At Advance Therapy, our team of experienced therapists works closely with families to create individualized plans that address each child’s unique needs. Using evidence-based approaches like ABA therapy, we aim to foster meaningful growth and promote long-term developmental success.

An evaluation is used to determine if your child has a disability and whether your child is eligible for early intervention services. An initial screening is a brief, informal checklist regarding your child and your concerns. This helps determine whether a more extensive evaluation or assessment is needed.

An assessment is the process of gathering information about how your child is developing, and then determining what kind of help might be needed. This information may come from doctor’s reports, results from developmental tests, and other important records.

• Access – Providing access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities, settings, and environments is a defining feature of high quality early childhood inclusion.
• Participation – Even if environments and programs are designed to facilitate access, some children will need additional individualized accommodations and supports to participate fully in play and learning activities with peers and adults.
• Support – In addition to provisions addressing access and participation, an infrastructure of systems-level supports must be in place to undergird the efforts of individuals and organizations providing inclusive services to children and families.

For those who are in therapy for the first time, observing how comfortable and confident they are in talking about the challenges in their life can help set the stage for further disclosure.

It may be helpful to set some expectation of what is going to happen in the therapeutic process by explaining how asking questions is at the core of the process and reassuring the client that they should feel free to interrupt at any time and to steer the conversation to where they need it to go.

If the client has seen a counselor before, it can prove very valuable to inquire further about their previous experience in therapy by asking about frequency, duration, and issues discussed during their previous engagements, as well as one thing they remember most that a former counselor told them.

An important aspect for gauging clients’ engagement in the process of therapy is asking them about what went right or didn’t turn out the way they would have liked in their previous therapeutic engagement, as this can point to where they place the sense of responsibility for their situation.

Inquiring if the client achieved the results they sought and if they have been successful in maintaining them outside of the therapeutic relationship can also provide valuable insight into their motivation for change.

Establishing a mutual agreement and setting expectations for the engagement is crucial to making progress. Clients’ goals and preferences for the format and level of interaction need to be taken into consideration.

Some clients like to vent and have the counselor listen; others want a high level of interaction and a spirited back-and-forth. It is also important to inquire how the client learns best and if they like to receive homework.

Other examples of questions that can point to the tone and flow of future communications can include the following:

4. How many meetings do you think it will take to achieve your goals?
5. How might you undermine achieving your own goals?
6. How do you feel about using good advice to grow from?
7. How will we know when we have been successful in achieving your goals for therapy?