Providers who see young children, complete screenings, and make referrals for concerns or delays may wonder: “Who can I refer to and what happens after the referral? And what are the options if a specialist makes an Autism diagnosis?” A formal diagnosis is helpful but doesn’t need to happen before referring to many early intervention services. Diagnosis assists in accessing many therapies and resources. One of the options after an Autism diagnosis is Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA. Children’s Milestone provides ABA in Baltimore.
Getting to a Diagnosis
Childhood screenings serve as an easy way to monitor the development of all children. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests developmental screenings for children at nine months, 18 months, and 30 months. With additional Autism screenings at 18 and 24 months. Completing those screenings can help detect early signs of Autism.
Even before a formal diagnosis of Autism is made, children may be eligible for early intervention through Maryland Infants and Toddlers. This makes sure that children and their families have help when their child is not meeting the expected developmental milestones. Early intervention can help these families with services like speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy, as well as help with any challenging behaviors.
Once a specialist has made a diagnosis of Autism, there are other therapies and resources available because of that diagnosis. An intervention that has been shown effective for Autistic children is ABA. Children’s Milestone loves to work with families and help Autistic children learn.
Understand ABA
ABA has been used for children with developmental delays and Autism since the 1960s. ABA examines how children interact with their environment and how these interactions influence their behavior and learning. It is individualized for each child and their specific needs. The unique treatment plan seeks to increase all behaviors that help a child learn and decrease behaviors that are harmful or hinder learning.
ABA is a comprehensive, evidence-based approach. The overall goal is to improve quality of life and functional living by promoting independence. Therapists aim to develop skills that are helpful in different settings and with different people. All skills are broken down into small, achievable steps. Praise and rewards are abundantly used as positive reinforcement. ABA has found that positive reinforcement makes it more likely for a child to repeat a behavior.
Therapists also educate families to understand the reason behind challenging behaviors and have a plan for replacing them with adaptive behaviors. The goal is that children learn better coping mechanisms and achieve more independence.
Is ABA Right For This Child
ABA might be the right therapy for an Autistic child who struggles in any of these areas:
- Social skills
- Learning
- Communication and language
- Self-care skills
- Play and leisure activities
- Motor skills
Children’s Milestone programming is designed to improve a child’s quality of life by utilizing highly effective developmental techniques in their clinic and at home. Children’s Milestone has the option for ABA treatment at home. Some children may be more comfortable and more likely to participate in sessions in their home environment rather than visiting one of our clinic locations. Children’s Milestone currently serves three states and has 11 clinic locations.
What to Expect After You Make a Referral to Children’s Milestone
Children’s Milestone will schedule an initial intake appointment. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) will conduct a parent interview, and do some observation and assessment with the child. From this information, the BCBA will write a treatment plan that focuses on the child’s needs and family goals. In the beginning, the therapists will focus on ‘pairing’ with the child, which means they will work on gaining the child’s trust. The goal in pairing is for Children’s Milestone to be a place the child wants to be. This can look like lots of fun! It is an important part of ABA. It is more than just fun, the therapists are still gathering valuable data.
During the next step, the treatment plan is implemented by Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT). The RBT is the person working closely with the child. They will guide activities and document progress. The BCBA will observe and provide supervision for the sessions every week. Children’s Milestone provides monthly parent training and consultation. We know that children make the best progress when the team of therapists and the family at home are all on the same page.
There are common areas of development where we see many Autistic children struggling. The most consistent areas of struggle are social skills, communication, sensory processing, and/ or information processing. The BCBAs and RBTs at Children’s Milestone work together with the child’s family to create treatment plans to encourage and improve social skills, learning skills, and communication abilities.
Goals are made after the initial appointment and re-examined every six months. Therapists are responsive during each session. If the child needs something changed about the goal or activity, then it is changed. It is a learning process meant to meet their needs and not a rigid process. Autism is a spectrum meaning that how affected an individual is varies, so each child needs an individualized treatment plan.
When a child receives an Autism diagnosis, it can mean that multiple providers are now involved with that family. It also means the family can consider therapies that have a proven track record of working with Autistic children. ABA is a therapy with a history of being effective for Autistic children. If you know an Autistic child who could benefit from ABA, please contact us. Children’s Milestone provides ABA therapy in Baltimore and more.