All About Kids' ABA Program

Overview

All About Kids provides state-of-the-art quality diagnostic assessments, individualized treatment programs, and consultation services for children and students, from birth throughout school age, across the Autism Spectrum. Evaluation and intervention services are offered to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders within the:

• Home
• School
• Community

We work collaboratively with families, caregivers, school districts, independent programs, and professionals to develop the most effective treatment programs for each child.

Quality of Services

Our qualified personnel closely monitors each educational program for effectiveness and adherence to State and municipality program regulations and policies; this ensures regulatory compliance, as well as excellence in treatment, and a cohesive team approach.

The quality of our ABA services are closely monitored through program and field supervision and ongoing consultation by BCBA’s/BCaBA’s, and Experienced Team Leaders

• Regional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Program Field Supervisors
• Consulting Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA's)
• Applied Behavior Analysis Team Leaders
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Teachers and Therapists

Our ABA Team

Our comprehensive Autism Spectrum Disorder evaluations are performed by a team of qualified personnel with prior diagnostic experience in the field of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Differential diagnoses are made by licensed, Doctoral level Psychologists based on the criteria outlined in the DSM IV-R. Highly specialized diagnostic instruments are utilized within a complete assessment of each child's skills and include the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and/or the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS).

Our Regional Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Program Field Supervisors are New York State Certified Special Educators, with many years of successful experience developing and implementing effective strategies for children on the Autism Spectrum. They ensure teachers have received training and there is consistent implementation of assessment and program policies and procedures. 

Our Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Team Leaders are New York State Certified Special Educators with two or more years of demonstrated successful experience implementing ABA procedures. They monitor clinicians for consistent implementation of programming across team members, lead monthly team meetings at the child's home, provide family training, develop data-based goals and monitor/modify curriculum programs to target the needs of the individual child. 

Our Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Teachers and Therapists are New York State Certified Special Educators with demonstrated success as teachers and competency in ABA training (i.e., Introduction to ABA, Discrete Trial Training, Verbal Behavior, and Assessment). They work directly with children and regularly communicate with ABA Team Leaders and families on topics such as child specific progress and issues.

Individualized Treatment Programs

All About Kids uses the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis to develop individualized programs for children, in order to allow them to reach their social, communicative, and educational potential and to promote the ability for them to live life to the fullest extent possible in their home and community environments. Treatment is based heavily on functional assessments, data, and family and teacher input. In addition to following the guidelines of a child's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Educational Program (IEP), a comprehensive screening is done using the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R), and other tools, as well as, a parent and/or teacher intake interview to assist in designing an ABA program as individual as each child.

Our Methodologies of Instruction include, but are not limited to:

• Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)
  • involves skills that are broken down into smaller tasks and presented in trials. Trials are discrete in that they have a very clear beginning, middle and end. Discrete trial teaching is primarily taught on a one-to-one basis and allows for many opportunities to respond, practice, and earn reinforcement. In discrete trial teaching, data are collected on each trial and visual displays are used to monitor progress.
• Verbal Behavior (VB)
  • As children with Autism Spectrum Disorders typically have communication delays, a heavy emphasis is placed on Verbal Behavior (VB). It is the behavioral analytic approach to analyzing, teaching, and understanding language as theorized by B.F Skinner. Verbal behavior theory explains language as it would any other observable behavior; as such, it is subject to the same principles that govern all behavior. It focuses on teaching verbal behaviors (language skills) through a collection of highly effective teaching procedures taken from the science of behavior analysis. VB has been successfully used to teach functional communication to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders or ASD and other developmental disabilities. In Verbal behavior, all aspects of functional communication are divided into smaller teachable components that utilize motivation and reinforcement to teach echoics, mands, and tacts, intra-verbal and other more complex verbal operants.
• Natural Environment Training (NET)
  • designed to transfer skills acquired in other learning settings or activities to naturally occurring settings most often experienced by children. Many skills, such as, manding (requesting), following directions and transitioning, are best taught in environments that have naturally occurring reinforcing value for the learner.
• Incidental Teaching
  • involves the structuring and sequencing of educational objectives so that they occur within ongoing, typical activities. Incidental teaching takes advantage of a student's interests and motivation.
• Direct Instruction
  • refers to a rigorously developed, highly scripted method of teaching that is fast-paced and provides constant interaction between students and the teacher. Direct instruction emphasizes well-developed and carefully planned lessons that are designed around small learning increments with clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks.
• Errorless Teaching
  • refers to an instructional strategy that ensures a child always responds correctly. Following an instruction, a child is provided with the immediate correct response to that instruction. This prevents any chance for an incorrect response. No opportunities for mistakes are allowed. Prompts are systematically removed until a child is able to respond correctly on their own.
• Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA's)
  • is the process used to determine why a student engages in behaviors that impede learning and how the student's behavior relates to the environment. The functional behavioral assessment shall include, but is not limited to, the identification of the problem behavior, the definition of the behavior in observable and measurable terms, and the identification of the contextual factors that contribute to the behavior. From this assessment, a hypothesis is developed regarding the general conditions under which the behavior occurs and the probable consequences that serve to maintain it.
• Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP's)
  • is based on the results of a functional behavioral assessment or FBA. It includes a description of the problem behavior, global and specific hypotheses as to why the problem behavior occurs, and intervention strategies that outline how to understand, prevent, replace, and manage problem behaviors. A Behavioral Intervention Plan should include an operational definition of the behavior and be consistent with the principles and fundamentals of behavior. It should be a good fit for the values of those involved and the setting, and effectively change the student's behavior and those working with the child. A BIP is a professional and legal document.

Documented Maintenance and Generalization of Skills

All About Kids firmly believes that the ability to maintain and generalize learned skills is the backbone of a successful program. Skills are not considered mastered until generalized into the everyday activities and routines in the home, community and/or school setting. Emphasis is placed not only on teaching using Discrete Trial Training (DTT), but also teaching all skills during "incidental" or "natural environment" teaching time.

Programs include but are not limited to 

• planning
• systematic teaching
• data collection for the generalization of skills across people, contexts, locations and/or settings that naturally occur within a child's day. 

This includes (when appropriate) our team of providers and consultants conferencing, modeling, and the coaching of family members, teachers and peers in home, school and community settings.

Family Involvement and Training

All About Kids recognizes that parent involvement and participation plays an important role in the success of a child's treatment program. Family members play a key role in the development of goals for the child so we can better serve the child and family. Our experienced Team Leaders or Program Supervisors provide parent training and regularly meet with the family to ensure that families understand their child's diagnosis and programs. They also provide consultation on how to best utilize strategies with the child at home in order to optimally meet the goals of the child and family. Our providers attend team meetings to promote continuity; assuring programs are in unison and collaborate with the family's needs.