Our Mission: NBA’s mission is to maximize the potential of individuals with autism and related disorders by providing high-quality, individualized intervention, and to promote awareness of both the autism spectrum and the science of human behavior to the community.
Diversity Statement: NBA approaches our mission with a bold commitment to inclusion. Everyone is welcome here, regardless of race, national origin, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, ability, and experience. We want our employees to bring their authentic selves to work to better NBA.
Our Vision: NBA strives to be the premier provider of applied behavior analytic services in Washington state for learners with ASD and related disorders. We pledge to deliver high-quality and individually crafted services to learners, their families, and their communities across the changing needs of their lifespan in a way that maximizes learners’ quality of life and potential. We are committed to adhering to the topmost ethical standards, offering ongoing training and education, and treating all employees, learners, and their families with compassion, understanding, respect and inclusivity in a nurturing, fun, and family-oriented culture. NBA is compelled to make a positive difference in our community and society by promoting awareness of autism and the science of behavior.
Our Values: Accountability, Independence, Understanding, Community, Compassion, Empathy, Excellence, Thoroughness, Making a difference, Honesty, Reliability, Mastery, Joy, Creativity, Timeliness, Stability, Tolerance, Generosity, Growth, Enthusiasm, Resourcefulness, Determination, Teamwork, Fun
NBA’s History
Northwest Behavioral Associates (NBA) was founded to
- provide quality educational and behavioral support for children with autism and related disorders and their families,
- create a pool of well-trained home tutors and school personnel that serve children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD),
- increase community awareness about ASD and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
In September of 1999, five young women with a passion for children and a commitment to the science of ABA poured themselves into creating a nonprofit organization that could provide state of the art individualized intervention for children with ASD. NBA’s original staff members were Allison Lowy Apple, Wendy Knowles, Erin Rosenthal, Stacey Shook, and Heather Wilson.
The only nonprofit organization in the Pacific Northwest dedicated to providing evidence-based services.
In addition, dedicated parents of children with autism came together as the Board of Directors of NBA in 1999, and several parents continue to serve on the Board today. This group raised the funds (through individual donations) to open the organization’s doors and hire its first staff. NBA also has an Advisory Board that includes educators and researchers, cutting edge practitioners in interventions for ASD, who are designing innovative methods to break through ASD’s wall and reach the human child within.
Initially serving approximately 30 families, the addition of new Program Managers as well as the consistent expansion of the Outreach Program has allowed NBA to more than quadruple the number of children and families served throughout the Pacific Northwest and abroad.
There is a tremendous demand for qualified individuals to provide educational and behavioral support to children with ASD and their families. All too often, families seeking intensive intervention for their children are confronted with professionals whose fees far outweigh their experience and the quality and effectiveness of the services they provide.
Individualized Evidence-Based Services
As the only nonprofit organization in the Pacific Northwest dedicated to providing evidence-based services, NBA prides itself on the individual attention each child and family receives from highly qualified staff. We are proud of our direct intervention staff members who are certified behavior analysts and, today, serve more than 150 families.
NBA serves an incredibly wide range of children on the autism spectrum across their lifespan. While there is a general recommended service delivery model, the kinds of individualized services now provided include direct intervention from master’s and doctoral level behavior analysts; school, home, and community consultation; individualized curriculum development and preparation; parent coaching and support; in-home Behavior Technician services; small group instruction; and intervention in the community.
Training Program
Our Training Program, initiated in the fall of 2000 with the help of a generous grant from the Gates Foundation, has evolved from a purely Behavior Technician based focus to include training for school district personnel, parent training courses, and on-going training and support for Behavior Technicians. In addition, in June 2009, NBA began hiring its own Behavior Technicians to serve our families and their children in their homes. To date, we have provided training, both theoretical and hands on, to more than 600 parents, Behavior Technicians, and school personnel since the program’s inception.
Future Outreach and Collaboration
NBA is committed to the delivery of sound, innovative, and lifespan services to the learners we serve. We look forward to providing much needed scholarships to families for whom the financial strain of raising a child with ASD is too great. We are excited about the collaborative relationships we have formed with school districts and related service providers, and hope these relationships only foster a better understanding of ASD and ABA in the wider community.