The Pediatric Developmental Disabilities Clinic provides a range of behavioral services for children and adolescents who are diagnosed with or suspected of having developmental delays and disabilities.
Children and adolescents with developmental delays and disabilities— such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Intellectual Disabilities, and significant speech/language delays— often display behavior problems including meltdowns/tantrums, noncompliance, and verbal or physical aggression. These behavior problems can place significant stress on children, parents, and families, and create substantial barriers to home life, participation in social and community activities. Typical parenting strategies, as well as traditional outpatient mental health services, might not be successful in addressing these problems. Our mission is to assess these challenging behaviors and provide consultation and intervention to families so that their children’s behaviors become more manageable.
Behavior Problems Treated at this Clinic Include:
- Tantrums/Meltdowns
- Noncompliance
- Aggression
- Running away from caregivers (elopement)
- Toileting skills deficits
- Sleep problems
- Disruptive and destructive behaviors
- Anxiety
- Phobias
- Mild self-injury
Our Team:
Our clinic includes licensed psychologists, board-certified behavior analysts, and other staff members with expertise in behavioral psychology and the assessment and treatment of behavioral difficulties displayed by individuals with developmental delays or disabilities. The frequency and duration of services vary based on the clinical needs of each child and family. Sessions are typically conducted in the clinic. When indicated, consultations with school teams and other interdisciplinary care providers are also available.
Our Treatment Services
Our techniques are based on extensive research and experience, and are tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Our services begin with an individualized behavioral assessment that looks at not only specific problem behaviors, but also factors surrounding these behaviors. The assessment includes identifying important child characteristics, such as specific strengths or skills deficits, and other factors that might influence the occurrence of maladaptive behaviors. Intervention is then developed based on understanding why the behavior problems occur and how we can best intervene. Thus, treatment might consist of multiple components that include:
- Identifying and teaching adaptive and socially acceptable behaviors to replace maladaptive behaviors
- Educating parents about specific developmental challenges and how they can affect a child’s behavior
- Training parents to help prevent and decrease the frequency of difficult behaviors
- Helping parents expand these skills to home and community settings