In 2011, I observed an ABA session for the first time- an ABA therapist was working with a young non-verbal child, teaching him how to ask for the things he wanted, using PECS. I was struck by the enthusiasm of the therapist working with the child and the parent’s description of the positive impact that learning to communicate using ABA was having on their child’s home life. At that time I was studying for my undergraduate degree, whilst also working in a private residential service for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and volunteering in a special needs school. I was motivated to find a vocation where I could genuinely make a difference to people’s lives through teaching skills, but I wasn’t sure that what I was looking for actually existed, until I stumbled across ABA.
During the next 4 years, I began gaining experience and training, whilst working as a self-employed ABA tutor, with a range of clients who were educated both at home and school. Some of the ABA programmes were overseen by Skybound Therapies, which gave me many opportunities to work alongside their uncommonly dedicated staff team. I was fortunate to be offered a job as an ABA Supervisor with Skybound in 2015 and since completing my Masters at the University of Kent in 2016 and gaining my BCBA qualification in June 2018, I have been providing ABA Consultancy.
I have experience with clients from ages 2 to adulthood, with a range of conditions and diagnoses including Autism, Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, West Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Pathological Demand Avoidance, Sensory Processing Disorder, Speech Delays and Disorders, Dyspraxia, Apraxia, a number of rare genetic conditions and various vision and hearing impairments.
