Key Autism Services is an ABA therapy provider that encompasses dynamic, well-informed, diversity-embracing, trauma-informed, compassionate, and highly skilled Board-Certified Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, and Behavior Technicians, who are reinforced by a strong Leadership team that orchestrates, facilitates, and supports them to create an effective collaborative process among all the stakeholders.
The Stakeholders
All those involved in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are considered stakeholders when they participate in the therapy of an individual. The list of stakeholders includes and is not limited to The client, Parents, Behavior Technicians (RBT/BT), Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA), Medical professionals, Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Physical Therapists, School Team, Music therapist and Equine therapists.
When an ABA treatment plan is developed by BCBAs, implementation of that plan becomes the prime responsibility of the BCBA, RBT/BT, and parents. In an in-home therapy setting, medical professionals may or may not be part of the collaborative team, based on their involvement. If a comprehensive model is used in settings such as clinics, hospitals, or schools, additional stakeholders who provide other services such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, educational services, medical services, equine therapy, etc. then may also become responsible for their roles and support with their respective therapeutic services. Communication and collaboration become important and imperative so that the client’s progress increases when all the dots get connected to complete the big picture for the client.
Coordination of Care
Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities often require a team of professionals to support their development. This has been a highly effective and key step in the therapy process.
Here are a few examples of how coordination of care is effective:
- With the medical team: When there is a medication change or any other medical changes, it is important for parents to convey this to their ABA team so that changes in behavior, whether the behaviors increase, decrease, or even remain the same, are monitored and information is reported back so that the medical team makes updates, as necessary. When information on medication changes or other pertinent medical information is not shared, implementation of ABA strategies may become challenging, problem behaviors could escalate in all settings, and updating behavior plans to address the impacts of the changes gets delayed, thus making the client’s progress slow down or regress.
- With the Occupational Therapy team: If the client is receiving Occupational therapy, it is important for the Occupational therapist to collaborate with the ABA team so that behavioral strategies in place are implemented consistently when the client is receiving OT. The ABA team will also receive help from being trained in using some of the OT strategies accurately. This has been more often observed in multiple settings.
- With the Speech Therapy team: Speech Therapy has been seen to be most effective when ABA strategies are used during their sessions. Similarly, when working on the Language and Communication domain in ABA therapy, being trained in specific Speech strategies has been beneficial for all.
- With the Physical Therapy team: ABA therapy has been highly effective with other specialties of therapy such as Physical Therapy as behavioral challenges often have been seen when increased physical demands are placed on some clients. Being consistent with using behavioral strategies has often made PT sessions run more effectively and with fewer behavioral concerns.
- With School teams and Daycare teams: Educational systems are becoming increasingly aware of the tremendous benefits of ABA therapy. The number of students with significant behavioral difficulties has been increasing in recent years and the need for intensive behavioral support has been growing. More schools and daycares are exclusively hiring BCBAs and ABA therapists on their teams to address this need. It is also especially important that the home-based BCBA and school-based BCBA have continual collaboration to ensure strategies in place are aligned to avoid confusion if the treatment plan goals are not aligned.
Impact of ABA companies
It has been without a doubt getting support from experts in the field of behavioral science has been much needed and is evidenced by the increasing demand for Applied Behavior Analysis therapy as it is a scientifically validated therapy for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The rate of those diagnosed has been increasing, with the current number being 1 in 36. This has increased the demand for and number of ABA providers across the country. Problem behaviors observed in domains such as Communication, Social Skills, Daily Living, Adaptive Skills, Behavior Skills, and more are addressed through ABA therapy. Quality of life for clients with ASD and their families is vastly improved, and continued growth in independence and overall life skills is ensured when ethically sound, evidence-based, and research-based ABA practices are implemented with fidelity and passion by ABA therapy providers such as Key Autism Services.
To learn more about ABA therapy, contact Key Autism Services today by clicking HERE.
