Written by Tanya Terry
Every April is World Autism Month, with autism now affecting one in 36 children in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The National Library of Medicine points out on its website that: “Autism was associated, at least initially, with a rather poor outcome, with the earliest studies suggesting that about two-third of individuals, as adults, required institutional care. Early treatment approaches were centered on psychotherapy (often of parent and child) but gradually shifted as work indicated that structured behavioral and educational approaches were associated with better outcome, as was earlier diagnosis and intervention. It has become increasingly clear that greater public awareness, earlier intervention, and more effective management have had a major impact on the outcome of the condition. “
Ian Cohoon, clinical director of ABA at First Day ABA Therapy said autism children represent an underserved population. He said there is an increasing demand for therapy services for children with autism.
So, a new program, Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy Service was launched April 1 by First Day.
“I do know there is a need for this, and our goal is to meet that need,” stated Cohoon. “There is a waitlist for therapy services. We don’t have a waitlist. But, I know some of our funding sources that we work with or intend to work with do.”
The Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy Service is intended to help children to foster skill development.
“ABA is a scientific approach to understanding and improving behavior,” explained Cohoon. “It focuses on what influences behavior and uses evidence-based strategies to help individuals develop new skills and improve their quality of life.”
According to Cohoon, ABA is highly individualized and can support people of all ages, and it’s commonly used to help support individuals with autism. Cohoon also stated a key principle of Applied Behavior Analysis is positive reinforcement. So, it increases the likelihood of a behavior by following it with something meaningful or rewarding.
“If a child asks for a snack using words or gestures, instead of becoming frustrated, they receive a snack right away. Over time, that reinforcement strengthens communication skills and reduces frustration.”
Besides working on communications skills, based on the individual, ABA may be used to work on social interactional skills, self-advocacy skills or improving daily living skills.
“Some of the things that we work on are their ability to independently initiate some of these skills when they need to be completed. So, that might be things like brushing their teeth, getting dressed in the morning, bathing or toileting.”
Cohoon said skills worked on could also help children to safely navigate the community, which could include pedestrian skills, the ability to take a bus and following other safety skills.
Cohoon shared that there is a mandate in the state of Michigan, as well as all 50 states for insurance coverage of Applied Behavior Analysis. So, the service is covered by most insurance plans, including Medicaid, and excluding some self-funded insurance plans.
Cohoon has 20 years of experience working with children on the autism spectrum. Behavior technicians are the therapist that work one-one-one with the clients and provide the bulk of the therapy. Besides needing high school diploma, they must complete 40 hours of specific training to apply to the behavioral analysis in their role. They are certified by a board-certified behavior analyst, or BCBA, who trains them and supervises the therapy, as well as evaluate services and work with families to train them on techniques. Cohoon said First Day hopes to hire more staff for its new program.
First Day Homecare started in 2020, providing in-home services to children and adults with complex medical conditions.
To learn more about First Day ABA Therapy, visit https://firstdayaba.com/.
