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By Colleen Kilday
Sponsored by Athena Behavioral Treatment Center
Athena Behavioral Treatment Center, a Gainesville-based provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services, invites the community to attend its grand opening on June 4, 2022. The event will start at 10:00 a.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Since 2020, the organization has provided in-home behavioral health services to children diagnosed with conditions for which ABA services are recommended, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental and Learning Disorders, Intellectual disabilities and more. Now, with the opening of a physical location, the organization is expanding its services by offering a center-based Therapeutic Learning Program. The program operates Monday through Friday and will help expose enrolled children to a collective learning environment as they pursue their own individualized treatment plans.
Co-founders Nydia & John Soto
Cofounder Nydia Soto, Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA), says she is hopeful that the center will also increase accessibility to needed services within the community.
“There’s a huge need out there,” she said. “A lot of kids are on waiting lists with other companies. We want to help the children gain communication, functional and social skills they need to succeed in life and in the community.”
Individualized attention is a key feature of the center’s treatment approach. In addition to an assigned personal therapist, each child receives a treatment plan specifically tailored to address their unique challenges using research-backed and evidence-based methods. They also encourage collaboration among the child’s treatment providers and caregivers to ensure the treatment process is all-encompassing.
Classroom at Athena Behavioral Treatment Center
The event will also serve as an information sharing session on the admissions process. Because of the coordination required with diagnostic services and insurance, enrollment in ABA treatment centers can often be lengthy and difficult to navigate. To mitigate this, Soto says she actively participates in the process for each potential client to expedite the start of treatment.
Finally, a social skills session will take place following the ribbon cutting ceremony. During these sessions, which are grouped by age, children practice interacting with one another while guided by their personal therapists. These group sessions will be regularly hosted at the center on Saturdays and are designed to improve social skills and executive functioning.
Athena Behavioral Treatment Center is located at 7101 Heritage Village Plaza Gainesville. To learn more about the services offered and admissions process, visit abtcva.org.
Colleen Kilday is a contributing writer for Prince William Living.
