Coach Mike
Helping Kids with Autism
Therapeutic Services
I offer one-on-one in-home therapeutic and tutoring
services for children and adults in the Bethesda, MD
and greater Washington, D.C. area with Autism
Spectrum Disorders and other disabilities. I use
intensive 
intervention programs that employ
elements of both Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and
the
Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship
(DIR) model.
- Academic tutoring
- Coaching on social skills and understanding
emotions
- Facilitating participation in sports and other
recreational activities
- Teaching life skills
- Supervising play dates
- Developing, revising, and implementing programs
and
- Providing guidance for families
Methodology
I believe a combination of ABA and DIR methods is optimal because ABA provides structure and repetitive learning based on behavioral objectives, while the DIR model focuses on relationships and interests, and teaches skills based on emotional development. Children with autism need a combination and balance of both structure and meaningfulness when they learn.
Philosophy tenets on which these approaches are based
ABA is used to teach academic,
communication, problem solving, behavioral, social,
play, and other skills by breaking tasks down into
small steps and practicing drills. ABA also uses
positive reinforcement and just as much prompting as is
necessary. Inappropriate behaviors may be phased out by
redirecting to target activities rather than drawing
more attention to those behaviors. Antecedents,
behaviors, and consequences are tracked to try to
determine the reasons behind behaviors and implement
appropriate interventions. However, some behaviors may
be accommodations children need to manage their body or
sensory difficulties. Therefore, I focus on building
skills more so than reducing behaviors.
The DIR method focuses on the
emotional development of the child. It takes into
account the child's feelings, relationships, and
individual differences. DIR is based on following the
child's lead and enables the child to learn by
doing what he or she likes to do in a fun and
meaningful way that resonates most with the child.
DIR focuses on the child's skills in all
developmental areas, including social-emotional
functioning, communication, thinking and learning,
motor skills, body awareness and attention. The DIR
method can also help a child generalize skills
initially learned through drills.
Part of the DIR model
includes Floortime, which involves working with a
child at his or her current developmental level, and
building upon strengths and interests in a way that
is meaningful to the child, rather than just focusing
on surface behaviors and drills that don't always
generalize into life skills. Floortime can be
especially effective during periods when a child
needs more play and less work.
I believe in positive reinforcement, encouragement, pushing limits and trying new things that were previously believed to be unattainable. Services I offer include instruction, intervention, and supervision in areas including but not limited to:
|
Areas |
Examples |
|
Academics |
Math and word problems, reading and reading comprehension, sight words, sequencing, etc. |
|
Communication |
Conversation, pointing, gesturing back and forth. |
|
Emotion coaching |
Recognizing, understanding and regulating emotions. Using strategies to cope with frustration and negative feelings. |
|
Life skills |
• Learning to count money and
search for food or other items in a store and
buy them. |
|
Play dates |
Participating in play dates with other children with autism or with typically developing children, playing board games, sports and fostering communication. |
|
Social skills |
•
Having conversations |
|
Sports and Recreation |
Participating in sports and other recreational activities such as:
• Basketball
► Breathing and other relaxation
techniques
• Frisbee |