Applied Interdisciplinary Therapeutic Approaches

In addition to using a variety of learning theories, we rely heavily on strategies that are drawn from an array of disciplines, methodologies and philosophies to fit a person’s unique way of being. That’s why we emphasize an analysis of many factors that surround a person’s behavior or way of being in the world. Yes, it is important to know the immediate conditions surrounding how a person is behaving — called a “Functional Behavioral Assessment” (FBA) — but it is equally important to understand how other forces — a person’s health, sensory drives and sensitivities, how they communicate, the nature of relationships that a person has, even how they change from one time of year to the next, and more — influence how a person may be acting at any given moment.

A “Functional Developmental Assessment” (FDA) is a means of evaluating a persons developmental status relying on interviews of individuals close to the person being assess and time spent directly with that person engaged in functional activities with them. Topics and perspectives asked through this evaluation process relies on questions generated from divergent therapeutic points of view, including:

• Developmental histories
• Medical histories and circumstances
• Sensory profiles
• Movement inventories
• Communication inventories
• Interest inventories (time distribution on favorite activities)
• Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) such as “antecedents” and “consequences” surrounding behavior
• Ecological evaluations (descriptions of all relevant environments)
• Relationship “inventory” (i.e., who do they like? who do they work well with? Why?, etc.)
• Responses to augmentative and alternative technologies (i.e., electronics; expressive arts; differing modalities of information, etc.)
• Experimental analysis of behavioral styles and response to a range of interventions (i.e., how did they do with other therapies? How does the person perform when we present them with differing approaches and methods?)
• Evaluation of attention span, focus and style to understand an individual person’s ways of paying attention across settings and situations
• Responses to individual, small & larger group instructional situations
• Changes that occur seasonally or across years and settings

An ADA Therapeutic Package can include a cross-section of approaches, disciplines, theories and philosophies in the construction of a therapeutic plan. This can include:

• Family and individual cognitive behavioral therapy
• Social Development Curricula, Counseling & Peer-Connections
• Learning theory instruction including ABA, Classical Conditioning, Familiarization-Novelty methods & Modeling protocols & procedures
• Varieties of Speech & Language therapies
• Verbal Behavior programs
• Assistive Technologies (AT)
• Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Sensory Integration (SI) Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Movement therapies ranging from Resistance Training, Hydrotherapy, Dance, Yoga, Drum Therapy to Therapeutic Metronome and Therapeutic Horseback riding
• Relationship Directed Interventions (RDI) and/or Floor time
• Individual, small or large group instruction
• Developing and supporting School Inclusion
• Home- and community-based instruction
• Referrals and advocacy for appropriate medical & therapeutic treatments
• Alternative and homeopathic medicine
• Specialized nursing consultation & advocacy