The Shape Of Behavior is an established ABA clinic which has served over 200 Houston families, multiple school districts, business's and Day Cares.

This center-based program operates Monday thru Friday from 9 AM until 3 PM. Children receive a behavioral assessment and an individualized ABA program tailored to meet their learning needs with one-on-one instruction. Hands-on parent training, sibling sessions and inclusion classes are included.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is all ABA the same? What makes TSOB different?

A: ABA is a science based treatment approach, so the principles used should be the same. However, all professionals may be different with regard to personality and styles.  We are unique in that we have several BCBA's on the supervision team with a degree in Behavior Analysis.  This goes above and beyond the minimum standard of "certified behavior analyst." Our treatment approach is slightly different because we do offer naturalistic teaching where we spend about half the treatment day capitalizing on "opportunities" to increase spontaneous communication and social skills.  We also put children in touch with typical peers early through our playdates with zone teaching.  We also offer inclusion and shadow training and sibling sessions.  Parent training and sibling support is offered including FREE group therapy with our LMFT. 

Q: Is the programming at TSOB Lovaas or Verbal behavior?   

A:  The Shape of Behavior does not "do Lovaas" nor "do Sundberg/Partington." It does "do ABA" (with an emphasis in the area of verbal behavior). While Behavior Analysts appreciate and learn from the great contributions to the field made by Behavioral Analysts such as Sundberg, Partington, Lovaas, Koegal, Schriebman, Green, Krantz, McClannahan, Baer, and so forth, it is the science of ABA that is practiced. The science is not new and the concepts being emphasized have been in the behavioral literature for years. TSOB capitalizes on the child's strengths for teaching and effective programming is based upon research documented in the behavioral literature. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior is used to help determine the function of verbal behavior (language). This approach relies on understanding that verbal behavior just like any other behavior is maintained by reinforcement.  An example would be that a child who is hungry and ask for chip (mand) is motivated to say "Chip" to get a chip in the future. The request is reinforced by the chip, the request increases over time.  For more information, register for one of our workshops on the analysis of verbal behavior, Getting Your Child Communicating. 

Q: Are there any additional fees involved other than tuition? Do I pay extra for the assessment?

A: Yes, assessment fees are offered at an extra cost.

Q: Who will work with my child?

A: The Shape of Behavior has a team of BCBA's who rotate through the clinic sites to "tweak" programming and spend hands-on time with the children, parents, and staff.  BCABA's work directly with kids also and are stationed at each site.  75% of the staff have a bachelor's degree or higher and many of them are getting certified in behavior analysis.  The other 25% are working on degrees and have been at TSOB for some time under our Supervision.  They go through rigorous training (learn about our training satellite and protocol for staff training) as well as attend monthly staff training, and monthly continuing education meetings in ABA.  We take our staff to yearly TxABA conferences.  We do strict background checks, reference checks, and random drug-testing. TSOB fosters a "team work" attitude and provides ongoing supervision and training for staff, in other words, even after training, the staff must prove their "performance" with observed evaluations on site, via video surveillance, and on staff training day. The staff is required to master content areas in behavior analysis as well as get the hands-on training.  A team of behavior analysts will rotate supervising your child's programming and progress.

Q: Are you currently hiring new ABA trainers?

A: We are currently accepting applications. Please fax all resumes to (832) 358-3530 or email to Employment@shapeofbehavior.com 

Q: Can my child attend the program part-time?

A: We are currently not taking part time kids.  We recommend that families take full advantage of the program. After the initial behavioral assessment, a program will be developed to meet the individual needs of each child including a recommended treatment schedule. The literature suggests that the more intensive the intervention the better the progress will be.

Q: How do I make sure that we can carry the programming over to my home?

A: Most of the parents of the children currently in the program schedule parent training days. The parents come to the clinic and work a hands-on session with the trainer to gain knowledge and experience to learn to be successful with their child. It is only required one time a month. We have an open door policy for parents for observations and training. We also have BCBA's accessible to go into your home.

Q: How are behavior problems dealt with and how do you guarantee that my child will not imitate other children's behaviors?

A: Behavior problems are usually an indication of a serious need for revamping the children's reinforcement schedules. Often times, in-home programs have been operating with little or no thought given to reinforcement schedules. Once the child learns how to appropriately contact the schedule of reinforcement there is usually a decrease in behavior problems. In short, we reinforce the appropriate behavior and attempt to extinguish the undesirable behavior. Descriptive data collection recording the antecedents, behaviors, and consequences is part of the daily routine at TSOB.

We cannot guarantee that your child will not imitate the undesirable behaviors of other children, however, if we do are job right, they will also imitate the desirable behaviors as they learn what will get them in contact with reinforcement. 

Q: How often will my child be with typical children?

A: Currently TSOB has mainstreamed play-dates for the pre-school children 2 days per week. Sessions last about 2.5 hours. For no added fees, qualified teaching staff is brought in along with the typical children to provide a quality experience. This allows the children with autism to attend a play-date based upon an established model from the Walden School with zone based teaching. The children break into small groups and go to zones for instruction. The zone teacher delivers the curriculum for each child in the zone for their level. The child with learning delays has a one-on-one trainer with them who intervenes (prompts) physically without taking away the instructional control from the teacher. Currently the school-age children do not have social learning classes with typical peers.  These classes are run in the summer for older kids.