Services

Applied Behaviour Analysis Child and Adolescent Services (ABACAS)

What do we do?

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is defined as the systematic application of behavioural principles in order to change socially significant behaviour  Socially significant behaviour includes skills such as language, self-help, play, social and emotional awareness/regulation, as well as academics (e.g. maths and reading).

The principles of ABA can be used to help children develop skills in their everyday life, from greeting others to playing with peers, from putting on shoes to brushing their teeth. Put simply, whenever there is behaviour the principles of ABA can be applied. As well as helping individuals to acquire skills, ABA uses a functions-based approach to also reduce challenging behaviours that may be serving as barriers to your child’s learning and development.

Our ABACAS team work collaboratively with the Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and Psychologists in the Centre. An integrated combination of ABACAS services and individual therapies (Speech, Psychology and/or Occupational Therapy) can be negotiated based on the needs of your child.

Why ABA?

The research consistently tells us that ABA is an effective intervention!

In April 2015 the National Autism Center (NAC) released Phase 2 of The National Standards Report. This report was designed to offer parents reliable information and comprehensive resources to help them make informed choices about the most effective interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

The report reviewed interventions for ASD based on research published between 2007-2012. The results strengthen the findings from The Nationals Standards Project Phase 1, showing overwhelming empirical support for interventions that are behaviourally based.

Behavioural interventions formed the largest category of those labelled as, ‘Established Interventions.’ This means that the report depicts that there is sufficient evidence to confidently conclude that behavioural interventions are effective for individuals with ASD.

Click this link, for more detailed information on the NAC’s National Standard’s Report: http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/resources/

How we work with families

Full Services Model

This is where ABACAS allocates you a Program/Case Manager and Behaviour Therapist (s) to work with your child. The Program/Case Manager is the person responsible for meeting with you and determining therapy goals. They then write the therapy program that the Behaviour Therapist is responsible to implement. The Program/Case Manager will periodically check with how the therapy is being implemented (Program Evaluation Sessions) and update programs (Program Reviews) as required.

Program Managers and Case Managers are also able to offer parent and school consultancy services.

We recommend (particularly with the younger children) at least 10 hours of Behaviour Therapy per week. Therapy can take place in the home, school and at our centres.

All of our Behaviour Therapists have access to training and ongoing supervision and are required to maintain registration as a Registered Behaviour Technician.

Supervision Model

Much like the above model, ABACAS allocates you a Program/Case Manager to work with you and your child. However, in this model, parents are responsible for finding their Behaviour Therapist. Our Program Manager can train family members, support workers and other therapists to work as Behaviour Therapists. This model allows families to have greater flexibility and more hours of therapy.

Again, we recommend at least 10 hours of Behaviour Therapy a week. ABACAS can also provide ongoing supervision for Behaviour Therapists employed by families.

Our Team of Behaviour Therapists

ABACAS has a team of highly dedicated and enthusiastic Behavioural Therapists. All therapists hold an allied health or education degree and are experienced in delivering ABA therapy sessions to individuals with developmental disabilities. Many are also working on their registration as psychologists or undertaking post graduate studies in Applied Behaviour Analysis.

All therapists are active Registered Behaviour Technicians under the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board (BACB). They are required to be currently practising and to have 5% of their work time supervised by a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) or Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analyst (BCaBA).

All therapists in the team undergo continual supervision and training, with regular in-session observations to ensure high quality service delivery to our families.

For More Information

Please contact the Centre for more information on our services on 9274 7062.

Please Note

Referrals for Psychology are only necessary if associated with the Allied Health Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care via your GP; or through a Paediatrician for the Helping Children with Autism Medicare or Better Start rebates. Please contact the Child Wellbeing Centre, Midland for more information.