Early Start, Lasting Connections
This blog is an extension of Springling Therapy – a place to connect, learn, and stay inspired as we work together towards helping young children with autism and their families. Carrie and I have been blown away by what Springling has brought us professionally and personally. The families we have met, the service providers we have collaborated with, and the staff that have continuously amazed us with their own dedication to endless learning and development for our patients. It is through this ongoing development that inspired this blog.
If you have worked with us in the past or are familiar with the Springling Therapy story, you know we are a small clinic, but you also know that our hearts are as big as Texas. To expand our reach and help as many families as possible, we decided to step foot into the blog and social media world. We want to provide a look into our specific style of ABA therapy and know that through our focus on naturalistic developmental behavioral therapy, specifically Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), we approach many things differently than your typical ABA therapy clinic. This blog will include a variety of components that we believe will be meaningful for anyone who takes the time to view or read.
Purposeful Topics. Our blog’s purpose is to provide written information detailing specific topics such as engagement, joint attention, building connections with your child, how to assist in regulation to find that optimal learning zone, and many other impactful topics. We plan to provide information related to toy selection, the coveted technique of active listening, and how nonverbal communication is so very important. We want to share with you our journey of Gestalt language processing which has completely altered how our providers and therapists engage and program. It is our hope that this information makes you think a bit differently about a topic, explore a topic you may not have heard of, or even be used as a parent training tool for a family who has limited access to care.
Meaningful Play in Action. More than one family has mentioned that Springling's highlight is our dedicated and talented RBTs, and we wanted to "show off" how incredible they are. Our staff work very hard to create purposeful enriched routines that not only hit a variety of treatment goals but do this in a way that is so focused on play and engagement, the child’s interpretation is that they are “just” playing. And really, as children, they should be playing. Meaningful focused play is what we do 100% of the time and we hope that these videos will show that there is a different way to engage or even show a family with limited access to care how to create routines to help your child.
From Toys to Tools. It is common for families to tell us they have a toy room that is full of toys, but their child does not play with them purposely or at all. When a birthday or a holiday is approaching, our families want ideas for what they can purchase or send to extended family who is asking. To assist with this component, we will link the materials and toys you will see in the videos. The ESDM books we use linked in case anything you read or see in this blog inspires you to learn more. The yellow book is an amazing first resource. It is written for parents, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and reread chapters. It is filled with amazing examples and written in prose that are informative yet easy to follow.
We are excited about this new adventure and hope you find it useful. Dig around a bit and check out all that it has to offer, especially as the content continues to grow. We have a deep appreciation for all our former and current families as they have been invaluable members of Springling Therapy. Many of them have requested something like this from us so I would like to dedicate this blog to them. May you continue to inspire and keep playing!
Until next time, Tessa
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