Keystones Academic Behavioral Health Mission

Keystone Achievements is an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) provider leading the effort in bringing a whole-family, trauma informed, and evidence-based approach to the field of behavior analysis and modification.  Our techniques avoid the traditional ABA use of physical manipulation and demand compliance that has resulted in many negative experiences by families participating in ABA.  Keystone’s trauma informed care prioritizes safety, cooperation, trust, empowerment, and choice.  Keystone has proven the use of these strategies that are grounded with compassion for the entire family unit result in learned, functional, and life changing improvements.

ABA is not an attempt to change a person.  The focus is on providing an environment that allows individuals to learn strategies that will improve their ability acquire living skills, communication skills, social skills, and many other skills that are difficult for children and adults with special needs.  In order to generalize skills, techniques are applied in different environments including clinical settings, at home, in the community, and school. 

A clinical setting is often the primary location to start ABA as it allows for a highly controlled setting to establish instructional control and trusting relationships.  Starting in a clinical setting is not always an option for families for various reasons.  Keystone will work with children and adolescents in the school setting when the districts allow for an ABA therapist to come in the classroom. Behaviors can be the obstacle for students to access academics.  Many students have the cognitive ability to complete the academic task at hand; however, their impulses, inability to communicate their needs and wants, social anxieties, and many other behavioral related disorders prevent them from engaging and completing school activities.  This could look like defiance in many cases.  Behavioral science looks at the antecedent to the behavior and the objective of the behavior to develop strategies to modify the maladaptive behaviors.  These scientifically based strategies have helped individuals to be successful in school when no other interventions worked.