Galliant’s Approach to ABA Therapy
The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the US has nearly tripled in the last 20 years, having grown from a diagnosis rate of 1 in 150 children in 2000 to today’s rate of 1 in 36. While the diagnostic criteria includes delays in social communication as well as an adherence to restricted interests or repetitive behaviors, ASD can impact a wide variety of developmental domains. This creates a need for individuals with ASD to obtain assistance in meeting a variety of developmental milestones to live a successful and fulfilling life.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior. ABA can improve social, communication, and learning skills through positive reinforcement for individuals with ASD. While research indicates ABA is beneficial across an individual’s lifespan, behavioral services starting earlier in childhood create a greater impact. All 50 states have taken legislative action that require insurance coverage for ABA therapy. With such high efficacy, the increase in demand and coverage has created a lack of qualified service providers. This has resulted in long waitlists for individuals with ASD to receive services which has many detrimental impacts on patients in need of care.
At Galliant, we believe that every individual with ASD and their family deserve high quality, individualized services. We see each client as a unique person and value the interests, goals, and rights of that person, regardless of age or disability. We believe each client deserves to be an active stakeholder in their treatment planning process. We focus on positive reinforcement to build skills, and rigorously collect and analyze data to ensure our treatment decisions are producing the intended clinical outcomes. We work not just with the individual child but across all systems that may impact that child. We value the family and community that surround, support, and influence each child’s development and growth. Parent training is heavily emphasized in our care model, as it decreases familial stress and child behavioral problems while improving child outcomes and broader family functioning.
Our service model includes home, clinic, and group-based therapy. Research indicates in-home ABA services combined with clinic-based services results in greater persistent gains. Where, how, and who provides services are determined on a case by case basis in order to ensure the highest quality outcomes based on each individual’s needs and each family’s circumstances. We aim to generalize skills so our clients can apply what they learn to a broad set of situations.
We believe excellent patient outcomes are the result of our team-based culture. At Gailliant, we focus on hiring the best talent, nurturing their growth through continuous training and development, and rewarding their impact. We always ask ‘how can i help’ and seek out opportunities to support our colleagues. Research has shown collaboration among disciplines can lead to improved outcomes for children with ASD. We actively partner with professionals in other disciplines.
The benefits of our services impact patients, families, and payers. Patients will be able to more fully engage with the outside world by reducing challenging behaviors, increasing functional skills, improving communication, establishing new friends, and developing coping strategies for challenging times. Families are able to understand their child better and reinforce his growth and development with new skills. Early and effective intervention reduces the need for ongoing services and continued financial support from payers.
Galliant is excited about the opportunity to serve our communities together!
-Dr. Michelle Kuhn, PhD, BCBA-D
