Having a child with autism can be difficult at times. When a child has challenging behaviors their family often find themselves alone. They may no longer receive social invitations from friends and family. People may not accept that family’s invitations to get together. Some families may be reluctant to take their child out in public due to their child’s behavior; planning daily errands can become difficult to do. Our clinicians will work with your family to teach you how you can teach and support appropriate behaviors in your child across a variety of social environments.

In other instances, children may be well behaved but are unable to talk about their experiences and feelings. This is often a source of great stress to parents who wonder whether or not their child may be sick or not feeling well. Parents are also often concerned about their child’s inability to tell them if they are unhappy about an event that may have occurred while they are separated from their family, such as during a school day. Our clinicians will work with your child to help build functional communication skills using your child’s most comfortable modality. Improved communication will increase their access to the environment, foster independence, and provide a means of expressing themselves.

Parents also often worry about their child’s development and what their future may look like. Will their children have the skills they need to obtain gainful employment? Will they live independently? Will they have friends? Will they drive one day? Each family has their own specific concerns. ABAI clinicians work with parents to help them understand their child’s behavior and how they can promote positive behaviors, improved communication, increased cognitive skills, adaptive living skills, and social skill development.