UP Early Intervention Clinic
Unlocking your child's potential
In-Clinic Program for Autism
Our in-clinic program allows children to achieve their potential in a fun, social environment. In-clinic therapy might be for you if…
- Your child has difficulty doing things that are easy for others
- You want your child to learn in a social environment from qualified, caring staff
- You want your child to access safe and developmentally appropriate learning experiences tailored to young children
- You want your child to learn from experts in early childhood development and autism
- You would benefit from a “one-stop shop” approach with coordinated services
- Your lifestyle may not allow for a home-based therapy program
In-Clinic Early Intervention Program
Clients in our in-clinic program receive
- Comprehensive intake process to support your child’s transition into the clinic, including curricular assessment and setting objectives collaboratively with you
- Regular intervention sessions with a behaviour interventionist to help your child excel in their objectives within 3 months
- Our sessions include all the typical activities children would do in daycare or preschool, including circle time, arts and crafts, building, pretend play, snack, gross motor, books, fine motor.
- Social interaction opportunities with our skilled staff who are trained to support social skills, and our scheduling that brings children together across their sessions.
- Regular connections home with our monthly progress reports and quarterly reassessment and objective review meetings
Enrollment Options
Days and Times
Our Session Times are:
- 8:30 – 10:30 am
- 11:30 – 1:30pm
- 2:30 – 4:30pm
Our Session Day Options are:
- 2 days per week – Tuesdays & Thursdays
- 3 days per week – Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays
- 5 days per week – Monday – Friday
*Availability of enrolment for any given session time/day will be evaluated and discussed with you at the time of your initial meeting with a Clinical Director.
Our In-Clinic Program Includes Support From
Senior Behaviour Analysts
Our Senior behaviour analysts oversee all cases and are dually certified Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Certified Therapists, and Board Certified Behaviour Analysts, as well as Registered Behaviour Consultants in BC through the provincial Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP Category A). Each child will either work with Maria or Sherise, who have extensive experience with naturalistic, developmental early intervention and applied behaviour analysis (ABA).
Senior Behaviour Analysts are responsible for individualized program development, monitoring the child’s progress and guiding the other team members in effective intervention to ensure your child gets the most out of their time in our program.
Case Managers
Each child is also assigned a Case Manager, who is a behaviour analyst in training. Case managers assist with case oversight, allowing us to provide lots of support to the behaviour interventionists in our clinic. Case managers have a bachelor’s or masters’ degree and are pursuing certification in behaviour analysis on the undergraduate or graduate level, or pursuing certification in the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM.).
Behaviour Interventionists
Our behaviour interventionists work one on one or in small groups in our in-clinic program to implement the behaviour intervention program developed by the senior behaviour analyst in each session. Behaviour interventionists are skilled in early start denver model and early interaction strategies to support learning for your child each session. Behaviour interventionists receive comprehensive initial training in ESDM and ABA strategies as part of our initial training program, and receive and regular oversight from case managers and senior behaviour analysts for on-going skill development and to individualize strategies to each child’s unique needs.
Program Options
Individual and Group-Based Programming
Individual ESDM sessions are staffed 1:1, with one BI working with one child. Sessions occur in blocks across the day so even if your child is staffed 1:1, there are plenty of opportunities for children to come together for social and group learning opportunities across the day
Our group based ESDM program involved a lower staffing ratio (2 staff to 3 children or 2 staff to 4 children) to better prepare children for learning in a classroom setting. All students in our in-clinic program are able to transition to a group ratio once they meet prerequisites for learning in this environment.
Speech-Language Consultation
In our in-clinic program
Our Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are experts in their area of service delivery and consult directly with each child’s program at UP. SLP’s provide recommendations that our clinical team can then practice each session, providing your child with much more practice in specific speech strategies.
SLP’s are also available to provide 1:1 sessions for children who would benefit from extra practice.
If you already work with a speech-language therapist or other professional, we can coordinate with them to provide integrated services to your child.
Benefits of UP Early Intervention Clinic
Clients in our in-clinic program benefit from:
- Highly trained and skilled behaviour interventionists
- Clinical oversight from a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Certified Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Therapists
- Individualized objectives in a variety of areas
- Speech-Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist consultation
- Enriching and stimulating environment
- Carefully crafted, individualized goal plan
Ready to Start?
What is Unique About Our Program
Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Certified
Our program supervisors are dually-certified as both Behaviour Analysts (BCBAs) and ESDM Certified Therapists, and each of our Behaviour Interventionists must complete our ESDM focused BI training program with our training coordinator before being placed with a client.
Professional Development
We plan regular professional development for all of our staff so they can provide the highest quality of care. We also provide workshops to share our expertise with the community.
Collaborative and Multidisciplinary
Children attending our in-clinic program receive behaviour Intervention support with access to speech and occupational therapy during their sessions if needed. There is no need to drive all over the city for different services. We value professional collaboration and work with any team members you may want to support your child.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Welcome to our FAQ section! Here you’ll find answers to some questions we commonly hear from families. If you don’t see the information you’re looking for, please feel free to contact us, our book an initial intake meeting.
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While a diagnosis can be a helpful source of information and allows families to access the provincial autism funding program, we do not require a diagnosis to access services. We can support you as soon as you have a concern.
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Yes, all of our Senior Behaviour Analysts are on the Registry of Autism Service Providers (RASP) as Category A behaviour consultants and are qualified to bill autism funding.
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If you know you’ll be away from your regular sessions with notice, let us know and we can schedule you in for a makeup session within our attendance policy. We are not able to accommodate extended leaves from the program; in those situations some families choose to leave the program and then re-enroll when you return.
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Yes! We work with some incredible Speech Language Pathologists and have two service delivery models for speech therapy. We can have the SLP consult to your child’s in-clinic program and provide recommendations to the clinical team for practice in every day sessions, or you can book in to work one on one with a speech therapist.
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N0; our program tuition is prorated for closures and is adjusted in our system based on the number of sessions the child will receive that month.
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Generally no, most children do best attending sessions on their own. However, some children may require a transition period into the clinic and we may need you to be available to facilitate this transition. We have a number of ways to keep families connected to what is happening in sessions. We can schedule parent obserations in sessions, and can share videos so you have a good sense of how sessions are going.