Behavioral Services

Behavioral Services

Overview

Harbor Regional Center’s clinical staff of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) offer a wide variety of services and supports to families across age and diagnosis. We offer classes that help HRC families with a child exhibiting behavioral challenges.

Classes introduce and discuss behavioral principles and teach new skills using practical and individualized examples.

Please contact your Harbor Regional Center Service Coordinator if you are interested in participation in behavior training classes. 

Behavior Services and Supports

Orientation Sessions

Orientation is designed to inform caregivers about offerings, answer questions  about ABA, and discuss how to access services and supports.  

Attendance at a Family Orientation Meeting is required as a first step in receiving these behavioral services.

Who Should Attend?

Families interested in receiving HRC-funded behavior services

Families interested in learning more about ABA

What is Discussed?

  • What is Applied Behavior Analysis
  • (ABA) and why Regional Centers and insurance fund for ABA
  • How to access ABA through insurance or HRC

Please contact your HRC Service Coordinator to register to attend an orientation session for participation in behavior training classes. After attending a Family Orientation Meeting, parents may contact your HRC Counselor to enroll in a class.

Understanding Behavior

Are you experiencing challenging behaviors? 
Not sure what to do?  Are you out of ideas? 

HRC is offering a class to provide support to decrease challenging behaviors and to increase desired behaviors! Join us to learn about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and the benefits of using Positive Behavior Supports.

This class meets for two hours, once a week, for 6 consecutive weeks. 

What Will I Learn?

  • Why behaviors occur
  • How to respond when behaviors occur
  • How to prevent behaviors from occurring
  • How to help your child.
  • How to decrease unwanted behaviors
  • How to increase desired behaviors
  • Examples of Proactive Strategies and Positive Reinforcement
  • Tour of HRC’s Resource Center

Please register for classes with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Routines, Self-Care, and Social Development

Toilet Training Class

HRC is offering a workshop about toilet training for caregivers of HRC clients age 5 years and older. Caregivers will learn about effective strategies to increase readiness and minimize barriers.

This one-time workshop meets for two hours.

What Will I Learn?

  • Practices to reinforce toileting
  • Common barriers to successful toilet training
  • Your child’s readiness for toilet training
  • Your readiness for toilet training your child
  • Preparing the environment to increase successes
  • Resources for toileting

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Promoting Social Interactions

HRC is offering a workshop for caregivers on how to prepare their son/daughter (all ages) for social interactions.

This one-time workshop meets for two hours.

What Will I Learn?

  • ​Prerequisites for social skills
  • Information on social development
  • Ideas and ways to foster social interactions
  • Information on social skills groups

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Increasing Independence

HRC is offering a workshop for caregivers of HRC clients on how to increase their child’s independence.

This one-time workshop meets for two hours.

What Will I Learn?

  • What is a prompt?
  • What us prompt dependency?
  • How to minimize prompt dependency
  • Strategies to increase my child’s independence
  • How to apply strategies across different skills

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Using Visual Supports

HRC is offering a workshop for caregivers of HRC clients about the use of visual supports.  Caregivers will be provided with basic information and understanding on how to create and implement visual supports for different routines.

This one-time workshop meets for two hours.

What Will I Learn?

  • An understanding of visual supports
  • Benefits related to visual supports
  • Examples of  visual supports
  • Implementing visual supports
  • Opportunities to create visual supports to use at home

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Boundaries, Puberty, Sexual Development, and Safety

Puberty Talk

For families with children ages 10 – 13 years. This class meets once a week, for 6 consecutive weeks. The first week is a mandatory caregiver meeting. 

Do you need help teaching your child about puberty? 

Health Connected’s Puberty Talk curriculum is a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum designed in accordance with the CA Education Code and CA Healthy Youth Act to educate 10 – 13 year old’s about the changes they face during puberty. 

This six week class provides parents with information and guidance about how to talk to their pre-teen and teenaged children about topics related to development, sexuality and appropriate body boundaries. Classes consist of one hour of parent training and one hour of trainer-mediated parent/child interaction in which the parents teach their children lessons on each topic. Topics covered include: self-esteem, personal boundaries and safety, public vs. private, puberty and social media/internet safety.

Why Puberty Talk?

For families with children ages 14-17 years. Establishes a foundation and common language for talking about sexual health with parents/trusted adults,  peers, and partners.

Class Model

  • The first hour consists of interactive client instruction
  • The second hour is trainer-mediated caregiver/child review
  • Caregivers and their child will complete a weekly interactive activity

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Teen Talk

This class meets once a week, for 6 consecutive weeks. First week is a mandatory caregiver meeting. 

Do you need help teaching your child about puberty and development? Health Connected’s Teen Talk curriculum is a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum designed in accordance with the CA Education Code and CA Healthy Youth Act to educate 14- 17 year olds about the changes they face during teenage years.

Why Teen Talk?

To provide clients with the information and skills they need to make informed decisions about sexual health and relationships throughout their lives.

Topics discussed include: Anatomy & Body Image, Understanding Identities, Consent, Sex & Abstinence, Birth Control and Pregnancy options, STIs, Sexual Safety & Decision-Making, Health Relationships & Boundary-Setting.

Class Model

  • Orientation for caregivers/client
  • Direct instruction on topics with optional follow-up activities and additional videos
  • Intentional engagement with trusted adults to help families share their values regarding the content

Please register for this class with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Elevatus Sexual Education

For clients 18 years and older. This class meets once a week for 6 consecutive weeks; clients are required to attend an Orientation session

People with disabilities are often excluded from discussions about sexuality when, in reality, they too need the information and skills for making healthy decisions. In response, Elevatus has developed an evidence and trauma informed curriculum to teach people with disabilities about sexuality-related topics. 

Class Format

  • Elevatus Sexual Education will take place via online learning and is for clients only
  • Clients are required to attend Orientation to Elevatus Sexual Education to determine if the class is appropriate for them; Caregivers are encouraged to attend as well.

What Will I Learn?

  • Types of Relationships
  • Public and Private Behavior 
  • Decision Making
  • Internet, Social Media, and Communication
  • Gender Identity and Expression

Please register for classes with your HRC Service Coordinator.

Article

Promoting Positive Behavior

Parents Learn To Promote Positve Behavior, Daily Living Skills, and Social Development in Their Children

Some children with developmental disabilities are slow to learn their daily living skills and others display challenging behavior.

Parents can often be helped to teach these children new skills and to promote positive behaviors by HRC specialists who are trained as “applied behavior analysts”.