As they say, it takes a village to raise a child, and Journey Therapy Center is proud to be part of that village. It wouldn’t be possible, though, without each and every one of our amazing team members! Today, we’d like to introduce you to Emily Crawford, Clinical Manager/Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) for Journey’s Early Intervention Center.
Q: As Clinical Manager/BCBA, what does your daily work involve?
A: I work specifically with children ranging from 18 months to 6 years old. I have been working at Journey since November 2021. My job title as clinical manager involves ensuring that everything in the clinic and overall operations are running smoothly. I am responsible for ensuring that the technicians not only feel supported, but that they are providing the best quality treatment to each child, creating and maintaining a positive work environment, delegating tasks and problem solving/answering questions or concerns that the technicians or clinical team may have. As a BCBA, I am responsible for a specific client caseload and ensuring that their treatment plan is being implemented as written, modifying and adding treatment programs, conducting supervision for each client, conducting parent training for each client and their family, and updating reassessment reports.
Q: What is your background and what brought you to JTC?
A: I started as a behavior technician at the Ted Lindsay Foundation Hope Center through Beaumont Children’s Hospital in 2014 where I was a technician for 3.5 years. During that time, I worked my way up from being a behavior technician to a senior technician where I was responsible for training new technicians. I also completed my practicum there with one of the greatest supervisors and was responsible for overseeing 4 client cases (all under supervision of the BCBA). In 2018, I passed my board exam and became a BCBA. In 2020, I had my first child and was looking for employment closer to home, as I was working about 45 minutes away from my home. I had a close friend that was working at Journey as a behavior technician and I had reached out to Claudia to see if they had any BCBA positions available. As fate would have it, they were interested in hiring an additional BCBA, as their practice was expanding. I had an interview with Claudia and was offered the job!
Q: What do you think are the best things about JTC?
A: There are a countless number of things that make JTC so great but the top 3 would be:
1- How compassionate and caring Claudia and Antonio are. They care about each employee and client like they are their own. We are all truly so blessed to have such amazing bosses.
2- That we make everyone feel like family – technicians and clients included.
3- JTC takes a collaborative approach to treatment, meaning BCBAs, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Occupational Therapists are constantly collaborating to ensure each client receives the best possible treatment that is able to be applied throughout their entire session. This is so important for progress, as we are all certified and specialize in different areas.
Q: What do you love most about your job?
A: There are SO many things I love about my job. I love being able to come to work every day and see each client and how happy they are to be here, how much progress each client makes, modifying treatment plans and/or figuring out which reinforcement-based or evidence-based teaching methodology is going to be most effective, conducting research and collaborating with my AMAZING clinical team and behavior technicians.
Q: What are some of the most memorable moments you’ve had at JTC.
A: I love implementing toilet training programs for our clients. This ADL skill is oftentimes a skill that is delayed for our clients but essential at improving overall independence and quality of life. I love creating and modifying these programs for each client, because what works best for one client might not work for another one! It is fun figuring out a reinforcement-based procedure that is going to work for each client. It’s also so exciting when they generalize this skill at home because seeing their parents so excited is also so rewarding. Working with early intervention clients, we are basically starting from scratch – identifying skill deficit areas that are essential at increasing functional skills and decreasing problem behavior. We will usually start with increasing communication using an AAC device. It is SO rewarding the first time they request something preferred independently. It truly warms my heart and makes all the hard work worth it!
Q: If there’s anything you think people should know about kids with autism, what would it be?
A: Don’t underestimate them. They are SO smart and can do all of the things we can do, and MORE! I have learned SO many things from each client that I have worked with throughout my career that I did not know prior to meeting them.
Q: Are there any misconceptions that you’ve noticed that people have about individuals with autism?
A: I think a common misconception is that they are unable to be independent and successful in life. They are capable of anything, and their goals and dreams are limitless! We all work so hard every day to establish and build skills that are going to better long-term outcomes for them throughout their life. It truly is the BEST job. Plus, there are many successful people in the world who have autism or who are thought to have had it, including Albert Einstein and Temple Grandin.