Paper Lantern Therapies LLC

10/17/2025

10/09/2025

All children deserve the right to a voice even if they are still learning how to use it.

10/09/2025

Here’s the truth:
A child who wants to communicate will communicate everywhere.
A child who’s required to communicate just to access something fun? That skill fades as soon as the demand disappears.

When we focus on internal motivation, we’re building a voice that lasts across time, environments, and people.

What does that look like in practice?
Here are a few ways ABA therapy can create environments that invite communication rather than demand it 👇

1️⃣ Follow the child’s curiosity.
If a child is drawn to a toy car, join them there. Model language, comment, expand — but don’t require a response. Shared attention fuels natural communication far more than prompted requests.

2️⃣ Embed communication into joy.
Instead of holding the bubbles until the child “mands,” play with the bubbles. Blow some, pause naturally, wait for that look, giggle, or gesture, that’s your opportunity to build connection and spontaneous bids.

3️⃣ Create communication-rich contexts, not drills.
During play, narrate, take turns, and celebrate attempts. Build an atmosphere where words and gestures are powerful because they connect.

When motivation drives the moment, communication becomes meaningful.
And meaningful communication? That’s the kind that sticks, across sessions, settings, and seasons of life.

10/06/2025

09/29/2025

Here are three of many ways we can provide this confidence:

🌟 1. Assent Checks & Choices Throughout Sessions

We actively invite build in. Offering choices, using visuals, and checking in on readiness helps children feel safe, heard, and empowered to participate.

🌟 2. Co-Designing Goals With Children & Families

We gather the child’s interests and communication attempts and weave them, along with family priorities, directly into goals so therapy truly reflects their voice.

🌟 3. Respecting “No” & Adjusting in Real Time

When a child signals “stop,” disengages, or says “no,” we pause, listen, and adapt. Responding respectfully shows families we value their child’s communication as meaningful because it is!

09/28/2025

One reason I choose assent based care is to promote positive self worth, among all populations.

In the wake of the tragedy in Grand Blanc today, choose to be a light wherever you are.

Slow down, give respect, be the hope someone might need.

09/25/2025

Helping children build resilience doesn’t mean removing every challenge—it means teaching them how to navigate discomfort with confidence and flexibility.

In neurodiversity-affirming ABA, we use acceptance-based strategies to support children in recognizing and responding to difficult emotions without fear. When children learn they can experience frustration or uncertainty and still act in alignment with their values, they develop tools that serve them for life.

We’re not aiming for avoidance—we’re fostering strength through presence, flexibility, and meaningful action.

09/22/2025

✨ Change works best when it’s done with people, not to them.

🔹 Bake in choice → let clients pick tasks, reinforcers, order, or formats, then track the impact.
🔹 Co-write goals → client-authored = stronger buy-in + persistence.
🔹 Measure social validity → outcomes matter, but so does assent, acceptability & opt-in.
🔹 Plan for mismatches → blend, shape, or revisit preferences when needed.

💡 Empowerment = better outcomes + ethical practice.