Some ABA therapy providers function as if intensive therapy requires extreme regimented therapy that pushes kids to compliance even though the student is escalated in behavior. This has led to many articles with negative opinions of ABA. Keystone Achievement’s follows best practices without the extremes of accomplishing compliance by pushing kids to the point they become resistant to therapy. We strive for a learning atmosphere that provides goal accomplishments and celebration of their successes. The best rewards are those we work hard for to achieve our goals. We want those we work with to see their accomplishments and continuously gain confidence.
In-Center Therapy
Therapy provided in a center setting has many advantages. A controlled environment outside the home allows for safe learning and experiences with peers all under the supervision of a therapist providing one-to-one skill building therapy. Socialization opportunities are critical in developing language, respect, and transferring learned skills in various environments. Centers provide sensory and gross motor devices typically not found in homes or practical for therapists to bring into home therapy. Another very important element of center therapy is the opportunity for parents and guardians to have the time they need for work, other family members, and themselves. Providing therapy in a center setting can be very advantageous to the core family.
In-Home Therapy
The home environment needs to be safe and relaxing for the entire family. This can be challenging with autism. Focusing on the skills needed to communicate with parents, siblings, and anyone else at home is a critical component for any household. The home also provides a comfortable environment for children to work on skills needed to function and navigate social interactions outside the home. Connecting developed skills from a center and home environment greatly improves a child’s ability to transfer those skills to the community and school. Consistent therapy for both the child with autism and family members to learn and implement will result in the most effective and amazing results. Learned communication, behavior, and coping strategies for all family members will become natural interactions throughout daily life.
ABA therapy includes many areas of a child's development
Functional Living Skills, Language, Social Skills, Problem Behavior Reduction
Many techniques have developed over time that are considered ABA. No one method is suitable for all. We are all unique and require our needs being met with the right formula of teaching techniques and by teachers with compassion that are willing to embrace the challenges and successes. Keystone Achievements uses best practices from various ABA methods to tailor programs to each child’s needs. Some of the most common methods are:
Incidental Teaching or Natural Environment Training provides real-life meaning to skills. It focuses on teaching skills where a child would naturally use them. Incidental teaching strategies were developed to facilitate generalization that can help a child to transfer skills to everyday situations.
DTT (Discrete Trial Teaching) involves breaking a task down into smaller, more teachable components and teaching each component separately. DTT is based on the understanding that practice helps a child master a skill. It is a structured therapy that uses a one-to-one teaching method and involves intensive learning of specific behaviors.
Verbal Behavior is designed to motivate a child to learn language by developing a connection between a word and its meaning. This could include a therapist labeling a child’s needs to include a deliberate focus on teaching them how to use their words functionally.
Natural Language Paradigm (which has been labeled as the predecessor of pivotal response training) uses the environment which may be deliberately arranged in order to increase opportunities to use specific language. Play environment are often used in NLP to model words and phrases and prompt answers to questions.
Pivotal Response Training is an intervention that relies on naturally occurring teaching opportunities and consequences. The focus is on increasing motivation by adding components such as turn-taking, reinforcing attempts, child-choices, and interspersing pre-learned skills.