Home Based ABA Services

Communication, Socialization, & Behavior Training

Serving the NJ area with in-home autism services. In network with most Insurances!

Our services are appropriate for children, teens with developmental delays or disabilities.

Verbal Behavior Therapy

Verbal Behavior (VB) therapy teaches communication and language. It is based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis and the theories of behaviorist B.F. Skinner.

This approach encourages people with autism to learn language by connecting words with their purposes. The student learns that words can help them get desired objects or results.

Verbal Behavior therapy does not focus on words as labels only (cat, car, etc.). Rather, it teaches why we use words and how they are useful in making requests and communicating ideas.

Language is classified into types, called “operants.” Each operant has a different function. Verbal Behavior therapy focuses on four-word types:

  • Mand: A request, such as saying “Cookie,” to ask for a cookie

  • Tact: A comment used to share an experience or draw attention, such as “airplane” to point out an airplane

  • Intraverbal: A word used to respond or answer a question, such as “Where do you go to school?” “Castle Park Elementary”

  • Echoic: A repeated, or echoed, word, such as “Cookie?” “Cookie!” This is important as imitating will help the student learn.

VB and classic ABA use similar techniques to work with children. VB methods may be combined with an ABA program to work towards communication goals.

Combined with Functional communication training (FCT) Pivotal ABA replaces interfering behaviors with more appropriate and effective communicative behavior.

Social Skills Training

An ABA social skills class will break down specific complex social skills (such as: taking turns, conversation, sharing, joining a group, working with others towards a common goal, understanding facial expressions, tone of voice, etc.) into smaller components and then teach those components systematically. A comprehensive curriculum based on key elements of teaching social skills to students with ASD includes:

  • Structure, routine, and predictability

  • Explicit and individualized instruction

  • Visual presentation of topics

  • Repetition of key concepts and vocabulary

  • Guided practice during the learning process

  • Role play and discussion

  • Contingent reinforcement

  • Ongoing assessments to analyze and adapt teaching and test for learning

Behavior Intervention

A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is what takes the observations from a functional assessment and turns them into a concrete plan of suggestions. It is also sometimes known as a behavior protocol or behavior treatment plan. It should be based on a functional assessment or a functional analysis so that the suggestions made are function-based. The plan should also be focused on positive replacement behaviors and skills that can replace the targeted negative behavior when possible.

Having a BIP in place means that everyone can be on the same page when dealing with disruptive or negative behavior. Children often come into contact with many people throughout the day – therapists, teachers, family members, and other staff. In order to avoid intermittently reinforcing a negative behavior (thereby making it harder to reduce), everyone should know the defined protocol for handling the behavior.

Parent Training

Many districts have the need to provide families and their children with costly Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) home-based programs. These programs are anticipated to be in place for long periods. However, some parents have little or no involvement in these programs.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy can be a vital component of treating individuals diagnosed with autism. It’s also a strategy that’s not merely confined to an ABA therapist’s clinic or school. It’s important for parents to get involved in the ABA therapy process so the lessons learned from a therapeutic setting stay in place in other environments. For this to happen, Pivotal ABA incorporates ABA parent training into their treatment strategies.

Parent training has been shown to reduce parent stress, improve family interactions, and improve child treatment outcomes. Many funding sources, including major insurance coverage providers, make parent training a mandatory component of an applied behavior analysis (ABA) treatment plan.

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Contact us today to see what Pivotal ABA can do for you