Fredericksburg Parent

14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • April 2023 INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt Compass Counseling Services is a behavioral health agency that has been serving children and families throughout Virginia since 2004. Compass is a Medicaid-only provider that offers customized applied behavioral analysis (ABA) services to chil- dren under 21 who demonstrate significant impair- ment in adaptive functioning that is related to either developmental delays or other health condi- tions. Now, thanks to recent changes in Medicaid rules, Compass has added an important new offer- ing to its array of service options. Compass Counseling's new clinic services offer preschool-age children the opportunity to work on behaviors and skills in a setting that resembles a traditional school. This important early interven- tion opportunity can help children practice the behaviors they'll need to transition to mainstream class settings, while still providing parents the training and support they need to keep prog- ress moving at home. As our April Expert, Alisha Gordon, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who is Compass' Clinical Director, answers ques- tions about the benefits of the clinic setting. Q: First off, what is applied behavior analysis? Alisha Gordon: ABA is a scientific approach to changing behavior in an inten- tional and methodical way. Behaviors are anything a person does that can be observed and measured. A lot of the behaviors we work with stem from a lack of communication skills, so a lot of what we do is to build up commu- nication skills that can replace the behaviors we want to see reduced so that children can interact more successfully with those around them. Our work at Compass is mostly with children with autism and related diagnoses. Q: What is beneficial about providing ABA in a clinic setting? Alisha Gordon: When we work with children in clinic, they are getting that one-to-one ratio with our clinicians, who also have the benefit of having an on-site supervisor to get the support they need in the moment. We can work with children at an intensity level that we often can't achieve in the home setting, due to distractions that are inherent to working in a family's home, and that can help us make progress more quickly. Children can move among different clinicians to work on different skills, keeping things fresh and keep- ing energy up. Working in the clinic setting also provides more opportunity to practice social interactions—children are in this program with a small number of peers. While they are working one-on-one with our clinicians, the experience of sharing space and interacting with their peers can help prepare them for school. And getting children fresh in the morning—versus at the end of the New Clinic Services Can Help Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Build Skills in a Concentrated Setting. Counseling Services

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