Building Brighter Futures
Through the collaboration of Home, School and Community
Photo permission was granted in accordance with applicable regulations.
Photo permission was granted in accordance with applicable regulations.
History of CAA
The Chicago Autism Academy (CAA) was founded by Laura A. Hartwell in 2001 under its original name Behavioral Interactions (BI). Ms. Hartwell was a teacher and therapist working with students with special needs when the community called upon her to open a private school.
The original program opened in Oak Lawn, Illinois, near 103rd Street and Cicero Avenue. Due to its one-of-a-kind programming and success, the program quickly outgrew the location and moved to Palos Heights, Illinois (121st Street and Harlem Avenue) in 2005. It was at this time that BI changed its name to CAA and received approval as an official “nonpublic school” by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). In 2008, once again due to overwhelming growth, the program moved to Frankfort, Illinois where it remains today. Ms. Hartwell remains the President and acting Principal for the program.
ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis and is the science of studying behavior and applying data supported techniques to increase and/or decrease students and student’s environments.
Basic Principles:
- Define Behavior in objective and measurable terms
- Examine the relationship between behavior (what a person does) and its controlling variables (what happens in the environment).
- Analyze socially significant behavior in need of improvement.
- Study behavior through a three-term contingency (What happens before the behavior? What does the behavior look like? What happens immediately following the behavior?). The three-term contingency is then used to plan how to teach.
What can ABA be used for? Everything! If it is an observable behavior it can be changed (increased or decreased) with methods proven to work time and time again. Our primary goal is to improve socially significant behaviors. These behaviors can include tolerance, safety skills, social skills, relationships, attending skills, academics, self-help skills, language, or reducing interfering behaviors.
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) is a professional who studies the behavior of children and adults to help address behavioral needs. BCBAs have certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Obtaining such a credential requires a range of professional activities that hone a behavior analyst’s skill set. They also study behavior patterns and create individualized plans to help students thrive. This is accomplished through a variety of ABA strategies and tactics.
Some BCBA responsibilities include:
- Observe and assess behavior challenges
- Creating a safe and inclusive environment for students
- Setting realistic goals and objectives for students according to their observations
- Developing individualized plans for students to improve behavior
- Create learning plans that address the values of the family and school through a compassionate and realistic model.
