Autism & ABA Information:
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
Association for Behavior Analysis International
South Carolina Association for Behavior Analysis
Materials & Flash Cards:
Story-Based Interventions:
Service Coordination
Service Coordination helps families develop and obtain high quality supports and services that are the least intrusive to meet their desires and needs and support personal goals.
Service Coordinators
- Assist individuals with disabilities and their families with residential placement and day services
- Work with area businesses and job coaches to locate and create meaningful employment opportunities for students and adults based on their individual talents and preferences.
- Work closely with community agencies to see that individuals are making community connections.
- Work with local public schools to help children and their families navigate through the system.
South Carolina Autism Resources
Lowcountry Autism Foundation (LAF)
Stacy Lauderdale-Littin
(843) 800-7171
www.lafinc.org
South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
(SC DDSN)
(803) 898-9600
www.ddsn.sc.gov
South Carolina Autism Society (SCAS)
Kim Thomas
(803) 750-6988
www.scautism.org
Berkeley Citizens, Inc
(843) 761-0300
www.berkeleycitizens.org
Military Families
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP)
www.militaryonesource.mil
Extended Health Care Option (ECHO)
**covers ABA and Respite Care
www.tricare.mil
Questions to ask Potential Providers
What is ABA?
- ABA is the design, implementation, and evaluation of environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvement in human behavior.
- ABA uses changes in environmental events, including antecedent stimuli and consequences, to produce practical and significant changes in behavior.
- The successful remediation of core deficits of ASD, and the development or restoration of abilities, documented in hundreds of peer-reviewed studies published over the last 50 years has made ABA the standard of care for the treatment of ASD.
What experience should my BCBA or BCaBA have?
- The formal training of professionals certified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) is similar to that of other medical and behavioral health professionals. That is, they are initially trained within academia and then begin working in a supervised clinical setting with clients.
- Training and supervised clinical experience with clients with special needs.
- BCBA or BCaBA should attend ongoing Continuing Education Credits (CEU’s) to maintain certification.
- BCBA or BCaBA should be familiar with and rely on peer-reviewed literature, established treatment protocols, and decision trees for the ASD population.
What is caseload size recommendation?
- Caseload size on average for a BCBA without the support of a BCaBA is 6-12
- Caseload size for a BCBA who has support of a BCaBA can be between 16-24
How often should the BCBA or BCaBA provide onsite supervision?
- The amount of supervision varies depending on individual client needs or insurance requirements.
- 1-2 hours of supervision for every 10 hours of direct treatment is the general standard of care.
- Tricare DEMONSTRATION program requires 2.0 hours a month for each tutor. This means that the BCBA or BCaBA should provide each tutor on your child’s team with an individual onsite 2.0 hour supervision session each month.
What training should my paraprofessionals/tutors receive?
- Initial Training: Therapists/paraprofessionals should meet specific criteria before providing treatment, including background checks. Before working with a client, a therapist must be sufficiently prepared to deliver treatment. Initial training may include:
- HIPAA
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Developmental milestones
- Data collection
- Basic ABA procedures such as shaping, reinforcement, prompting, etc.
- Ongoing Training: Therapists should receive direction on new goals or the revision of goals on a regular basis to ensure the quality of implementation.
- There should also be ongoing observation, training, and supervision to maintain and improve the therapists’ skills.
What should my treatment plan look like?
- An ABA assessment typically utilizes data obtained from multiple methods including:
- Direct observation
- Interviews with the client, caregivers, and other professionals
- Data from standardized assessments (these assessments should be individualized for each client)
- Problem Behavior Assessment
- Your child’s treatment plan should not be based on only 1 tool (e.g. ABLLS-R or VB-MAPP)
- The assessment tools will reveal areas that need to be addressed (e.g. fine motor, play skills, academics, self-management)
- When prioritizing the order in which to address multiple goals, the following should always be considered:
- Behaviors that threaten self or others
- Behaviors that prevent student/family from attending normalized environments in the community or at school (e.g., self-injury or aggression, non-compliance)
- Absence of developmentally appropriate adaptive, social, or functional skills (e.g. toileting, dressing, feeding, compliance with medical procedures) that are fundamental to maintain health, social inclusion, and increased independence
Where should my child’s therapy take place?
- Treatment provided in multiple settings, with multiple adults and/or siblings will promote generalization and maintenance of therapeutic benefits.
- Settings may include: home, school, clinic, places in the community
What coordination of care should my BCBA or BCaBA do?
- Consultation with other professionals such as the school, outside speech, outside OT or PT helps ensure client progress through efforts to coordinate care and ensure consistency.
- Treatment goals are most likely to be achieved when there is a shared understanding and coordination among all healthcare providers and professionals.
School Supports
Purpose: To ensure your child has a meaningful educational experience.
The Individualized Education Program (IEP) creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability.
Family Resource Center
www.frcdsn.org
(843)-266-1318
Special Education Law Information
ABA Consultants
Help by collaborating and sharing treatment plans to maximize child progress
Service Coordinators
Help you share information and request an
IEP meeting
Charleston Area Resources
Charleston County First Steps
4975 LaCross Road, Suite 100
North Charleston, SC 29406
(843) 745-0237
www.charlestonfirststeps.org
Breakwater Associates, LLC
1031 Chuck Dawley Blvd, Unit #5
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
(843) 388-4048
www.breakwater-associates.com
The Arc of the Low Country
137 Palmetto Bluff Drive
North Charleston, SC 29418
(843) 557-5149
Coastal Pediatric Associates
1952 Long Grove Drive, #202
Mount Pleasant, SC, 29464
(843) 971-2992
Gordon Teichner, Ph.D, ABPP
1459 Stuart Engals Blvd
Mount Pleasant, SC, 29464
(843) 849-9913
www.charlestonneuropsychology.com
Liv Fogle, Ph.D
48 Courtenay Drive
Charleston, SC, 29464
(843) 853-3005
Medical University of South Carolina
Autism Care Services
10 McClennan Banks Drive
Charleston, SC 29425
(843) 792-2300
Family Supports
Family Connection South Carolina
Charleston Office
(843) 556-5010
www.familyconnectionsc.org
Grants
Walk for Autism – Charleston
Kerianne Krause
P.O. Box 62097
North Charleston, SC 29419
(843) 553-1316
Carolina Children’s Charities
1064 Gardner Road, Suite 112B
Charleston, SC 29407
(843) 769-7553
www.carolinachildren.org
