Parent Involvement as a Metric of Quality Care

• By: Erica Ballard, MA, BCBA Caitlin Summers, MA, LPC, ACS Ellen D’Amato, PhD Joe Hess Howard Savin, PhD Kristen Daneker, MS, BCBA, LBS-PA First Children Services
• October 2nd, 2023
• behavior interventions, collaboration, comprehensive integrated approach, Fall 2023 Issue, family-centered care, multidisciplinary team, parent involvement, team planning, transitions, trust
• 1100    0

A family-centered approach has been considered best practice for many years in early intervention and pediatric rehabilitation (Bailey, Buysse, Edmondson, 1992; Baird & Peterson, 1997). For students with complex medical, physical, developmental, and behavioral challenges, a family-centered...

The Power and Potential of the IEP

• By: Ellen D’Amato, PhD Zakkiyyah Sally, MEd, MA Kathleen McCarthy Gorski, MEd. Adm, MAT Georgia Efthimiou, MA, BCBA Kristen Daneker, MS, BCBA, LBS-PA Howard Savin, PhD First Children Services
• July 5th, 2023
• accommodations, advocacy, children, classroom, IEP non-compliance, IEPs, legal issues, modifications, out of district placement, parental involvement, resolving disagreements, school, service eligibility, special education, students, Summer 2023 Issue
• 1826    0

To address the inequity of limiting special needs children from obtaining an appropriate public education, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) was implemented in 1975 across the United States school systems. The IEP is an educational road map for children with disabilities. It is required by...

An Interdisciplinary Model for Supporting Children with Autism and Their Families

• By: Jeffrey Selman, PsyD, BCBA-D Kathleen McCarthy Gorski, MEd. Adm, MAT Ellen D’Amato, PhD Howard Savin, PhD First Children Services
• January 1st, 2021
• ABA challenging behaviors, assessment, communication, diagnosis, family, parent training, treatment, winter 2021 issue
• 3216    0

An autistic child’s family is structured no different than that of neurotypical children. Families generally include parents and siblings with their own perspectives and issues. In the wake of substantial empirical support for the effectiveness of applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions for...

Utilizing Digital Media to Enable Continuity of Autism Services

• By: Howard Savin, PhD Matthew Hess Cindy Conley Ellen D’Amato, PhD Jay Cohen First Children Services
• July 1st, 2020
• ABA, COVID-19, distance learning, intervention, mental health, parents, special needs, students, summer 2020 issue, technology, telehealth, therapy, treatment
• 2281    3

For over a decade there has been an abundance of professional articles and seminars on the potential of telehealth and distance learning services. Outside of the medical world, the movement of state licensing bodies and insurance payers to permit use of telehealth services by licensed behavioral...

Comprehensive Programming to Support Children with Developmental Disabilities and Significant Medical Conditions in a School Setting

• By: Ellen D’Amato, PhD Carla Johnson, MS, BCBA Howard Savin, PhD First Children Services
• April 1st, 2018
• ABA therapy, interdisciplinary team, professional training, service delivery, spring 2018 issue
• 1973    0

Supporting children with autism or other developmental disabilities and significant co-occurring medical conditions presents substantial challenges to teachers, parents and all involved caretakers. This article presents an overview of the interdisciplinary model and a representative case study...