ABA LAUNCH Program
Learning about Autism and Understanding Neurodiversity in CHildren
What is the ABA LAUNCH Program?
The University of Washington Autism Center’s ABA LAUNCH Program is a clinic-based, short-term, comprehensive and intensive early intervention program for children up to six years of age with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This program offers an initial foundation of evidence-based, high-quality, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services and parent education/support to families currently waiting to receive ongoing therapy services.
What is included in the program?
- 12 weeks of ABA therapy sessions at our Seattle or Tacoma clinic locations
- Schedule is Monday-Thursday in either morning (9:00-12:00 AM) or afternoon (1:30-4:30 PM) cohorts
- Monthly consultation with Occupational Therapist (OT)
- Multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, speech language pathologists (SLP), board certified behavior analysts (BCBA), and certified behavior technicians (CBT)
- 1:1 direct intervention with CBT
- 1:1 and group SLP sessions
- Weekly parent coaching sessions with BCBA
- Individualized transition planning sessions with psychologist and social work graduate students
- Weekly parent psychoeducation classes lead by our multi-disciplinary team including BCBAs, SLPs, OTs, and psychologists
What are the enrollment criteria?
- Children age 6 and under with a formal diagnosis of ASD
- Order or prescription for ABA therapy from a provider from a recognized Center of Excellence (COE) by the Health Care Authority (HCA)
- Lives within approximately a 30-minute radius from either our Seattle or Tacoma clinic
- Enrollment in WA Apple Health Medicaid health insurance program (see below for specific insurance providers)
- Molina
- Community Health Plan of WA
- Coordinated Care
- United Healthcare Community Plan
- Provider One “Open Coupon”
Who is on the team?
ABA LAUNCH Director
- Robin Talley, MEd, BCBA, Behavior and Education Consultant
Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs)
- Jenna Berger, MEd, BCBA, LBA, Behavior and Education Consultant – Seattle
- Chelsea Deaconson, LBA, M.Ed., BCBA, Behavior and Education Consultant – Tacoma and Seattle
- Elise Grider, MEd, BCBA, LBA, Behavior and Education Consultant – Tacoma
- John Ketchum, MEd, BCBA, Behavior and Education Consultant – Seattle
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs)
- Carly Brukhman, MS, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist – Tacoma
- Nicole Bergstrom, MS, CF-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist – Seattle
Occupational Therapist (OT)
- Sarah Lemke, MOT, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist – Tacoma and Seattle
Behavior Technicians
- James Dulano, Behavior Technician – Tacoma
- Sophia Javar, Behavior Analyst Intern – Tacoma
- Alec Llamas, Behavior Technician – Seattle
- Augusta Norman, Behavior Technician – Tacoma
- Ai Roach, Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst – Tacoma
- Alicia Shim, Behavior Technician – Seattle
- Amal Sui, Behavior Technician – Seattle
- Makenzie Knowles, Behavior Technician – Seattle
Who do I contact if I have questions?
Email us at abalaunch@uw.edu or call us at 206-543-8379.
Interested in volunteering in the LAUNCH program?
Please complete an application on our volunteer page.
Interested in touring the LAUNCH Program?
We offer free public tours of our Seattle site on the first Wednesday of every month from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. For more information, please click here (link to tours page on website). To register for a tour please email uwautism@uw.edu and be sure to mention that you’d like to see the LAUNCH Program.”
How do I register?