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ABA ServicesIn-home ABA Services - Heather Williams, MS, BCBA Heather Williams is Board Certified in Behavior Analysis. She has extensive experience in Intensive Behavioral Intervention for children with autism and related disorders. She builds a custom, home-based intervention program for your child, including:
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What is ABA? Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a type of therapy often used in the treatment and education of children with autism spectrum disorders. To date, it is the most promising, evidence-based treatment available to children and their families. There are many misconceptions about ABA, including the notion that ABA is synonymous with discrete trial training (DTT), with Lovaas being the most well-known of DTT treatments. Discrete trial training is but one form of ABA; other ABA-based interventions include the use of positive reinforcement, behavioral momentum, token economies, and differential attention/reinforcement. Indeed, it is more accurate to think of ABA as a class of treatment, including multiple examples (e.g., positive reinforcement, differential attention), as opposed to one example of ABA (i.e., discrete trial training).
Applied behavior analysis is systematic, based on behavioral principles, and concerned with socially significant behavior. ABA is systematic in that it (a) focuses on specific, well-defined skills; (b) provides multiple opportunities to teach each skill through the use of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement; and (c) utilizes ongoing data collection to observe gains and/or worsening of behavior over time. ABA is based on behavioral principles, including the use of pre-planned antecedents (e.g., modeling and prompting) and consequences (e.g., praise, rewards, re-direction, and mild forms of punishment). And finally, ABA should be used only for those behaviors that pass the "so what?" test - that is, those behaviors that if changed will allow the child to be more successful in more situations over time. ABA is not one thing; rather, it is an approach to behavior change that should be individualized to each child's unique approach to learning. Some children will require more intensive ABA treatment (e.g., Lovaas-based discrete trial training), while others will require more naturalistic approaches (e.g., the use of a token economy to teach the child to engage with peers in the classroom). Many teachers and practitioners have been successful in implementing powerful ABA interventions in both general education and special education classroom settings. Once educators and parents come to appreciate and understand that ABA provides multiple tools and not just one specific approach - children will likely demonstrate more comprehensive, meaningful changes through participating in more individualized ABA treatments.
ABA Service Fees
- ABA Consultant Fees - Heather Williams, MS, BCBA
- Initial 1 hour consultation at KidsLink - $115
- Ongoing home-based Services - $115/hour plus travel fee.
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