Our founder, Christopher Barnett, recently received the following unsolicited letter from a parent explaining in detail her family’s autism journey and how she feels about ABA Centers of America’s work with her daughter. Names have been changed for confidentiality.
Dear Chris and ABA Centers of America Team,
Our family wants to thank you for all the joy you bring to our lives!
Last summer, our youngest was diagnosed with autism, and our lives changed. We felt overwhelmed, lost, and confused. We wanted to get our daughter the best services possible to help her in all areas of her development. We did not know where to start.
We told the doctor who diagnosed our nine-year-old daughter Lily that we wanted someone to come to our home and work with her so they could see the full family dynamic. We have three kids, and the whole family felt the weight of our daughter’s diagnosis. We also wanted someone to come help us grow and teach us how to best help our daughter and our other children. The doctor told us that nothing like that existed. She gave me some names of therapists. I jokingly told her I wanted to start something like that one day as it seemed the best way to help children with autism.
I hung up the phone with the doctor and began to search for “best autism services for girls.” ABA Centers of America came up and I called. I was beyond surprised when I was told that you did ALL of the things we hoped for and MORE! It seemed too good to be true. Over the next few weeks, Donald Pam, Carol, and others guided us through the process and every obstacle we encountered in trying to work through insurance. They frequently called to check in and encourage us.
We had a wonderful intake and were very excited to get started. We finally had HOPE!
Since then, we have been beyond blessed by your team of amazing professionals. We have the gift of working with Theresa, Rhonda, and Joan. They are an incredible team. These ladies are gifted, wise, and personable. They give their whole hearts not only to our daughter but to our whole family.
Theresa, the Board Certified Behavior Analyst you paired us with, works tirelessly to help implement Lily’s therapy plan. She generously works with us extra hours if we encounter crises or setbacks with our daughter. She gives of her own personal time and energy. She has accompanied us to many other appointments with other types of therapists, psychiatrists, and learning specialists. Theresa then modifies our daughter’s therapy plan to include the new information and maximize her learning in every area.
Theresa’s heart is gold, full of love, compassion, and care. She also possesses the ability to set loving and necessary limits with our daughter to help her be her best self.
My husband and I have grown exponentially as a result of our parent meetings with Theresa. She has great insights and suggestions for us as we parent not only Lily but our other children who are affected in countless ways by our daughter’s autism. Our parent meetings are making us better parents! Watching Theresa work in all of these areas is amazing to see. She has changed our lives with her joyous spirit and dedicated heart. We love her!
Rhonda, one of your gifted Registered Behavior Technicians, also brings compassion and care with every visit to our home. It is evident that she has been in the field for quite some time and puts her whole heart into her work. She has exhibited such patience in helping our daughter with homework. Rhonda brings new insights and helpful ways of completing the assignments.
She helps motivate our daughter. Rhonda maintains calm at all times, even during moments of emotional escalation. Rhonda recently accompanied us to a neighborhood party and managed to make our daughter feel a new level of confidence. We so look forward to our Rhonda days! She makes us all smile 🙂
The other RBT who works with us, Joan, is also talented. It is clear this is a field in which she shines! Your company blessed us with sending Joan on a trip with us for Thanksgiving. In the past, outbursts by our daughter Lily tended to overshadow the whole family’s experience. But having Joan on the trip allowed us to invest in ALL of our other children and make some happy memories.
Joan has helped Lily grow in a variety of ways: academic, social, personal hygiene, and athletic (gymnastics). She brings an energetic and loving presence each time she comes to our home. She reaches our daughter on so many levels. We get excited for our Joan days.
I had the chance to meet Nancy this week at the clinic. She has helped me organize vacations and events for our daughter via email, so meeting her in person was wonderful. I am so glad she joined your company! It is clear that her heart is in this work.
Chris, when I met you at the ABA Centers of America Family Farm Day, you told me you only wanted to hire people who “had a heart for this work.” You made it clear that while credentials are important, you only want to hire those whose hearts will be invested in the clients. It is so clear that you manage to hire people with hearts. Everyone we have met from your organization has a huge heart and is an excellent professional!
We want to thank you, Chris, as the force behind all of this. Thank you for organizing outings like the Family Farm event! It was such a happy Fall day, and I was grateful for the chance to meet you personally. At that point, we had only been clients for a few weeks. We were so thankful for all the planning that went into that festive day: pony rides, face painting, a delicious catered lunch, pumpkin painting, and social opportunities for children and families to connect and share. Your event gave our daughter a chance to feel “normal” and “one among many” instead of “different” and “alone.”
Thank you also for allowing our RBT Joan to join us on our family vacation. It was wonderful to have her amazing support during both the joyous and difficult moments of our trip.
Thank you for hosting the amazing vacation days in your clinic during the two weeks of Christmas vacation. Our daughter delighted in “The Grinch” movie. While our daughter was actively engaged at your clinic, my husband was able to take our other children Christmas shopping.
As your professionals care for our daughter, we can invest in parenting ALL our children in ways we previously could not when Lily was melting down or having high needs.
Last but not least, thank you for pairing us with a Florida RBT during our summer vacation.
We are extremely thankful for the amazing professionals like Theresa, Rhonda, and Joan, whom we are blessed to work with on a daily basis. Our daughter Lily has a new hopeful attitude every day. As parents, we now feel that this autism journey is possible. Our other children feel the love and support your team brings to our family. We are all refreshed after Theresa, Rhonda, and Joan spend time with us.
Thank you for extending your heart and hand as we travel this unexpected road. ABA Centers of America has changed our lives in the few months we have been blessed to be with your organization. We are so thankful for your innovation in creating this company.
With so much gratitude and appreciation,
Parents of Lily
If you have a child on the autism spectrum and would like information about how we can help, call us at (844) 923-4222 to schedule a free consultation or contact us at abacenters.com.
