Lilit was born and raised in the city of Los Angeles. She loves kids and thought it would be a cool job to help kids and their families. Her favorite part of the job is working on self-help skills like tying shoes, chores and seeing a kiddo’s proud face when they know they completed a task.
One of Lilit’s favorite memories working here at ABI is having one of her nonverbal kiddos saying his first word. She said they worked on the word push for 4 months and while he was on the swing, he finally said push for the first time. This day was the moment when Lilit fell in love with her job. Lilits advice to new skills trainers would be “never be too worried to have fun and be silly, kids don’t judge you!”
Lilit was asked if she were deserted on an island what would she bring. She said ice cream, a plane, and a pilot.
Marjorie was originally born and raised in the city of Los Angeles. She first got started at ABI a few months before graduating from CSUN with her bachelors, as she was looking for a fulltime job. Her favorite part of the job is being able to work with different clients and being a part of the progress that they make.
When Marjorie first started with ABI she experienced her favorite memory with her very first client. Her client would have her draw pictures during the session. She eventually found out that the client saved all her drawings and that they were taped up in the client’s room. Marjorie mentioned that her advice to new skill trainers would be to “remember to be patient with both the client and the parent.”
Marjorie was asked if she were deserted on an island what would she bring, and she said her hydro flask, paint and a paint brush. During her free time, she enjoys painting.
Vanessa was born and raised in Los Angeles, and has lived predominantly in the San Fernando Valley. Vanessa started her journey with ABI in July, 2015 after graduating from CSUN with her bachelor’s degree in Child Development. She already had experience working with children, but wanted to find work that would allow her to apply her degree, and work more hands on. Currently, she attends The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she is working toward her master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. Vanessa’s favorite part of her job is the growth she gets to see in our kids, and the laughs she gets to share with them. One of Vanessa’s favorite memories is being silly and making funny faces with her client. When asked what advice she would give a new skills trainer Vanessa said, “Don’t forget to have FUN. You are taking in a lot of information and learning the swing of things, but remember to have fun.” During her free time, she enjoys attending Dodger or Kings games. She also enjoys spending time with family and friends. When asked what would she take if she was on a deserted island, she said she would bring a hammock, an iPod, and headphones. She said, “I might as well make it a vacation.”
Bianca was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, but graduated high school in El Paso, Texas. Therefore, she is a Californian with some pretty sweet cowboy boots.
She started at ABI after graduating with her Bachelor’s degree from CSUN. Looking for a full time job, she applied for the HR assistant position, not knowing that she would go back to school to get her HR Management certificate and make it her career. It’s nearly five years later, and she is still celebrating ABI-versaries! Bianca’s favorite part of the job is helping to resolve HR related issues that come up throughout the week. If there’s a problem, she’s your gal!
Bianca is a big fan of attending concerts, watching movies, spending time with family, riding her bike, (winning) board games, and of course, shopping.
Her favorite memories at ABI are with her co-workers. She says every day is a laughing riot with the ABI team.
Her advice for new employees would be to take notes. She quoted “I can’t tell you how many times my notes have gotten me out of pickles.”
When she was asked “If you were going to a deserted island, what three things would you bring?” she said, “I’d bring a machete, fire starter, and a solar blanket. Hey, I’ve seen those survival shows too!”
Alisa grew up in Ventura County, and moved to Los Angeles after she met her (now) husband. In her free time she enjoys being outdoors in the fresh air, whether she is hiking, camping, surfing, or snowboarding.
After becoming a BCBA, Alisa got started with ABI when she and a friend who is also a BCBA decided to apply to ABI together. Her favorite part of her job is being part of her clients’ lives, watching them grow and achieve goals, and celebrating their triumphs with them, their families, and their teams. In addition to working directly with clients, she is also grateful for the opportunity to teach skills trainers and caregivers. Alisa will be traveling to India later this year with a non-profit organization, Global Autism Project, to train staff, caregivers, and teachers at an autism site in Bangalore!
Alisa describes one of her favorite memories as: “I was with my first-ever client. He was around five years old at the time and non-vocal, so we were teaching him how to use an AAC device as a primary mode of communication. One day, I was blowing bubbles with him outside, and must’ve said, “bubble” around 100 times by then, when all of a sudden, I hear him vocally echo, “buh-ble” – what an awesome moment for him, his parents, and me all at once! His mother and I cried happy tears and celebrated this tremendous success with him! This particular experience was monumental in my journey to becoming a BCBA.”
Alisa’s advice to new skills trainers is to not be afraid to step out of their comfort zone and run around, literally, with their clients! Also, for them to have confidence in their own knowledge and skills.
Damion started his journey with ABI in June 2015, as he wanted the opportunity to work with children. His favorite part of the work that he does with our clients is being a part of teaching them many skills necessary for them to live a happy life, while being as independent as possible. One of Damion’s favorite memories is when one of his clients was able to build a structure with Legos with very little help. When asked what advice he would give to a new skills trainer, Damion says he would tell them to not be nervous and to have fun with the kids.
Damion is originally from Long Beach, CA. He moved to the valley to attend California State University, Northridge. During his free time, he enjoys going to the gym and watching Netflix.
Jacque joined ABI’s team as a skills trainer in February 2015. Since then she has acquired her registered behavior technician (RBT) credential and has been promoted to a lead RBT position. Her journey with ABI began thanks to her sister, Jacque, also a team member at ABI. Jacque remembers, “I was very excited to apply and I’m glad I did, because I have learned so much and love having a job that is so rewarding.”
As a lead RBT, Jacque especially loves providing ABA treatment at schools and helping her clients be as independent as possible in the school setting. She also greatly enjoys ABI’s team-oriented approach; she loves working with her supervisors, other skills trainers, parents, and teachers. “When you are working with a team it makes a child’s victories so much more fun because you are able to share the successes with so many people!”
Jacque has many favorite memories from the almost four years at ABI and recounted one recent memory that stands out to her. “While at my client’s school, I was talking to my supervisor. My client suddenly turned to me, tapped me, and said, ‘excuse me.’ When I looked at him, he was making perfect eye contact and had his pointer finger to his mouth to shush me! I was proud because I was on his team when three programs were put in place that helped make this moment happen! The first was teaching him eye contact, the second was teaching him to gain a person’s attention by tapping them or saying, “excuse me,” and the third was teaching him common gestures people use. In that moment, he had taken three skills that had been taught to him to let me know that my talking was disturbing his classwork!”
Her advice to new skill trainers is, “(1) Do not be afraid to ask questions! I will always be the person in a team meeting with questions ready to be asked! Do not be afraid to ask for clarification, or for help. I’ve found that supervisors are always willing to answer and help you understand! I have even sometimes asked the same question twice if I still do not understand. It makes you a better skills trainer! (2) Set an alarm for all your administrative duties such a logging Welligent, and locking hours. It will make your life easier those first couple of months when you’re trying to get used to so many new things. (3) Also have a good playlist, podcast, or audiobook for your drive!”
In her free time, Jacque spends time with her chocolate lab, Arrow. Taking him for a walk or to the dog park is one of her favorite things to do after work. She also loves to play board games that are so competitive they almost end friendships.
Thanks, Jacque, for all your hard work and dedication to our kids.
Brandon joined our team at ABI as a skills trainer in November 2014. Since then, Brandon has become a registered behavior technician (RBT) and has undergone additional training and was promoted to the position of lead RBT. Prior to joining our team, Brandon worked in an after-school program that an ABI client attended with one of our skills trainers. That skills trainer, now one of Brandon’s best friends, suggested he apply to ABI and he saw this as an opportunity to grow and learn.
What Brandon enjoys the most about ABA-treatment its focus on problem-solving, regularly asking himself questions like, “How can I take a skill or program and build on it or generalize it? If something isn’t working, how can I bring it to the team, so we can find a new path?” adding, “I find the work that we do and the time we spend with our clients to be extremely important so I want to always keep the ball rolling and teach my clients everything I can.”
Brandon mentioned he has so many amazing memories with every one of his clients over the years that he can’t choose just one. He stated “I’ve always tried to come up with little jokes or silly things that are unique to each client to make them laugh. All my clients have also shown so much tenacity and strength when pushing through. I couldn’t count all the proud memories.”
When it come to new skills trainers, Brandon offered three pieces of advice:
Always be honest, but sensitive when telling parents about difficulties their children are having. And, always keep a list in your mind of the good things that happen during your session. Our clients have so many personal victories and triumphs throughout the day and their parents deserve to hear about how amazing their child is.
Once you are starting to feel comfortable in your role as a skills trainer and you’ve built a rapport with your client, push them to always give their best effort. Know when they are doing their best, given the circumstances, but always encourage them to speak more clearly, work more carefully, and be brave and independent.
Look for all the little things you can do to help your clients build stronger bonds with their families, peers, and teachers. Find all the little things that will help your client participate and engage in their world. Take all those little pieces and try to help your client put them together to live their happiest and most fulfilled life.
Brandon was born and raised in Los Angeles. In his free time, he enjoys gardening, considering himself to be a bit of a plant hoarder. He also enjoys playing video games and recently took up playing dodge ball.
Thanks for being such a valuable member of our team, Brandon!
Crystal joined team ABI in September 2008 and just celebrated 10 years with us! Crystal began as a skills trainer and was promoted to the role of lead skills trainer due to her exemplary performance. In the summer of 2014, Crystal was promoted to her current role as Hiring and Training Coordinator. Crystal excels at this job, which includes overseeing all recruitment, interviewing, hiring, on boarding, and training for new skills trainers. In this role, Crystal is every new skills trainer’s first point of contact. Throughout new skills trainers’ pre-service training and even once training is complete and skills trainers are assigned to clients’ teams, Crystal is a constant and ongoing source of support and guidance. Her passion and dedication for this field and for our kids shines through daily in her work. She is professional in all she does and with everyone she interacts with, and her smile and laughter are infectious. To continue her education and further build her skills in ABA, Crystal recently completed a post-bachelor’s course sequence through the Florida Institute of Technology to become a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA). We are so proud of Crystal’s hard work and perseverance. Crystal is an overall amazing coworker, friend, mentor and team member. Crystal grew up in San Diego and now resides in the San Fernando Valley. She loves coffee, ice cream, and baking, often shares her delicious creations with our office team. We thank you so much for all you do on a daily basis, Crystal!
Cynthia grew up in Los Angeles and has stayed for her family and professional growth. Cynthia was inspired to pursue a career in ABA after working with parents to help them learn strategies to teach their children new skills and manage challenging behaviors. During graduate school in CSUN’s Master of Science in ABA program, Cynthia felt it was important to gain more experience working directly with children receiving comprehensive and focused ABA to be a more effective program supervisor. This is when she became a part of ABI’s team and has felt right at home ever since.
When asked about her favorite memory with a client, Cynthia shared, “I have so many favorite memories! I always leave my clients’ homes or schools with something exciting, fun, or funny to share.” One Cynthia’s favorite memories occurred this past summer, while teaching a preschool-aged girl, Nora, to talk about the world around her. Because Nora greatly enjoyed going for walks, Cynthia would frequently start sessions with a 10-minute walk, during which there were many natural learning opportunities. Nora learned to label houses, cars, birds, flowers, trees, and more on these walks. One day, upon seeing a broccoli as part of a play food set, Nora said, “tree.” While not technically correct, this is a great example of stimulus generalization as broccoli shares many physical properties with a tree and Cynthia could relate, noting, “I remember calling broccoli ‘little trees’ when I was a little girl.”
Her advice to new skills trainers is, “Our job is so fun and rewarding, but it’s also not easy. I would advise new skill trainers to ask questions or for help whenever needed. Also, reaching out to the supervisors for general support is a great idea!”
When she’s not at work, you can find Cynthia reading, watching Netflix, going to the theatre and to concerts, and spending time with friends and family.
