Clinical Director Insight
"Currently, J is an 8-year-old male diagnosed with dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder. J enjoys playing with Lego, completing puzzles, art & crafts activities, and engaging in pretend play with sibling. J began ABA treatment Spring of 2018 after his fourth birthday. At the start of treatment, J required support in the following areas: reduction of maladaptive behaviors, developing communication skills, social and organizational skills, and skills related to activities of daily living. At the start of treatment J engaged in the following maladaptive behaviors: noncompliance, verbal aggression, property destruction, elopement, and physical aggression in the forms of biting, hitting, kicking, and spitting. On the first day of treatment, J engaged in aggressive noncompliant behavior and physical aggression in the form of biting. J bit through the therapist's jeans when a simple one-step direction was given. J engaged in maladaptive behaviors throughout his day averaging 12 occurrences hourly. J engaged in non-compliant behaviors on every demand presented both by parents and therapist. In addition to engaging in maladaptive behaviors, J had deficits in communication skills both expressive, receptive. J was only capable of making requests by pointing, gesturing, or a one-word statement. J was unable to follow simple one-step directions without engaging in maladaptive behaviors. J also experienced deficits in social and organizational skills. J displayed limited or no ability in the following social areas, waiting for preferred items/activities, sharing preferred items such as toys, transitioning from preferred to nonpreferred tasks without maladaptive behaviors. Additionally, J was unable to independently complete activities of daily living. J required support with the following routines: bathing, bathroom, washing hands, brushing teeth, and dressing. J’s levels of maladaptive behaviors, deficits in communication, social and organizational skills required him to be in a self-contained special education classroom. J's family participated in ABA treatment for 4 consecutive years. By the fall of 2021 J’s maladaptive behaviors had reduced by over 80% compared to baseline. J now engages maladaptive behaviors on an average of 1 occurrence daily in the form of mild verbal noncompliance. He can make requests using complete sentences using an appropriate tone and volume. J is now capable of following simple and complex directions. J can summarize his day, describe actions he sees, and answer processing questions without engaging in maladaptive behaviors. J has improved both social and organizational skills. As evidenced by him being able to participate in turn-taking activities without maladaptive behaviors. J is now capable of waiting for up to one hour for preferred items/activities. J can now transition within 1 minute from preferred to nonpreferred tasks without maladaptive behaviors. J is also able to share preferred items with familiar and unfamiliar people. In addition, J is independently completing activities of daily living including the following routines: bathing, hand washing, brushing teeth, and dressing. J has made progress across all areas as evidence of being placed in a general education classroom with minimal support. J’s progress is largely due to a dedicated and supportive family and clinical team."
Brandi Brown,
Clinical Director