PATHWAY TO LEARNING

SCREENING
Initially a screening may take place in the home of the child or via telephone where a BCBA will informally assess your child's current skills and deficits as well as discuss their developmental history, diagnosis and your current concerns.  They will also offer you information on ABA and what PATHWAY TO LEARNING can offer you including how to set up a home programme and how to find a suitable ABA therapist. After this screening a report will be written outlining a summary of their observations, recommendations and treatment model.  If you agree to the suggestions in the report then you are ready to start a home programme.

 

BASELINE
Baseline is the current level that a target behaviour occurs prior to intervention.  In order to identify the effectiveness of an intervention, not only is baseline necessary, but a clear definition of what the goals of the intervention are, needs to be determined.  A formal baseline assessment of your child's current skills will then be carried out depending on their age/needs/top priorities but may include:

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• VB MAPP (Verbal Behaviour Milestones Assessment and Placement Program) for 0-4 year olds

• AFLS (Assessment of Functional Living Skills) for 8years to adulthood

• The Carolina Curriculum and assessment for 0-24mths olds

• Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) checklist for 0-3 year old

• Socially Savvy for 3-10 year olds

 

See the links page for more information on our assessments

This assessment can take 3-6 hours depending on the level of the learner and if any additional behaviour assessments are required for challenging behaviours.A comprehensive report will be written up with recommendations for treatment.

 

Other less formal assessments and observations may also take place at the intake stage or during treatment including:

 

• Sleep assessment

• Toilet training readiness and trouble shooting

• PECS and communication assessment

• Feeding assessments

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INITIAL WORKSHOP
Before commencing any home ABA programme all those involved in the child's education (parents, carers, hired therapists, nannies, teachers) are invited to attend a one-day initial training workshop.  This workshop is compulsory and consists of theory-based and practical training in ABA using powerpoint slides, hand outs, video models and practical role-playing. 

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SUPERVISION
Once therapy commences your ABA consultant will then visit you on a regular basis depending on the number of hours of therapy (an ethical guideline is that every 30 hours of therapy should be supervised by a consultant and that all programmes are overseen by a BCBA).  Supervision may be on a fortnightly, monthly or 6-12 weekly basis with regular email/phone updates in between for longer durations between onsite visits.

During these supervision sessions your consultant will observe and re-evaluate your child's programme, design new goals, discuss and remediate any problems, and conduct further training of parents and therapists if required.  These supervision sessions are essential in the running of any successful EIBI programme to ensure on going progression and learning.

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Note: Behavioural support visits (eg PECS, toilet training, sleep consultation only) are made on an individual basis.

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A follow up assessment is also completed each year to compare to the baseline or previous assessments and calculate any progress and determine the effectiveness of treatment.