In January, Heartspring Pediatric Services began its participation in The Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration, part of TRICARE’s Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) program, which allows for reimbursement for applied behavior analysis (ABA) provided by tutors to children of active military duty personnel who are diagnosed with autism. Under the supervision of Board Certified Behavioral Analyst Christina Hourani, Heartspring is able to provide children with one-on-one tutor services in their home, school, and community environments.

Kaley’s mom Angela first heard about the Autism Services Demonstration from Kimblery Becker, director of Heartspring Pediatric Services, after being referred to Heartspring by her pediatrician for a speech evaluation. Because Kaley’s father is serving in the military, she is eligible for autism services through the program. After working with both Hourani and tutor Gina Rader, Angela is pleased with Kaley’s progress saying that she has opened up more with her communication and personal feelings.

Because the program allows for a tutor in multiple environments Kaley receives services both at Heartspring and at home, giving her the opportunity to practice her goals with consistency in multiple locations.

Currently seven children are participating in the Autism Services Demonstration at Heartspring, receiving approximately 10 hours per week of one-on-one tutor services. Hourani assesses each child and subsequently creates a plan and identifies goals to address specific behavioral and educational needs. Tutors and family members help practice these goals. Team members meet twice a month for supervision and feedback, allowing for continued growth and continuity of services.

“The Autism Services Demonstration allows for open communication between parents, tutors and the behavior analyst regarding problem behaviors and opportunities for skill acquisition in many areas over several different environments,” said Hourani. “Tutors are able to work with children in both their home and in the classroom at Heartspring. This is an excellent occasion to test for generalization of skills across environments. Through supervision sessions with both the tutor and behavior analyst, real time decisions based on data can be made about programming changes, which best serves the children we work with.”

For more information on the Autism Services Demonstration, contact Kimberly Becker at 316.634.8785 or kbecker@heartspring.org.