What is behaviour therapy?

Behaviour therapy is based on the principles of Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA).  Using evidence-based best practices, we can help your child develop skills to succeed in the home, community and school setting.

Our Behaviour Therapy program targets and develops skills in various areas, including

  • communication and conversational skills,
  • pre-academic and academic skills,
  • activities of daily living (e.g., toileting, feeding, sleeping),
  • gross and fine motor skills, imitation skills, play skills, and visual perceptual skills.

Areas of support may also include an assessment of problem behaviours (e.g., behaviours that interfere with learning or have an impact on an individual’s health) and the development of a behaviour support plan, focused on reducing/replacing challenging behaviour.

What does an assessment look like?

A Behaviour Analyst (Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, BCBA) supervises all behaviour services.  After an initial assessment using standardized assessment materials (e.g., VB-MAPP, ABLLS-R, AFLS) your clinical team will develop an individualized Behaviour Support Plan (BSP) specific to the needs of your child.  Treatment goals will reflect assessment outcomes as well as parent priority goals.

What does treatment look like?

Focused ABA
Focused ABA therapy typically involves 6-12 hours per week of direct services with your child. Focused ABA applies the principles of ABA to address a limited amount of areas of need, including reducing challenging behaviours and increasing independence with daily living.  Parent and caregiver participation, including identifying goals, and in training and implementation of strategies, is an integral component of focused ABA.

Focused ABA involves one-to-one direct services with your child and/or sessions that incorporate caregivers. Sessions can take place in clinic, home, or school environments.

Focused ABA treatment is generally appropriate for teaching:

  • Daily living skills; for example: dressing, toileting, and feeding
  • Social skills
  • Reducing & replacing challenging behaviours

Comprehensive ABA
Comprehensive ABA therapy is intensive, ranging from 20-40 hours per week of direct services. Comprehensive ABA therapy applies the principles of ABA to target multiple developmental domains and increases independence throughout your child’s daily living. The goal of comprehensive ABA is to increase your child’s learning trajectory to levels typical of their chronological age and to maximize independence in multiple skill areas.

Comprehensive ABA involves one-to-one structured sessions, with an Instructor Therapist. Sessions can take place in clinic, home, or school environment. Parent and caregiver participation is an integral component of comprehensive ABA.

Comprehensive ABA treatment is generally appropriate for teaching:

  • Cognitive functioning
  • Pre-academic skills
  • Safety skills
  • Social skills
  • Play and leisure skills
  • Community integration
  • Vocational skills
  • Coping and tolerance skills
  • Adaptive and self-help skills
  • Language and communication
  • Attending and social referencing
  • Reduction of interfering or inappropriate behaviors

Behaviour Consultation
Behaviour Consultation is a short-term service intended to reduce specific problematic behaviour and/or increase a specified socially appropriate behaviour using the principles of ABA. This service is provided by a Behaviour Consultant, and is comprised of caregiver training & occasionally, one-to-one sessions with the child. Caregiver training is an integral component of Behaviour Consultation.

Who can benefit from Behaviour Therapy?

We serve children and youth regardless of diagnosis, and children of all abilities are welcome to access services at CSS.  Areas of expertise within our Behaviour Therapy team include Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopment disorders, such as:

  • Attention difficulties (ADHD)
  • Intellectual disabilities (IDs)
  • Global Developmental Delay (GDD)
  • Down Syndrome, Rhett Syndrome, Fragile-X Syndrome

CSS has providers on the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) Provider List

The OAP Provider List is an online listing of Clinical Supervisors of behavioural services for children and youth with autism.  It is a resource that Ontario families can use to search for, select, and confirm the qualifications of those providing services funded by the OAP.  It is recommended that families who use OAP funding, work with qualified, experienced professionals who are listed on the OAP Provider List as they have met all of the OAP Provider List qualifications as set by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

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