional behavioral assessment will consist of 1-3 evaluation sessions with your child to assess behavior in various situations and maintaining variables.
BEHAVIOR SUPPORT CONSULTATION/PARENT TRAINING
Consultation time will be spent with parent(s) or caregivers to discuss ongoing problem behaviors and conduct parent trainings. Consultations with parents may or may not have the child present for the session, depending on the child’s immediate needs. Caregivers will be evaluated and trained by both the Analyst and the Behavior Assistant.
All of the above services can be applied to school districts, classrooms, and educators’ needs to assist children with developmental disabilities in the school environment. Assistance may also be provided through consultations in Behavior Intervention Plan writing, etc.