Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
ABA is an evidence-based therapy that utilizes the science of learning and behavior to reinforce positive, helpful behaviors and decrease behaviors that are harmful or affect learning. ABA is the gold standard of treatment for children on the autism spectrum.
Our ABA program is unique to the gorge, in that it includes an emphasis on communication, Natural Environment Training, incidental teaching, Discrete Trial Training, and an integrated-care approach that involves play at every opportunity. Our multi-disciplinary team works to address behaviors from all angles, and our facilities include a gym, class space, therapy rooms, and other features that help create a fun, functional, supportive, and engaging learning environment.
Children aged 8 years and above are invited to participate in Play Works low-intensity ABA therapy programming. Children will work directly with one of our outstanding Registered Behavior Technicians 1-2 hours per day, 1-2 days per week, with treatment guided by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Programming may include curriculums including Accept Identify Move (AIM) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Because behavioral therapy for children is most successful when the whole family is involved, you can expect weekly parent education and training/support.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a form of counseling and a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility.
Accept Identify Move and Acceptance Commitment curriculums help children build the skills they need to accept how they are feeling and to act on what really matters. To accomplish this, they will learn self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-soothing strategies in addition to how to set goals. School aged children with or without an IEP, Includes parent training and support, goal setting, defining values, self-awareness, self-management, and self-soothing.
PEAK, which stands for Promoting Emergence and Advanced Knowledge, is a curriculum that can be used with any age, but is primarily geared for 18 months through the teenage years. It is based in Relational Frame Theory (RFT) which focuses on teaching derived relations, or how concepts relate to one another. This assists with decreasing rote responses and promotes language acquisition and abstract concept formation. How do we use it? It begins with a standardized assessment to identify areas of deficit. Once the areas are recognized, the fun begins. Based on the results and your child's age, various skills will first be taught through a generalized manner. If the concepts are too difficult and direct teaching is needed, that will be utilized first. The ultimate goal of PEAK is to improve generative learning.
Because play works! The Intensive Early Childhood Program for children ages 2-6 years with a diagnosis of Autism is a half or full-day program held at the Play Works Center for Autism Services! Motivation is critical to building new skills, and research shows that children learn most naturally through play, because play IS a child's work! Play Works offers an evidence-based, collaborative model where all outpatient pediatric disciplines work together for the best individualized treatment for each learner (speech, OT, PT, ABA). The Intensive Early Childhood Program offers opportunities for exposure to neurotypical peer models during playgroups! We are housed in a brand new state of the art clinic with 5 individual therapy rooms, a fine motor/art room, and a large sensory motor gym!
