Our Story
I want to thank anyone that takes the time to read my story and how ABA Support Services LLC has grown to be a highly respected and recommended agency by many Developmental Pediatricians, families, and Administrators within school districts. This is our journey.
My interest in caring for individuals with special needs started in high school, volunteering most of my time for special needs students, acting as peer support in classes and integrating them into activities. I also spent time at a residential facility on weekends for children who were deaf and blind as well as children with severe brain injuries. What I learned from these experiences is that children with special needs are not any different than any of us. They have the same desires, dreams, and needs as anybody else, but need direct instruction to help them reach a level of independence that comes easy for most of us.
I began my career as a Special Education teacher and focused on inclusion and co-teaching. I fell in love with ABA from a college course that I had taken at East Stroudsburg University in 2004. It was then that I knew this was the direction I wanted to take my career. During this time, I also began to have my own children, and in 2005, my daughter Ashley was born. I knew from the beginning that she was different. But with all my training, I was not prepared as a mother for the diagnosis of Autism when she was 3 years old. My world stopped for her. I took 2 years off to work with her, utilizing the principles of ABA and all that I had learned, as we continued to seek help.
What I found was that there were limited services, and few individuals who were highly trained in working with children on the spectrum, especially those with high intensity aggression and slow rates of acquisition in learning. ABA had not yet been widely known or accepted. I was not able to find the help for my child, and the help that did exist wasn’t qualified to make meaningful gains, due to the lack of evidenced based strategies and methodologies.
For 2 years I researched and saw every professional I could find who specialized in Autism. I created my own programming, with the support of many professionals. Once my daughter was beginning on a path of independence and academic learning similar to that of her peers, I felt these results needed to be replicated for all parents and children, to give them hope when they faced this fear and similar diagnosis.
May of 2011, I started the plan for ABA Support Services LLC to not only advocate for my child, but for all children in the state of PA, due to the need to raise awareness and give hope to families similar to mine. My goal was to deliver evidence-based practices to families, schools, and communities. A child cannot be raised alone but as a team. Trust is key in any relationship and in improvements. At ABA Support Services, we pride ourselves on the trust we have developed with our school districts, families, and children. We want to help all individuals meet their goals to maximize their success and manage disappointment with a healthy response. And equally as important, we want to continue to advocate for the field of ABA.
Today my daughter continues to thrive. She is my inspiration, as well as my teacher. I have learned not only from the books, but from being her mother. All children are special, and our services exist to enhance and support their strengths, while building skills they need to navigate in this world.
These children are not broken, they are beautiful, and the strength and courage of our children is incredible. If you become a client, I can assure you, we will be advocating for your child with this same passion. For us, its personal.
