Licensed Behavior Analysis

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of behavior modification that focuses on learned selectivity, or individual responses that are determined and repeated due to the consequences experienced.

Durable gains are substantiated through the design and delivery of evidence-based procedures. ABA "is an evidenced method of examining and changing what people say and do (Mayer et al., 2019)." 

Stimulating growth and socially significant development depend on the exercise and reinforcement of replacement behavior versus impaired responding. Existing environmental stimuli - often linked to an array of challenging behavior - are instead rearranged to compel alternative choices to contact familiar consequences and preferred outcomes, hardening new expectations for the individual subsequently prepared for change.

Mayer, G. R., Sulzer-Azaroff, B., & Wallace, M. (2019). Behavior Analysis for Lasting Change (4th ed.). Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY: Sloan Publishing.

Intensive Community Based Support includes the practice of behavior analysis, as established by the Virginia Board of Medicine for youth receiving community-managed care, § 54.1-2900. 

Behavior analysis is the operationalized administration of scheduled reinforcement, applied to leverage the repetition of appropriate responding through direct observation and procedural distribution that is exact.

Analysis isolates the variables linked to function that reliably produce behavior. Prediction, verification, and the repeatability of interventions demonstrate control, which permits routine contingencies to condition communication that is increasingly acceptable while strengthening socialization and adaptive skill acquisition.

Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). (August 10, 2023, 01:02 EDT). Mental Health Services, Chapter 8: Appendix D: Intensive Community Based Support Youth. https://vamedicaid.dmas.virginia.gov/manual-chapters/appendix-d-intensive-community-based-support-youth 

Therapeutic Consultative Services assist caregivers and direct support professionals cultivate stability for a variety of individuals through shared well-being. Following the completion of behavioral and skills assessments, therapeutic strategies - derived from best practices and guided by ethics - advance a concept for recovery that begins with the marginalization of problematic behavior. 

Treatment interventions are empirically validated and include self-correcting techniques, a standard for regularly calibrating implementation and monitoring progress through verifiable data. Caregivers are supplied with continuous and systematic training to activate ongoing, meaningful improvement by capturing opportunities for programming with impact. 

Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). (August 10, 2023, 12:56 EDT). Developmental Disability Waivers, Chapter 4: Covered Services and Limitations (DD). https://vamedicaid.dmas.virginia.gov/manual-chapters/covered-services-and-limitations-dd?manual_id=12705