Kaufman Children's Center

07/17/2025

Erin Franklin joined us at KCC in 2022 as an ABA tech and became a lead tech 2023. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Towson University and will be attending University of Detroit Mercy this fall to pursue a master’s in psychology.

Flip through for more about Erin!

tech

07/15/2025

Did you know that gross motor activities on an exercise ball can actually benefit your child’s fine motor skills, including handwriting, cutting, and coloring? It’s because these activities help to develop their core strength.

Here are three tips from our OT department:

1️⃣ Sitting and bouncing on a ball while doing everyday tasks like reading, playing catch, watching their tablet, or doing fine motor activities, engages and strengthens the core.

Pro tip: The right-sized ball for sitting will put their knees at a 90-degree angle when their feet are flat on the floor.

2️⃣ Bearing weight on their arms while on their belly over a ball in a prone position helps improve shoulder stability and postural stability for better fine motor control.

3️⃣ Leaning backward over the ball in a supine position and doing sit ups improves core strength for better postural stability while seated in a chair.

07/11/2025

07/08/2025

TRUE OR FALSE: All ABA programs are the same
ANSWER: FALSE!!!

We sometimes hear, “We tried applied behavior analysis, but it didn’t work.” The problem isn’t with ABA, it’s that some families have experienced a *misapplication* of ABA.

Not all ABA programs are the same. Here’s what we offer families at KCC and what you should look for in any quality ABA program:

1️⃣ INDIVIDUALIZED PROGRAMS: Your child is like no other, and their ABA program should be just as special. This is the last place you want a cookie-cutter approach! The center should teach to identified needs and offer different levels of ABA as they progress.

2️⃣ A MIX OF DDT AND NET: To jump start your child’s communication, play, and social skills, their day should include both discrete trial teaching (DTT) at a table as well as natural environment teaching (NET) in group instruction and play.

3️⃣ A QUALITY TEAM: The program should be led by board-certified behavior analysts with tons of experience getting the very best from children. ABA techs should receive intensive classroom and hands-on training and be required to attain their registered behavior technician (RBT) certification.

4️⃣ ADDITIONAL SERVICES: Many children with autism also require speech and occupational therapy. Finding a center with those services along with ABA will allow therapists to work together in a team approach while also saving you the hassle of driving to more than one facility.

5️⃣ PARENT EDUCATION: The ABA center should provide regular training for parents and other caregivers so they can support their kids’ programs at home and in the community.

07/04/2025

Wishing you a fun weekend with your kids! KCC will reopen Monday, July 7.

06/30/2025

06/27/2025

KCC will be closed Thursday, July 3 and Friday, July 4. Sessions resume beginning Monday, July 7. We hope you have a great 4th of July with your kiddos! ❤️🤍💙

06/26/2025

Summer is a fantastic time to help your child build language skills! Here are some ideas for activities that will get the conversation started:

🔸Come up with a list of activities you’d like to do together

🔸At the pool or lake, name all the things you can see and what people are doing

🔸Plan a picnic and discuss what you need to bring

🔸Go to the zoo and talk about how animals are the same and how they are different

🔸Plan a trip and talk about different ways to get from one place to another

🔸While taking a walk, work on plural and singular: I see a dog, I see flowers

🔸Put together a scavenger hunt in your local park and ask your child to find something big, something small, something blue, something that grows, etc.

🔸Work on past, present and future tenses by talking about what you did yesterday, what you’re planning to do today, and what you will do tomorrow

Have a great summer with your kids!