Our Early Intervention Model
By J.J. Tomash - January 27, 2021
Having your child receive a diagnosis of Autism, Developmental Delay, or a Developmental Disability is terrifying. Is their life forever changed? Is there treatment? There is treatment available, but it is critical to work quickly and smart to help the child catch up with developmental milestones, before they get too far behind.
BehaviorSpan was founded in Denver in 2015 by Dr. J. James Tomash (Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Doctorate) and his wife Nicole Da Lima Leitao (Board Certified Behavior Analyst). Between them, they have over 18 years of experience working with a variety of children and adults with different Developmental Disabilities. Over time, they developed a model based on their results - fine tuning and sometimes radically changing their approach to pursue the best possible outcomes they could get for their clients.
Today they have a very specific and fine-tuned system that gets optimal results by providing services to young children that have just been diagnosed- providing intensive, center-based, Early Intervention ABA services. On average, it takes about one year in their program for a child to ‘graduate’- ready to go to school or preschool. While these results aren’t certain for all children, the critical step is to help them learn as many foundational skills as quickly as possible to set them up for a full and happy life. The program is based on 4 principles:
Go Back BehaviorSpan was founded in Denver in 2015 by Dr. J. James Tomash (Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Doctorate) and his wife Nicole Da Lima Leitao (Board Certified Behavior Analyst). Between them, they have over 18 years of experience working with a variety of children and adults with different Developmental Disabilities. Over time, they developed a model based on their results - fine tuning and sometimes radically changing their approach to pursue the best possible outcomes they could get for their clients.
Today they have a very specific and fine-tuned system that gets optimal results by providing services to young children that have just been diagnosed- providing intensive, center-based, Early Intervention ABA services. On average, it takes about one year in their program for a child to ‘graduate’- ready to go to school or preschool. While these results aren’t certain for all children, the critical step is to help them learn as many foundational skills as quickly as possible to set them up for a full and happy life. The program is based on 4 principles:
- Early Intervention: We work with the child as young as possible (18 months - 6 years old), when they learn the fastest. It is critical to help them catch up on developmental milestones before their delay compounds over time and they lose more and more opportunities.
- Individualized, results-driven treatment: Each child is different, and receives a completely individualized plan, based on assessments, helping them learn as quickly as possible. Their plan is constantly revised and optimized based on hundreds of datapoints we take each day. At minimum, a BCBA revises each client’s plan twice per week.
- Intensive: We work with our clients like learning is their fulltime job. Most come in for 8 hours per day, 5 days a week, and spend their time learning. During that time, they have a Behavior Therapist (BT) that works one-on-one with them, helping them succeed in meeting goals as quickly as possible.
- Center-based: We work with our children in our centers, where their progress is monitored constantly, and their BT can be trained to implement their plans perfectly. We combine this with frequent parent training to ensure the child’s success generalizes to home.
Cognition
The ability to problem-solve, adapt to new situations, and take previously learned skills and apply them in new and different ways to new situations.
Communication
The ability to tell others what one wants and needs, to describe one’s environment to others, and eventually to have dynamic and meaningful exchanges with other people.
Managing Emotions
The ability to respond to difficult situations that would normally cause anger, fear, or sadness by recognizing the effect the situation is having on oneself and using adaptive skills to avoid becoming out of control.
Social Skills
The ability to make friends, recognize other’s emotions and needs, stand up for oneself, have difficult conversations, play with others, and other skills that help one have fulfilling interactions with others in their life.
Motor Skills
The ability to do everyday tasks that require gross or fine motor control, such as: zipping zippers, buttoning buttons, using switches, walking, eating with utensils, and other important skills for independence.
Play Skills
The ability to play well with others, including important skills such as: sharing, taking turns, being kind, helping others who need help, and making and keeping friends.
Indepent Living Skills
Help with daily skills such as toilet training, hygiene, dressing, eating, chores, health and safety, and a variety of other skills.