IN S.T.E.P.P.S.' April Star!

Jessica is great at implementing the PRT components with a wide variety of clients, from non-verbal to high functioning, and from young children to adults with challenging behaviors. Jessica has the natural ability to connect with her clients and demonstrates great shared control. She is passionate about teaching and working with children, she is positive, professional, fun, responsible and hardworking. She makes our job easy when we go out on the field for supervision! We are so proud to have Jessica on the In STEPPS team!- Mayra C.

Jessica is extremely bright, funny and creative.  She takes feedback well and can instantly change her own behavior to better suit the clients and their programs.  Jessica is always willing to sub on cases when therapists are ill or out of town.  She is an extremely quick learner and can pick up new programs, strategies and techniques very quickly.  Jessica is a pleasure to work with!  Thanks for all you do, Jessica!- Nicole H.

Jessica is an excellent therapist with a lot of energy.  She is very professional and shows a great understanding of PRT.  Jessica is flexible with her clients as well.  She can adjust her approach per client regardless of age or ability.  She is also fantastic with following through/staying contingent and makes sure that she sets up really clear expectations to help her clients be successful.  Jessica is also creative and willing to be as silly as she needs to be to keep a child motivated.  I had the chance to see some pictures Jessica took of herself and a client recently where they had drawn silly faces on a glass door and then were making faces through the drawings.  Jessica's a Super Star Therapist and we're extremely lucky to have her as part of the In STEPPS family.-David 

In S.T.E.P.P.S. in Mexico

By Mayra Corona, M.D., Case Supervisor 

In March I was visiting family in Puebla, Mexico. While on my vacation, I was contacted by Wendy Lopez, director of a psychiatric hospital in Mexico, who invited me to give a talk about therapeutic techniques being used in California for children with autism. The talk was intended for psychiatrists, doctors, special education teachers, and parents. I thought it would a nice opportunity to talk about ABA, PRT and our work with children and adolescents with autism. I have spoken in front of groups before and thought I knew what to expect. The presentation was scheduled on a Saturday,from 8am-11am and I was amazed that more than 800 people attended!. I talked about autism, provided an introduction to ABA (history and basic concepts ) and gave a brief presentation on Pivotal Response Teaching (PRT), the methodology used at In Stepps. Many people in the audience had never heard about ABA or PRT and they were very interested, and participated in the discussion with questions and comments. I was so happy to be a part of In Stepps and to have the opportunity to bring such important and needed information to my native country. I am hopeful we can continue to share our knowledge with professionals and parents in Mexico!