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Having a child with autism typically presents certain challenges, but luckily, advancements in our understanding of autism and how we can help individuals on the spectrum have given us tools to overcome those challenges. If you have a child with autism, learn more about how autism therapy services can benefit them and enable them to live a happy and fulfilling life. What are some of the different types of autism therapy services? Behavioral therapy. This type of therapy treats your child’s behavior as a form of communication, and its success is backed by decades of evidence. The therapist works with your child to understand their problematic behaviors and teaches them new ways to interact that are more appropriate. An example would be pinpointing why a child may start yelling during interactions and teaching them more effective ways to communicate their needs and desires. Speech therapy. Speech therapy is designed to help children with autism learn how to communicate more effectively and interact with other people. This can include teaching them about social cues and common actions such as making eye contact and taking turns in a conversation. It can also consist of non-verbal communication methods as well. Whether it’s expressing themselves through pictures, sign language, or computers, it’s an autism therapy service that allows children on the spectrum to communicate efficiently. Occupational therapy. Therapists use occupational therapy to teach autistic children the skills they need to live as independently as possible. Through thoughtful guidance and diligent practice, your child can learn how to handle essential tasks themselves. This can include anything from dressing themselves to eating, bathing, and doing basic maintenance to keep their home in order. What are the benefits of these autism therapy services? It helps give them a sense of community. Many autism therapies are offered in a group setting, which allows your child to interact with other similar children on a regular basis. Even if you choose to opt for one-on-one sessions, children often develop close bonds with their therapist and form strong relationships. By learning helpful communication skills, your child will also be better prepared to form their own relationships and build their own community outside of therapy. Children who use therapy services are better prepared for life. While many parents want to go above and beyond for their children, it’s nice having the peace of mind knowing they can also take care of themselves, and autism therapy is an effective way to do that. Therapists can teach your child daily living skills, improve their motor skill capabilities, and increase the awareness of their body and its relation to others. These are all essential skills to help your child be as independent as possible. Therapy also equips parents with valuable skills. Your child isn’t the only one who will benefit from the various therapies. They can also be beneficial for parents as well. You’ll learn techniques and glean invaluable insights that’ll help you interact and teach your child outside of the sessions. Having these skillsets helps you to create an environment at home that allows your child to thrive. Get started with autism therapy services today. Here at Compass Behavioral & Developmental Consultants LLC, we specialize in providing compassionate care for children with autism throughout Georgia and South Carolina. For nearly 10 years, we’ve been using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to treat children with great success, and we’re confident that we can help improve your child’s independence, inclusion, and overall quality of life.

When you first have a child diagnosed with autism, there’s a flurry of information that’s sent your way. A big part of that information is likely the recommendation for ABA therapy. If you’re new to the world of ABA, there’s a lot to learn. At Compass Behavioral & Developmental Consultants , we offer ABA therapy in Valdosta, GA, Thomasville, GA, Hinesville, GA, Warner Robins, GA and Lakeland, GA and will work with you to help you understand what all it entails and how it can help your child with autism. To get started, we’ve assembled this short guide to provide you with some of the basics about ABA. What is ABA therapy? ABA stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis and it’s a therapy that’s designed to shape behavior. This works well with children with autism because it can teach them how to model their behaviors and habits around desired outcomes. These can be things as simple as learning how to sit and wait for direction or as involved as teaching speech and toilet training. The programs involved in therapy are catered to the unique needs of each child. What does ABA teach? Children in ABA therapy can learn a broad range of skills. Receptive skills like learning how to follow directions and selecting objects from a variety of options are just a small part of ABA therapy. Additional adaptive skills can include learning how to get dressed, bathe, and brush teeth can be taught when patients are ready for them. Those who need more assistance with therapy can even be toilet trained as needed. When children are ready, they can be prepared with academic and pre-academic skills so they can transition into a public school when they’re ready.Various social skills and verbal skills needed to navigate school and other settings. How will my child benefit from ABA? Your child will benefit from ABA in a variety of ways. They can be taught social skills that help them learn how to play with their peers as well as engaging in interactive play. You’ll notice a difference in play as they are taught how to play with toys and expand their interests beyond the tiny world they will often seclude themselves to. With the help of ABA, you’ll notice that your child has much easier days at home and even when you’re out in the community. How long is a typical ABA therapy session? ABA therapy sessions vary based on the needs of the individual child. It’s not uncommon for children to find success with a morning of therapy a few times a week. This could be enough to teach them the social skills that they need to succeed at a public school. In contrast, it’s not uncommon for a child to spend eight hours a day in ABA therapy to learn everything from basic expressive language like labeling objects and people to advanced adaptive skills. Therapy is curated according to the needs of the child and their doctor and therapist will work with you to find what’s right. Get in touch to learn more If you’d like to continue learning more about ABA therapy in Valdosta, please get in touch with our team at Compass. We’re dedicated to providing children with autism the therapy they need to improve how they interact with people and their community in their everyday lives. Give us a call to learn more about ABA therapy and how it can benefit your child with autism. Call 800-832-9419 and we’ll get you in touch with our clinic near you. You can also send a message using our contact form and we’ll be sure to get back to you promptly.

When you have a child with autism it can be difficult to know exactly the best way to help them navigate life. There is going to be challenging behavior, and, as a parent, you’re doing a great job helping your child along the way. Even so, It’s not uncommon to feel like there’s more that can be done to help make your child’s everyday life easier. With the help of ABA Therapists, you can. Read our short guide below to learn more about how our team at Compass Behavioral & Developmental Consultants can help your child learn the skills they need to go about life. Implement ABA individualized treatment plans There used to be an erroneous belief that people with autism couldn’t learn. However, studies found that children with autism can learn, but the learning process is different. This is where ABA therapy came into the picture. ABA Therapists will take the time to work with your child to create an individualized ABA treatment plan to ensure that he or she gets the most benefit out of the program. An individualized plan is crucial as not all children with autism are on the same level or need the same lessons. For instance, one child could be learning how to write their name while another is learning how to effectively convey that they want to eat lunch. Both children could be five years old but on drastically different levels. This is why it’s important that an individualized ABA treatment plan is put into place and a behavior clinician will do that for your child. Monitors progress of treatment All ABA Therapists have responsibility to evaluate how their child is progressing through their treatment. This means that they will take into account how quickly or slowly the child is picking up the concepts of the skills and evaluate necessary steps to help them continue to learn. This might include taking steps to teach more difficult skills sooner than what was initially planned or even slowing down their program to ensure that they’re truly learning and applying the skills they’ve learned. Provides therapy in a clinic and at home A clinic creates an excellent environment for learning for children with autism because it’s learning-focused and mostly free of distractions. Many children do a great job learning in a clinic for these reasons. However, at-home ABA therapy is also a great way to teach skills and behavior in a practical setting. Your child’s therapist might be able to better teach him or her how to make their bed at home rather than teaching the concept by using a small bed for a doll. The balance of home and clinical therapy is a great way for your child to make strides in their development. Provides parents and BCBAs with regular progress updates As a parent, you want to know how your child is doing in school. Are they keeping their grades up or are they flunking math? It’s nice to get regular updates on grades so you can track their progress. ABA therapy with a registered behavior clinician is no different. You’ll be given daily, weekly, or monthly updates on how your child is doing and what is being worked on in therapy. This makes it easier for you to know what to expect with therapy outcomes. In addition to providing you, the parent, with updates, your child’s therapist will check in with a BCBA regularly to track progress. A BCBA can work with the clinician to ensure that your child is on track with their program and make any necessary changes along the way. Get in touch with Compass for more If you’re curious about other ways our ABA Therapists can help your child with autism, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team. We can walk you through the process of how our clinicians will evaluate your child then create an individualized ABA treatment plan.

If you’d like to launch your career as an RBT, BCaBA, or BCBA, you need to complete BACB training then pass your board certification. With the help of Compass Behavioral & Developmental Consultants LLC, you can get the necessary training that you need to prepare for your boards and your career as an ABA professional. Keep reading our guide below to learn more about how our training will help you get started. Training BCBA/BCaBAs It doesn’t matter if you’re working toward RBT, BCaBA, or even BCBA certification, our training program will help train you in the practical and clinical aspects of working with individuals with Autism. Our on the job training allowes individuals to gain Independant Field Supervision Hours and prepare BCBA candidates for BACB exam as well as prepare them for future supervisory work with children with Autism. m RBT training In order to be eligible for competency assessments as an RBT, you must complete 40 hours of training online. At Compass, we can certainly help you reach this qualification as you work in our center. We can also help you complete the necessary steps to earn your RBT certification with our remote training. Clinical support As a part of our training, our BCBA will help to review and observe your clinical documentation to ensure that you’re meeting industry standards that have been set by BACB. Additionally, our BCBA will provide you with clinical support and reviews so you’re well aware of your strengths as well as areas where you can improve. We want to help those who would like to work as ABA professionals every chance to succeed because it gives our patients more chances to succeed as well. Further your career Whether you’re starting out as an RBT or are looking to progress as a BCBA, we can help you get to where you want to be. By working with the patients at Compass as an ABA professional, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn how the programs work as well as gain an understanding of the clinical side of the industry. We’ll provide you with the tools you need to succeed so you’re able to progress to the level you’d like to be. Whether you want to eventually become a BCBA or simply want to be the best RBT in the clinic, we’re here to support you. Positive environment At Compass , we employ a team of therapists and behavior analysts who practice and value ABA Therapy. We understand the benefits that it provides for children with autism as we’ve not only seen the evidence to back it up but see it ourselves each day. Contact us to learn more If you’d like to learn more about our employment and training and how we can help you with your career as an ABA professional, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Compass. In addition to our training programs, you can learn more about our tuition reimbursement programs for full time employees. Our team of professionals would love to help you start or progress your career. Contact us to learn more. You can get in touch by calling our main office at 800-832-9419 or send a message using our contact form. You can make a difference in the lives of children with autism.

If you have a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), then you likely know the importance and effectiveness of ABA therapy. At Compass Behavioral & Developmental Consultants LLC, we provide children with ASD the ABA therapy they need to help them learn life skills. In addition to offering our traditional center-based therapy, we also offer in-home ABA therapy as an available part of their therapy plan. If you’ve never heard of or implemented at-home therapy, keep reading for an explanation of what it is and how it works. What is ABA therapy? ABA stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis. ABA therapy has shown to be the most effective method to helping children with autism learn skills that will help them navigate their daily lives. The therapy is designed to identify skills the child needs or model behavior, then teach that skill or model the behavior with the help of reinforcement items. As he or she progresses, the child will learn how to engage in a particular skill or behavior without the encouragement of reinforcement. How is at-home ABA therapy different? When your child engages in ABA therapy, it will likely be done primarily in a clinical setting. While this is an effective setting to help your child learn the skills and behavior that is desired, it doesn’t always teach them how to use those skills or act outside of the center. At-home ABA therapy is an excellent way to help reinforce skills and behavior in a more practical environment so they don’t act one way at the center and another at home. What are the benefits of at-home ABA therapy? As previously mentioned, at-home ABA therapy allows your child to practice their skills and modeled behavior in a more natural environment than a clinical setting. Additionally, they can learn and practice more life skills that promote independent living. These skills can include personal hygiene, socializing, and even making a small meal. Furthermore, at-home therapy makes it easier for family members to see what the child is working on and how they can help with therapy. Though it isn’t always the case, there are times when at-home ABA therapy produces better results as the child is more comfortable and willing to work with the rigors of therapy in the comfort of their home compared to the center. Are there limitations with at-home ABA therapy? While they aren’t necessarily considered limitations, at-home ABA therapy can provide different outcomes than therapy at a center. This is no fault of the therapist, child, or parents, it’s that the environments are simply different. The center is often much more structured and focused on the therapy itself. This can make a therapist more comfortable and thereby more productive. Conversely, a parent might feel that the home is the best place for a child to do therapy as it’s where they spend most of their time and the skills are more practical in that environment. What’s more, a therapist might feel like they’re stepping on toes in the home and not assert the same level of confidence in therapy. Get in touch for more information Reach out to our team today to get more information about how Compass implements in-home ABA therapy for children who can benefit from it. Give us a call at 800-832-9419 then dial the appropriate extension to reach the center near you. You can also send us an email at info@compassaid.com or use our online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you and working with your child at one of our centers and in the home.

If you have a child with autism, you understand that there are a variety of factors that lead to unwanted behavior. From frustration trying to perform what seem like menial tasks to irritability from a lack of sleep, it’s all very common and you’re not in it alone. At Compass , our ABA Therapists(BCBAs, BCaBAs, RBTs, QASP-S) can help to find ways to help you and your child prevent these behaviors. Keep reading to learn about the approach we take to therapy for children with autism. ABA therapy Applied behavioral analysis, or ABA, therapy has shown to be an effective method to understand behavior, how it’s affected by the environment, how learning takes place, and what can be done to quell unwanted behavior. Our ABA Therapists can effectively apply the principles of ABA therapy to help you and your child with behavior. In children with autism, behavior issues often stem from frustration in a few areas that include: Communication issues An inability to focus Poor social skills With the help of ABA therapy, your child can improve in these aspects of life and minimize behaviors. Increase communication Improving communication and language skills is a big part of ABA therapy. Whether your child is considered non-verbal or is struggling to learn to communicate, this therapy will focus directly on improving those skills by doing things like learning how to label objects or activities. When learning to label, patients are taught to ask for specific items or activities that they would like. This could be as simple as a one- or two-word label for a preferred activity. An example would be a child calling their favorite movie by the first word or letter of the title or even identifying a character on the cover. However the label is used, it’s an effective method of communication, which will decrease unwanted behavior and frustration. Improve focus It’s not uncommon for issues with focus and memory to co-exist with autism. Many children will want to bounce from one activity to another often. In contrast, it’s not uncommon for children to hyper-focus on a task and tune out the rest of the world around them. ABA therapy can help with both ends of the spectrum. There are specific aspects of therapy that are designed to get patients out of their comfort zone and learn how to handle distraction. If a child is hyper-focused on an activity like lining up toys and is particular about how it’s performed, a therapist might start slowly throw off the routine by moving a toy in the line. The next step could be taking a toy out of line. This will help the child to learn how to break their intense focus and handle a little bit of disorder at a time. Improve social skills Children with autism, especially in severe cases, can struggle in social situations. This can be because the situation doesn't go according to how they want. For example, a child with autism might feel that a specific should only be played with one way. If another child comes to play with that same toy the “wrong” way, it could lead to a confrontation. With ABA therapy, they’ll have chances to learn in a safe and controlled environment that this isn’t how things work. Our ABA Therapists will help them learn new ways to adapt to a situation that’s out of their control. Contact us for help Our clinicians have been trained in therapy methods that are meant to specifically help children with autism. At Compass, we specifically utilize ABA therapy and its methods to help our patients learn how to effectively communicate, focus, and socialize. Reach out to our nearby therapy center to see how we can help prevent unwanted behavior in your child with autism.