Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1518477
16 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • April 2024 WRITTEN BY EMILY FREEHLING Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt Managing and guiding behaviors is one of the primary tasks of parenting. For parents of children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays or other behavioral health challenges, this task can at times feel impossibly difficult. But research has shown that parents and caregivers who are involved in their children's behavioral treatments experi- ence lower levels of stress. Compass Counseling Services emphasizes the role of parents in all of its treatment programs. Compass is a behavioral health agency that has been serving children and families throughout Virginia since 2004. Compass is a Medicaid-only provider that offers custom- ized applied behavioral analysis (ABA) services to children under 21 who demonstrate significant impairment in adaptive functioning that is related to either developmental delays or other health conditions. As our April Expert, Alisha Gordon, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who is Compass' Clinical Director, talks about the Compass team's goal of taking care of the entire family as the best way to serve the child in need of services. Q: First off, what is applied behavior analysis? Alisha Gordon: ABA is a scientific approach to changing behavior in an intentional and methodical way. Behaviors are anything a person does that can be observed and mea- sured. 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 communication 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. Compass Counseling Services emphasizes the role of parents in all of its treatment programs. Counseling Services A Partner for Families