User:Ronfiggy

I have been a counselor and researcher and Applied Behavior Analyst for people on the Autism Spectrum for over thirty years. In the early seventies parents and educators might say that the child was trouble, has a bad attitude, disruptive or hyperactive. Labels changed as the years went by, and still most researchers, educators and caregivers focused on putting children into a regular classroom, and when their behaviors warranted had them transferred to a special education class, which during the seventies through the nineties focused on segregating these children. There is still a stigma that exists toward children who are different.

What I found over the years and tried to encourage organizations to see, is that these children needed more individualized care.

While working at a facility called South Beach Psychiatric Hospital in Staten Island NY in the early seventies, I saw how many of the patients did not belong in this type of closed ward facility, and I felt could gain more help if they had more one on one care. My supervisor saw merit in what I was proposing and allowed me to take clients and provide more on one one time together. I continued to recommend this type of care for developmentally disabled people in all of the other facilities I worked in over the years.

Most would not change their basic approach of using behavior modification without having much knowledge of what it is and also letting untrained people apply training.

I remember being trained over the years with applying various aspects of Applied Behavior Analysis that was gaining more and more credence over the years. I was especially excited about the idea of the intensive one on one training, and even more so with the results.

I am encouraged that more people are getting involved with this aspect of care for our children.

I also believe hat ABA alone is not enough. Their are many other treatments and practices that need to explored by the helping community.

The techniques I have learned and applied over the years have proven to be very effective with the people who are on the Autism Spectrum.

For more information call Ron Figueroa at 949-940-6225.

Ron Figueroa, M.A. in Community and Counseling Psychology, QMRP, ABA, Licensed Mental Health Counselor.