Parent Education

ABA treatment sessions are conducted in the client’s home and/or community settings (as appropriate). A typical session lasts 3-4 hours, but may extend up to 5 hours, with breaks. We request a dedicated space in your home where services can be provided without interruption, and in a professional manner. 

The session environment is set up according to an individualized program and would normally include both naturalistic teaching and structured teaching programs. Structured teaching may include, but is not limited to, discrete trial training, direct instruction, or chaining for specific skills.  Naturalistic teaching may include teaching through play, social opportunities with peers/siblings, teaching language through play and contrived naturalistic opportunities.  

The Behavior Technician opens up the client’s Learning Tree (Program Book) on the company iPad, and prepares to run programs for the session. Materials needed for the session are available in the client’s home in a dedicated ABA bin. Staff check in with caregivers to get information on client’s progress since last sessions, any current issues, client well-being or any setting events that might be present. Technicians implement program according to the instructions and directions on the lesson plan. They are required to implement and run all program tasks and collect data on all outlined behaviors and programs. 

Depending on the recommended hours, a supervisor may be present supporting the technician and making recommendations and giving feedback and training. If behavior excesses are displayed technicians will implement the appropriate behavioral intervention plan. 

Each client’s home-based therapy environment contains individualized teaching materials, and each technician has an iPad containing our HIPAA-protected data collection platform where all necessary forms are contained. At completion of session technicians complete their session note and do a final check-in with parents.

The goal of our ABA therapy is to support our clients to a competency level that leads to discharge or exit from services.  We want to work ourselves out of a job! 

Although ABA therapy is recommended as a long-term, intensive treatment program, with clients attending therapy sessions on a regular basis, for many hours each week, the intensity and duration of the program depends on the client’s age, the severity of their autism diagnosis, and their response to skill acquisition and maladaptive behavior reduction. 

We expect most clients to start with a comprehensive 1:1 direct service program, then as skills increase, transition to focused centered treatment, with an emphasis on a naturalistic trainer-to-trainer model. Treatment duration is effectively managed by evaluating the client’s response to treatment. Programs are developed based on each client’s skill set, developmental level, and progress toward goals. Ongoing monitoring and assessment, including Progress Reports, informs the treatment program and anticipated duration of services.  

If a client shows meaningful progress toward goals, we anticipate provision of some level of ABA services, with a plan for increased generalization of skills, gradual decreasing of direct services, and increased training of parents to implement program independently. When a client shows minimal progress, despite fidelity to treatment protocols, we would recommend discontinuation of ABA services and discussion of alternative placement or type of service. 

Parents can observe ABA sessions to better understand and implement behavioral strategies and skill acquisition programs outside of formal therapy sessions. Specific parent training topics may be scheduled and conducted while your child is receiving their ABA therapy as well. However, parents should not interrupt or interfere with the clinician's session unless specifically requested.  

Engagement and commitment to parent training is key to providing consistent intervention and support for increasing skills outside of ABA therapy hours. Parents/caregivers can practice  skills, follow behavior plans, implementing treatment strategies, and collect data (in collaboration with the clinical team) to help their child generalize skills learned during home-based ABA sessions to realistic situations in order to prepare them for full participation in society.  Many activities, games and play opportunities build on the goals set out in your child's treatment plan. Our goal is to empower clients and parent(s)/caregiver(s) to actively participate with the team to promote progress towards and achievement of desired outcomes.

Children grow and meet developmental milestones at different rates. The range of any  "developmental norm" is very wide! However, there are several early indictors that may predict a diagnosis of Austism Spectrum Disorder (i.e. delays in communication, socialization). 

The good news is that early, intensive ABA therapy has been demonstrated to be highly effective in improving outcomes for children diagnosed with ASD. Primary care physicians regularly screen children for ASD symptoms during routine medical exams, and can answer your questions and concerns.  

You will need a formal diagnosis of ASD before ABA services are authorized and your primary care physician can provide this diagnosis, or refer you to a Licensed Psychologist for a formal assessment. 

Bridging Differences ABA recognizes  that  there may be barriers to providing services to clients, including physical,  communication,  language,  cultural,  and  technological.  Additionally, we recognize the important of accessibility to activities and events in client’s communities, and our role in lowering barriers whenever possible. 

Families have varying abilities to access community resources and we strive to provide training, information, and resources to lower barriers and provide access to the same opportunities and experiences as typically developing peers.  

• Encouraging and supporting families to enroll children in sporting activities.  
• Encouraging and supporting families to attend cultural and recreational activities in their community.   
• Providing a list of local resources to support families with disabilities, such as support groups, online informational resources, social media outlets, etc.  
• Hiring bilingual staff 

Bridging Differences ABA staff are trained and encouraged to be aware of and sensitive to the physical, cultural, religious, ethnic, and other identified needs of its clients and families.  During our new client intake process, clients are asked if there are specific ethnic, cultural, or religious requirements that our staff should be aware of while providing services in the home. 

Examples could include observance of religious holidays, clothing restrictions (different from company policy), food restrictions, or personal interaction preferences (e.g., footwear in the home, formal or informal salutations).  All clients are asked for any gender preference for staff, and what languages are spoken in the home. We currently employ bilingual Spanish-English and Tagalog-English staff.