“Children learn from their environment, regardless of challenge or disability. Through the science of Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior, we can help improve any child’s quality of life by giving them an environment that supports their learning.”

It is our mission to teach parents of children with autism and related disorders, what they need to know to give their child the best opportunity at a happy and successful life. We have developed a system that is geared toward teaching you how to support a quality ABA/VB program in your own home. We not only work in major cities like Hamburg, Hannover, Köln, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart, Nürnberg and München, we come to wherever you need support.

ABA is nothing more than good teaching and will work for any child who needs help understanding the subtle nuances of living in our social community.

Our goal is to help each child, according to his or her individual strengths and weaknesses, develop the skills necessary to be successful in society. This is done with the help of the environments in which they live, such as the home, kindergarten and school. Our supports help increase general participation in family life, independence, well-being and the security of the child. We believe in a child-centred approach based on a child’s motivation. At every level of learning and interaction, our team uses the fundamental principles of behavior to guide families in building better relationships with their children. The child’s environment is designed to make it valuable for them to engage in learning. The child’s wishes and interests are always taken into account in the interaction. The child helps to shape the program based on their participation (or lack of) to help us determine the best path of support. 

The science of Applied Behavior Analysis is recognized throughout most of the world as the best available method to help with the effects that autism has on the ability of a child to learn new skills. Systematically applied, ABA can take a child from their current functioning level and drastically improve their ability to learn new skills. Children who begin early intervention programs based on the science of ABA are less likely to need long term therapeutic-care, be institutionalized, need special education classes, and are more likely to move on to independent lives.

The concept of ABA/VB that we promote at Knospe-ABA places value on the parents as the child’s most valuable teacher throughout daily life next to working 1:1 with the child. Training the parents through workshops and in-home consultations to implement our ABA/VB programs developed by qualified behavior analysts, limits the need for long-term costly therapy. It allows the child to be fully immersed in an ABA/VB rich environment from sun-up to sundown and is showing the best possible outcomes for children with autism. Our introductory workshop/webinar “Be Your Child’s Best Teacher” offers parents and their support group of helpers (including extended family, therapists and teachers) a detailed explanation of the all of the major principles of ABA/VB and many of the important techniques for applying those principles.

Many families report that just the information presented at the Introductory workshop has helped them to begin interacting with their child in more effective ways. They are able to reverse behavior, that children with autism spectrum disorders often develop when family members struggle understanding their child’s challenging behavior.

However, for a child to receive an actual ABA/VB program that is designed especially for their unique needs an initial consultation is necessary. An in-home initial consultation usually lasts 3 days and is used to assess the child in his or her home environment. The initial consultation is necessary in order to pinpoint exactly where the breakdowns are in the child’s natural ability to understand language and learn new skills. Like every service we offer, we will give recommendations but leave the duration and intensity of the service to the individual family. During the initial consultation we design a series of program recommendations, work 1:1 with the child and begin to train parents and their support group to implement these recommendations in safe and effective ways. Our programs typically address a child‘s functioning levels in any number of 25 important categories of learning including, reinforcer effectiveness, visual performance, motor imitation, vocal imitation, requesting, labeling, spontaneous vocalisation, social interaction, dressing, toileting, self-help skills, gross and fine motor skills, reading, writing among others. To do this we use several assessments including the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (The ABLLS), the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (The AFLS) from Partington Behavior Analysts and the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (The VB-MAPP) by Mark L. Sundberg, Ph.D., BCBA.

A benefit of our program is that after attending a workshop and hosting an Initial consultation the family is fully prepared to begin supporting their child’s education in more positive ways in the home environment. It is not uncommon for children to begin making substantial progress in only the first few months of services (see our testimonials). The programs we design in the initial consultation will usually last a family from 1 – 2 months with continued supervision and oversight via phone and email contact. We are offering online consultations (tele health) as well. At a maintenance consultation we assess the current program, work 1:1 with the child, increase support team training and if appropriate, re-administer the ABLLS, AFLS or VB-MAPP. These assessments can be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention as well as update the child’s program..

In addition to guidance in the home environment or clinic setting, close cooperation with the kindergarten, school and other institutions that are part of the child’s education is very welcomed in order to achieve the best possible, holistic outcome.

Our program is designed so that with each subsequent visit the childs parents and kindergarten or school staff are taught to be better teachers to the child and to need our direct supervision less intensively. The ultimate goal is for the family, school and support staff to learn to support the child`s needs without ongoing intensive behavioral intervention. Our goal is to help the child and family achieve optimal outcome while assuring that the child is getting the most ethical and effective education possible for as long as they are in need. We focus on the individual needs of each child and all program recommendations, learning goals and behavioral interventions are responsible to the highest ethical standards.