Behavior solutions for
every day living!
User friendly solutions for every classroom and home! Help your child or student reach their full potential through the application of behavior science concepts.
Our Philosophy
When we use the amazing science of ABA to change the behavior of others to meet our own needs and desires, we are acting unethically by engaging in a form of exploitation. Keystone Achievements is dedicated to practicing Trauma Informed Behavior Analysis (TIBA) with an emphasis on safety, choice, trust, cooperation, and empowerment.
Resources and training for Registered Behavior Technicians(RBT) and RBT candidates.
Find resources for improving your skills and deepening your understanding of ABA. RBT Candidates can find more information on what the job actually looks like as well as access some of our training materials.
Resources and training for BCBA’s
Find resources and perspectives to continue to improve your approach as well as CEU’s and training to maintain your credential. Our library is updated frequently so be sure to check in often!
What is Trauma
Informed Care?
The foundation of Trauma Informed Care is a perspective that assumes past experience affects an individuals behavior as extensively as any diagnosis or condition might. The only ethical response is a focus on creating a safe and transparent environment that values the progress of the individual more highly than the progress of data or programming. The end result is a collaborative environment that encourages engagement and self-advocacy and culminates in individuality.
Looking for more information on specific topics regarding Applied Behavior Analysis, Mindfulness, or teaching special needs kids? Let us know what you’d like to hear more about!
Behavior Momentum; Let’s get moving!
“How do I get my kid to ______”; – A Brief Introduction to Reinforcement
From the Archives – Functions of Behavior: Automatically Reinforcing
From the Archives – Functions of Behavior: Attention
Learning Keystones will pursue creation of resources and supports to perpetually improve the efficacy and availability of behavior science and its application in our world. Instruction and training will be provided with a focus on the crucial elements of our philosophy, namely trauma informed care and student centric modalities. Learning Keystones is committed to furthering the application of behavior science and analysis in all settings to include training for teachers, parents, those attempting to enter the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, and all other related professionals. The sum of all these parts will be instructions with carefully considered concepts and applications tailored to the recipient and their respective setting.
Learning Keystones MIssion Statement
About Keystone Achievements
Keystone Achievements is a Colorado Springs based organization providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and trauma informed care in center, home, and community settings. Since our inception in late 2017 we have relentlessly focused on providing phenomenal behavior support and training resources for those in our community. Learning Keystones was born out of that drive.
You Ask, We Tell
Here are some commonly asked questions
Is ABA right for me?
Even with scientifically proven techniques of ABA, they can be administered in varying degrees. The phrase intensive therapy is often used. Our approach to intensive is consistency and frequency covering a comprehensive range of skills including communication, social skills, behavior, and self-care. Recommendations for intensive therapy are 25 to 40 hours per week. Determining each child’s level of therapy is based on their needs. Typically the parent or guardian is the best judge of their child’s needs.
What resources do you offer?
Learning Keystones features a blog and pages geared towards each of the roles that work with or support the special needs community. The primary roles we provide resources for are
- Registered Behavior Technicians(RBTs) and RBT Candidates
- Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA)
- Parents
- Teachers and school professionals (Coming March 2021)
Each page will contain videos and content geared for the related role. Additionally, our blog will be regularly updated with concepts and general behavior science topics.
What are the core principles of Trauma Informed Care?
The principles of Trauma informed care we hold in highest regard are Safety, Choice, Collaboration, and empowerment. By maintaining an environment that holds these concepts as foundational elements we maintain an ethical relationship with our students that gives them the best chance at leading the life they want to lead.
You can of course read and watch more of our content to learn about these elements in action. For an outside voice, here are some additional resources on trauma informed care.
Where can I find student centric and trauma informed ABA services?
Learning Keystones is a division of Keystone Achievements. If you are looking for in home or in center ABA therapy in Colorado Springs be sure to visit our Contact Us page to reach out to our team. If you are elsewhere in the country use the resources presented through Learning Keystones to learn more about what a student focused program looks like. You can also visit our “Questions to ask your ABA provider” page for more ideas.
How is ABA used in the classroom?
Many of the concepts of ABA can be utilized in any setting for more effective use of academic or any type of structured time. Some of the most important are creating behavior intervention plans, de-escalation strategies, and effective use of reinforcement.
- A behavior intervention plan communicates clearly to the team what the underlying cause (or function) of a student’s behavior is or is hypothesized to be. When we understand the cause we can more effectively respond to their behavior and offer more appropriate future behavior. The BIP should focus on reducing future behavior not just ending a current situation.
- De-escalation strategies pair with a BIP to address the cause of behaviors and help students display calmer behavior for the safety of everyone involved. A good de-escalation plan recognizes that every student processes things differently, especially when in an escalated emotional state, and thus flexibility and understanding is required.
Reinforcement is a very effective tool for motivating and guiding behavior, however, it must be used effectively. The concepts of ABA provide many tools for creating reinforcement strategies and plans for each student that will result in the most effective use of classroom time and give students less reason to engage in high magnitude challenging behaviors.
How do you use the concepts of ABA at home?
Many of the concepts of ABA can be utilized in any setting and can be very effective for preventing or managing behaviors that happen at home Some of the most important are creating behavior intervention plans, de-escalation strategies, and effective use of reinforcement.
- A behavior intervention plan is a great start for getting the support system for a student on the same page about functions of behavior and the best responses to those behaviors. The BIP should focus on reducing future behavior not just ending a current situation.
- De-escalation strategies pair with a BIP to address the cause of behaviors and helps children display calmer behavior for the safety of everyone involved. A good de-escalation plan recognizes that every person processes things differently, especially when in an escalated emotional state, and thus flexibility and understanding is required.
Reinforcement is a very effective tool for motivating and guiding behavior, however, it must be used effectively. The concepts of ABA provide many tools for creating reinforcement strategies and plans for each child that will result in the most effective use of classroom time and give them less reason to engage in high magnitude challenging behaviors.
Is ABA ethical?
Applied Behavior Analysis, like any scientific modality, can be implemented in both an ethical and unethical manner. Due to this fact it is important than any parent or practitioner of ABA take the time to fully understand the criticisms and missteps possible when choosing or implementing an ABA program. We believe there are several elements of typical ABA therapy that should be viewed very critically, primarily:
- How reinforcement is applied
- If and how compliance training is implemented
- Whether the focus of programming is on improving the student’s life or the Parent/caretaker
