About
A consulting Behaviour Analyst offering evidence-based behaviour analytic services to families and agencies that serve children with autism. Using a best-practice, family-centered, culturally sensitive approach, the methods of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) are used to conduct assessments, training, supervision, and development of Behaviour Support Plans (BSP). Each plan is individualized to the child and follows Ontario Autism Program (OAP) guidelines.
Deborah Vincent
Deborah was introduced to the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis in a private institute as a psychology student at McMaster University. It was this clinical experience that helped her realize where her enthusiasm lies. The hands-on encounter also forced her to ask, “Is there a better way to get the same results?” This led her to want to pursue more within the field in order to work towards making the changes she hoped to see. She has been in the field of ABA for over a decade and hopes to continue making a positive impact in this behaviour-modifying field.
Deborah completed a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies at Ryerson University and her experiences have mainly been with the autism population. She has worked in clinical, education, and community settings. She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, a member of the Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis (ONTABA) as well as a full-time professor in the Bachelor of Behaviour Science program at Humber College, in Toronto Canada. Deborah is currently a consulting Behaviour Analyst for families and agencies within York Region and the surrounding area.
Services
Assessments
In developing the most effective intervention plan for a child, it is both necessary and essential to develop a function-based intervention, hence the use of Function Based Assessments (FBA) and Functional Analyses (FA). Alternatively, the more familiar tools such as the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS-R) and the Verbal Behaviour Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) are used with early learners. Less common is the use of the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS) with learners whose objectives are to develop independence and self-management skills. These are examples of some tools used to assess a child.
Training
Applied Behaviour Analysis is the science that aims to make socially significant and lasting change within a person’s life. With this in mind, it is important that the people surrounding the individual understand how to maintain desired behaviours. To assist with maintenance and generalization, parent training is offered within families’ homes and within centers. Training programs are individualized to the unique situations or challenges of the child and family.
Every agency desires to ensure that their staff is providing the highest quality of services to the families they serve. Quality service includes best practices that are based on the least restrictive and most effective strategies. Through the use of Behavioural Skills Training (BST), staff training is offered to help foster skills within instructor therapists, senior therapists and other individuals who are a part of the child’s IBI team.
Supervision
In an attempt to add to the much positive advancements within the modifying behaviour field, Deborah likes to think that increasing the number of Behaviour Analysts will make a difference in the world. She believes that students learn best through doing, and has resolved to open gateways which foster opportunities for such. She offers supervision to individuals who are pursuing their BCBA or BCaBA certification.
Behavior Support Plans
Each BSP is designed based on OAP guidelines to provide an effective, practical and functional framework to support a child’s intervention.
Getting Started
Step One
Contact me via email to schedule a brief telephone conversation about the services you are interested in, what your concerns or challenges are, or if you are just in need of a Supervising Clinician. This 15-minute initial consult is free of charge.
Step Two
I will visit your agency or the client’s home to conduct an assessment and to have a more detailed conversation with the parents or caregiver of the child. This meeting will help to provide the necessary information to help build an effective intervention for the child. This assessment may be conducted across 1 or 2 days depending on the individual.
Step Three
Once the intervention plan is developed, I will meet with the family again to share the results and discuss the plan of action. I will also meet with the Senior Therapist of the child’s IBI team to share the results, the learning objectives and if necessary behaviour goals. If needed I will also train the Senior Therapist on methods that will be used to obtain the results.
For OAP funded clients, a budget plan for the next 6-months will be developed. For all cases I provide on-going supervision, weekly review and analyses of the child’s data and progress, as well as monthly meetings with the parents and the team to discuss the child’s progress. Additionally, I review the results of the program formally within 3 months of its implementation.