On April 25, County Commissioner Ken Hagan visited Engage Behavioral Health’s North Tampa Location. Engage Behavioral is the leading provider of Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA Therapy. They develop individualized programs for children with autism, Aspergers syndrome, OCD, ADHD, anxiety disorders and other behavioral issues that allow them to learn in their natural environments. The North Tampa Location offers therapy as well Learning for Life Academy, a year-round special needs school for children (Kindergarten – 3rd grade) with autism spectrum disorders (including asperger’s) & other developmental delays, such as down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, & language disorders.
Jennifer Phelps, Founder and CEO of Engage Behavioral Health and Jenni Deien, North Tampa Area Director led our tour. Commissioner Hagan was able to see how Learning for Life Academy utilizes an extremely low teacher-to-student ratio with no more than three students assigned to a teacher. On the tour we learned that Early Intervention is key. The sooner a child is able to begin a specialized program and therapy, the sooner the appropriate behavior can be re-introduced. At Learning for Life Academy, children are placed in classes based off of their specialized needs. Engage Behavioral Health hopes to expand to a new facility to keep up with growing demand.
In addition to ABA Therapy services, Engage also offers educational training, family therapy and many other specialty programs to help your family every step of the way. Additionally, Jennifer Phelps showed Commissioner Hagen how Engage Behavioral Health is extremely involved in the community. She hopes to spread the word of their free training sessions to help local businesses whose clients may include people affected with autism. Engage plans to hold a training session for the Temple Terrace Police Department next month regarding identifying and deescalating situations involving citizens affected with autism.
Engage Behavioral Health’s passionate ABA professionals actively strive to create lasting change. They are dedicated to enriching the quality of life for the families and communities that they serve. Join Commissioner Hagan in getting involved with Engage Behavior Health!
For more information visit their website here.
Also, check out their Learning for Life Academy website.
