Cynthia and Jonathan

Cynthia and her husband had their youngest son Jonathan later in life, and she describes them as “older parents.” Jonathan is autistic, and when he started facing significant problems in school, Jonathan’s therapist recommended that he not go back. 

He was experiencing sensory issues, occasional meltdowns, and depression, and Cynthia felt she needed to get a handle on it. In her search for support, she joined an online autism group in Hampton Roads. It was through that group that she listened to a speaker from AnswersNow who discussed the benefits of ABA therapy.

“One of the things that he said that really sold it for me was that if you weren’t able to start ABA therapy at a younger age, you can always start older,” Cynthia said. “He gave me the courage to reach out and to not fret that it was too late for him.”

Finding their way to AnswersNow

Cynthia said she called around to a bunch of different ABA therapy providers, and every place she called had a waiting list or some other reason they couldn’t accept Jonathan at that time.

And then I remembered that the speaker said that AnswersNow has no waiting list, and they can usually get you right in. And they did. They got us right in, they got the paperwork, and got him assessed. Within a week or two, everything was moving.

It’s one thing when you notice it…

When reflecting on the impact ABA therapy has had on Jonathan, Cynthia lights up.

“So the impact is one thing when you see it and you notice it. It's another thing with everybody else comments.” 

During his transition out of school and into ABA therapy, Jonathan's father sadly passed away. When it was time for people to speak at the funeral service, Jonathan got up and made a speech that left everyone in awe. “He spoke so eloquently it was like everybody stopped,” Cynthia said. “And when Jonathan finished speaking, he got such applause. For weeks after that, everybody talked about how well he spoke and how he had grown so much. At that time he had been with AnswersNow for just six weeks.” 

Cynthia said beyond his speaking, another huge milestone was in Jonathan’s conversational skills. “He's able to hold a conversation, he's able to ask people about their day, and he's able to try to get people to engage, to make friends,” Cynthia said. “He's able to really express himself.” 

Goal setting - together

An aspect of her AnswersNow experience that Cynthia found especially valuable was her Caregiver Training. More-so than traditional ABA therapy, AnswersNow puts a strong emphasis on Caregiver Training, or dedicated time for the clinician to meet with the parent or caregiver to review helpful strategies, build new skills, address issues and discuss progress. For Cynthia, this provided a great amount of insight into what her son was thinking, and how he was processing things.

It was definitely needed for both of us. I had questions, like this is plucking my nerves, and I don't know what to do. My BCBA would explain, ‘Here is what he's thinking and these are strategies that we're working on.’

The focused care model that AnswersNow uses ensures treatment plans are very targeted to what will have the biggest and most immediate impact on a family’s quality of life. “I was able to contribute to the goals. He was able to contribute to the goals, and because we had those shared goals, the Caregiver Training was specifically tailored towards issues we were facing and how to work through them.”

Learning how to become more of himself

Initially a little skeptical of virtual therapy, Cynthia admits AnswersNow exceeded her expectations, and supported their family in a time of need. “It was more effective than I ever would've thought,” Cynthia said. “And simply because they worked on bringing the child to become more of himself. Jonathan learned how to be more of himself and to show up in the world.” 

“Like any parent, when your child is in crisis, you're just trying to throw whatever you can at the wall and you hope something sticks. And I can honestly say, ABA therapy online, it definitely stuck.”