As a parent, if your child gets diagnosed with Autism and is recommended ABA services, you only want the best therapy for them. Your ABA therapist should be on the same page as you and the doctors. Your therapist should be considered an extension of the family.
When you are searching for ABA services here are 4 things, we recommend considering to get the best results for your child:
Individualized plans
It has been said, if you meet one child with autism, you meet one child with autism. No two children are the same. Therefore, every child’s therapy plan should be different. The key to an individualized plan is to figure out what the child’s learning style is. Do they learn better through play or discrete trials? An individualized ABA plan is so important when you are looking for success.
Measurable Results
When you are looking for ABA services, make sure the provider focuses on measurable outcomes. Some practices may focus more on the number of therapy hours, but this is not ideal for your child. ABA is a science-based therapy. Therefore, the data that is recorded should be measurable and show an increase or decrease in the outcome that you are looking for. If the data that is collected is not favorable to the outcome a therapist is trying to achieve, then the individualized plan should be altered.
Supervision
Your therapist should always be supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). A BCBA is considered an expert in ABA, having completed a graduate degree, extensive supervised experience, and passing a national exam. While the therapist working directly with a child does not need to be a BCBA, the person supervising the therapist should be.
Good Communication
As we stated earlier, an ABA therapist should be an extension of your family. For the child to get the best services possible, good communication between the family and the therapist is a must. The family and the ABA practice all have one goal in mind and that is improving the life of the child. The only way this can be accomplished is through good communication between everyone involved.
LEAP Autism Therapy is proud to follow all these guidelines at our center. If you are looking for ABA services, please reach out to us today and we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.