“Caring is first of all a matter of action….”
B.F. Skinner (1972) Cumulative Record: A Selection of Papers (3rd Ed)

The Behavior Treatment and Training Center (BTTC) specializes in applied behavior analysis (ABA) with extensive “hands-on” training and consultation with children served, their families and school providers. The primary goal of the BTTC is to assist families in maintaining their children in their family homes and avoiding placement in long-term care residential facilities. The Center’s staff includes highly experienced Behavior Analysts with graduate degrees and certification (BCBA) by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB).

The BTTC is located at 1818 Collins Road in Richmond, Texas (77469), near Houston. The BTTC Residential Center is not a crisis-intervention program, so if a child needs immediate intervention, the family should contact their local crisis-intervention services.

Applied Behavior Analysis  

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science of human behavior that analyzes how the environment interacts with and influences behavior. It is a science because many research studies support the procedures used. Understanding ABA can help people analyze and change their own behavior or influence the behavior of others. For example, ABA has developed applications designed to teach new skills, strengthen desirable behavior, and improve behavior problems of many kinds.

ABA emphasizes the following:

• what happens is the immediate environment, not on events that happened long ago;
• changing specific behavior that can be defined and measured;
• assessing interactions between children and their caregivers to determine environmental antecedents and consequences of problem behaviors;
• teaching desirable behavior to replace undesirable behavior

Services provided include:

Functional Behavioral Assessment :
Accurate assessment of the causes of problem behavior is critical when developing an effective behavior treatment plan. The BTTC conducts functional analyses in the residential program and this may involve family members.

Behavior Analysis and Transition Services :

• Short-term and direct intervention by certified behavior analysts and other staff at the BTTC
• Short-term residential placement, behavior treatment and skill training in a highly structured environment at the BTTC’s two six-bed group homes.
• Families participate in clinical sessions with their children and with professional staff at the BTTC to learn applied behavior analysis skills.
• Transition behavior plans are developed and training is provided to transfer successful intervention strategies and procedures to the family, school and/or provider.

Family Training :

The BTTC offers training in applied behavior analysis for families, providers, organizations and schools. Content includes techniques of positive parenting and applied behavior analysis procedures that develop desired behaviors, teach compliance, and decrease problem behaviors. Training is highly participatory and includes demonstration, role-play and lecture. It is provided at the BTTC.

Short-term Residential Treatment Center

Services are provided in a highly structured environment at the Center’s six-bed group homes, in classrooms staffed by the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District, and in sessions conducted by the behavior analyst.

The goal for short-term residential services is to ensure that the children being served return to their own communities with an improved quality of life. As a condition of admission, families must agree to accept their child back into their home upon discharge from the Center.

The Center’s behavior analysts have extensive training and experience in applied behavior analysis and work directly with the children admitted.

A psychiatrist with extensive experience conducts psychiatric clinics twice per month to evaluate psychotropic medications that may be prescribed. Registered and licensed nurses are available to give all medications and to provide routine nursing services and to coordinate medical appointments.

A Qualified Mental Retardation Professional (QMRP) provides program oversight and monitoring.

A manager and interdisciplinary team office on-site to provide and to ensure that a high quality of care is provided. Professionals are on-call 24 hours a day.

Initial extensive behavior treatment and training occurs at the Center. Families are very involved while their child is placed at the BTTC Residential Center. Families participate in a number of sessions involving positive parenting and applied behavior analysis procedures. Their participation involves hands-on work with their child in assessment and treatment sessions and in transition training. This occurs not only during the short-term placement at the Center, but in the immediate community.

Children requiring extensive nursing and medical care cannot be admitted in the group homes.

The Center is certified by the Texas Department of Aging and Disabiliaty Services as an ICF/MR residential program. It operates under the auspices of Texana Center which is headquartered in Rosenberg, Texas.

The BTTC is in the Developmental Disabilities Division of Texana Center under the overall direction of Jeff Enzinna , Director of Developmental Disabilites Services.

The BTTC is an Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Provider certified by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB).

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