The Keystone Achievements Mission Statement
Keystone Achievements will embrace all families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder with compassion and provide the highest quality services for our families. All employees will communicate with clients and their families with the greatest respect and caring for the challenges these families face. Keystone Achievements is dedicated to creating a work environment that provides opportunities for its employees through career growth, learning, safety, and transparent appreciation of the entire team and families we serve.
The Mission is the Team
Many companies have a mission statement that speaks of compassion for their families and commitment to their employees. It can often feel such words are simply industry jargon that is rarely paid any attention and adhered to even more rarely.
The Keystone Achievements Mission statement is more than empty words or corporate verbiage. The mission from the inception of this company has been to live that statement. Compassion and high-quality service are a must in any ABA Center, what can often feel neglected is the team. Anyone following Keystone with any level of interest will likely notice we are very fond of the word ‘team’.
At Keystone we recognize that the most important piece in changing the life of a child or adult affected by Autism is the team surrounding them. When we begin applying ABA therapy with a new student we look to incorporate the parents/caregivers, therapists, BCBA, and any other therapists a child might be seeing into a cohesive unit. This means we provide additional training and resources for every facet of this team to ensure that we are all growing alongside the child we work with. Dedication to our staff’s growth is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle we fear many companies are missing.
Being an ABA Therapist is a great job, but no honest person would tell you it’s an easy job. Due to the challenges that can be associated with the intensity of applying ABA, ‘burn out’ can be common. Keystone’s enthusiasm for growing our staff and having a culture of high morale fortifies our team against the ‘burn out’ feeling.
Morale building events and efforts are commonplace in our center. Staff struggling with challenges, professionally or personally, are assisted to reach their full potential or given the time needed to get back on track. Recruitment efforts are focused, not just on hiring skilled therapists, but also, those that understand the importance of community and culture.
The Therapy
Of course, having a great team is only half the battle. The Denver Broncos are a great team (some seasons), but I wouldn’t put them in charge of my child’s care. We are also committed to a team with a strong understanding of the clinical portion of Applied Behavior Analysis. Our BCBAs are not torn between administrative duties and duties to their students. They are given minimal supervision responsibilities, so they can focus on being the best BCBA possible for each child.
We’ve laid a foundation of tenured and passionate Registered Behavior Technicians who will keep their skills sharp by regularly working with students, but will also be a crucial part of onboarding and training those new to the field.
Finally, in our networking and experiences with other professionals (occupational, speech, and physical therapists, advocates, school teachers, etc.) we have found that communication between the team providing ABA and other professionals is often lacking. If, as a team, we hope to see a maladaptive behavior decrease, we must all be on the same page and addressing that behavior the same way. Otherwise, our progress will be greatly slowed. Our communication with others on the team will be a daily occurrence.
Team Engagement
As therapy and programming progress, behavior changes, new targets are taught, and others are discontinued. At times, the Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) changes. Perhaps an intervention is found to have the opposite intended effect, or we have found something that might be more efficient. In any case, as a child’s programming grows, so must the team.
Parental involvement and training is a must at Keystone. Our priority is the growth of each child we have the privilege of working with, so our next priority must be the growth of everyone that influences that child.
Regular parental training will be conducted and the BCBA will always be available for questions. Anyone’s initial foray into ABA Therapy can be daunting, but with the guidance of someone who understands the purpose of all the interventions we place, commitment can be gained from the deeper recognition of how these daily actions get us closer to the end goal.
In summary, the goal at Keystone is to best serve the Autism population and we strive to do that in every step we take. Our mission and objectives are clear, but we will also always be open to feedback. Growth is our number 1 goal.