Core Values

Each moment spent with a client diagnosed with autism or another developmental disability is a moment that might become a memory at some point in the future for the client. As clients get older, they might look back at those moments and see them as either a happy memory or sad memory. Our goal is to create happy and meaningful moments so the client can look back and feel grateful and lucky to have had those moments. For example, a good outcome from ABA would be for clients to look back and feel happy that their parents gave them ABA as kids because now they are more flexible when they don’t get their way and are thankful to have gained the skills needed to keep a job that is very meaningful to them. On the other hand, a bad outcome from ABA would be clients looking back and feeling like their parents only gave them ABA to control them and to force them to change, an outcome that could potentially lead to trauma, more anxiety, and the possible emergence of unwanted behaviors.

We don’t blame caregivers. Our goal is to connect with the client and every family member especially caregivers. We take anywhere from baby steps to major steps forward when coaching families depending on the motivation of the family member. We don’t have favorite caregivers. A caregiver who works a lot of hours at work and is very stressed out and might have minimal time to collaborate with us is equally valuable as a caregiver who is not employed and likes to collaborate with us more frequently. We aim to tailor ABA based on the unique needs of the client and caregiver and based on how often the caregiver is able to collaborate.

We want to focus on and celebrate the unique strengths a client has. We see these strengths as a foundation upon which we will teach new skills. We celebrate those who have a unique set of skills, a unique personality, or unique interests that are different from most of their peers as long as such attributes don’t harm others or themselves. 

We don’t just tell caregivers what they should do. We collaborate with caregivers and any family member willing to collaborate on any plans (e.g., behavior plan, skill acquisition goal) or decisions. During collaboration, we combine our knowledge in ABA with the caregiver’s knowledge of the client. After collaboration, the caregiver decides what step to take forward (e.g., the caregiver might follow the behavior plan created by the BCBA and/or modify it in any way that makes more sense to the caregiver). Caregivers and family members are the most important members in our ABA team because they have experience in how the client historically responds in various situations.

We don’t have favorite staff. Our goal is to see the value in differences. A staff who is more quiet and calm is just as valuable as a staff who is loud and has high energy. Our goal is to help each employee become the best version of themselves without judgment. A staff will need to meet certain standards to stay employed. As long as they are meeting those standards, they are free to be themselves or change if they choose to at any time. We aim to match the unique attributes of staff with the unique clinical needs of a client. 

We solely specialize in the implementation of ABA. For instance, we do not provide psychological testing, marriage or couples counseling, respite services, or other services outside our scope of practice. We do, however, collaborate with any other service provider that the family approves. We collaborate with various service providers with the intention of learning from each other. Collaboration often leads to a better design of ABA programs that are more meaningful to the clients and families.