FirstSteps is proud to be an active participant in the autism and behavior analytic communities.

Upcoming Events

Summer is upon us and FirstSteps wishes all of our families a fun and restful season. Refer to our "Fun for Local Families" page for some ideas for how to pass the time!

April 2008

Team FirstSteps was a proud participant in the annual Walk Now event on April 26th, 2008, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Our goal was to help raise funds for autism research and increase awareness on the prevalence of autism. The family-friendly event was well-attended by FirstSteps staff and families alike, as we all enjoyed decorating balloons with the hundreds of children in attendance as well as participating in the walk. In addition, Team FirstSteps was extremely successful in our fundraising efforts, raising approximately $16,000 for Autism Speaks. Way to go FirstSteps!

February 2008

The 26th Annual Western Regional Conference of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, held in Garden Grove February 21st-23rd, was an exciting event for the FirstSteps team. Notably, two of our Instructors took the initiative to examine the effects of innovative interventions. First, Lead Instructor Courtney Lanagan sought to extend previous research on the use of tactile prompts (a small vibrating pager) to help children with autism initiate social interaction with peers. In her study, Courtney successfully used a pager prompt and reinforcement to increase a child’s responsivity to comments and questions made by peers in the school setting. In addition, Instructor Steve Ngo designed an ingenious teaching strategy built upon our children’s interests. Specifically, Steve observed that many of our children enjoy imitating things from their favorite cartoons. Therefore, he hypothesized that if cartoons were made to teach new skills, this might be a fun and motivating way to capture a child’s interest while expanding their skill base. Steve created individualized cartoons for some of his clients, and presented his initial findings at the Cal-ABA conference. He plans to further explore this line of work.

• Lanagan, C., Stoddard, L., & Harris, J. (2008, February). The use of pager prompts to occasion social language in children with autism. Poster presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, Garden Grove, CA.
• Ngo, S., Stoddard, L., & Harris, J. (2008, February). Teaching young children with autism simple discrimination tasks via animated video modeling. Poster presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, Garden Grove, CA.

November 2007

November proved to be a very busy month for Team FirstSteps! Our Directors were invited to present guest lectures at local elementary schools and universities. The topics were broad, as were the audiences, including Program Director Laurie Mauch's presentation about classroom behavior management to teachers at American Martyrs school on November 2, and Clinical Director Lisa Stoddard's guest lecture to an undergraduate class on November 6, 2007.

• Mauch, L. (2007, November). Managing Problem Behavior, Strategies for the Classroom. Workshop presented at American Martyrs School, Manhattan Beach, CA.
• Stoddard, L. (2007, November). Punishment: Procedural, clinical, and ethical issues. Guest Lecture presented at Claremont McKenna College, Behavioral Psychology class.

May 2007

The Association for Behavior Analysis International held their annual convention over Memorial Day weekend at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego. The convention provided a forum for the discussion and dissemination of behavior analytic theory and research. Several members of the FirstSteps team presented, including Dr. Jennifer Harris, who discussed "executive functioning" in autism, Lisa Stoddard, who presented her work on teaching pretend play skills to children with autism, and Instructors Courtney Lanagan and Jaime-Lyn Gaudet, who presented their work on the use of tactile prompts to promote social initiations in children with autism.

April 2007

Team FirstSteps participated in Cure Autism Now's annual WALK NOW fundraising event. The event was held at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, April 28th, 2007, and was another fun-filled, successful outing for Team FirstSteps! We are very proud to announce that our team of almost 60 walkers raised over $15,000 to support finding a cure for autsim!

March 2007

FirstSteps Directors Jennifer Harris and Lisa Stoddard presented a talk on issues related to parent training on March 12th, 2007 at the Los Angeles Families for Effective Autism Treatment in Manhattan Beach, CA. It was an informative and fun night for all!

February 2007
The 25th Annual Western Regional Conference of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, held in the San Francisco area February 7th -9th. Lisa Stoddard prepared a presentation for the conference, regarding the promotion of varied pretend play repertoires in children with autism. Pam Mock and Lynn Gallo presented a poster analyzing the influence of verbal imitation on spontaneous manding in autistic children.

• Stoddard, L. (2007, February). Promoting Varied Pretend Play Repertoires in Children with Autism. Paper presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, San Francisco, CA.
• Gallo, L & Mock, P. (2007, February). Can Verbal Imitation Increase Spontaneous Manding in Autistic Children? Poster presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, San Francisco, CA.

May 2006
The 32nd Annual Association for Behavior Analysis Convention was held in Atlanta, Georgia May 26th-30th. Directors Jennifer Harris, Lisa Brownfield, and Rosi deDomenico, as well as Clinical Supervisor Laurie Mauch, presented at the conference of 4,000 attendees from around the world, made up of professors, researchers, students, parents, and teachers in the field of behavior analysis.

• Harris, J. & Brownfield, L. (2006, May). Enhancing Child and Family Outcomes: A model for parent education, collaboration, and community outreach. Paper presented as part of the Behavioral Intervention with Very Young Children session at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Convention, Atlanta, GE.
• Brownfield, L. & Harris, J. (2006, May). “Knowing:” A Practical Approach to Teaching Perspective-Taking as Applied to Advanced Conversation Skills. Paper presented as part of the Knowledge and Motivation and Autism Intervention session at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Convention, Atlanta, GE.
• Mauch, L. & Harris, J. (2006, May). Need fails to predict service allocation… What’s going on? (ABA). Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Convention, Atlanta, GE.
• DeDomenico, R. & Harris, J. (2006, May). Establishing Mands Using Automatic Reinforcement and Direct Echoic Training Procedures: Is there a difference? (ABA). Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Convention, Atlanta, GA.

April 2006
The FirstSteps team came out in full-force to support WalkNow for Cure Autism Now on Saturday, April 22nd 2006. The WalkNow event, including a 5K walk and resource fair, brought together families and professionals to raise awareness and funds for Autism research.

Team FirstSteps included over 30 walkers, comprised of parents, children, Program Directors, Instructors, and their friends and family. Our spunky team not only had a ball decorating balloons at the the FirstSteps booth, but raised over $15,000 for Cure Autism Now! We are all looking forward to participating in the wonderful event again next year!

On April 19, 2006, Program Director Rosi deDomenico participated in a televised segment on Univision's morning program, Primera Edicion (First Edition). Ms. deDomenico informed interviewer Gabriela Tiesser and the Spanish-speaking viewing audience on the topic of autism, identifying early signs and symptoms, and the importance of early screening and intervention.

February 2006

FirstSteps Directors seized the opportunity to attend the 24th Annual Western Regional Conference of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, held in the San Francisco area February 16th -18th. Dr. Jennifer Harris and Lisa Stoddard prepared two presentations for the conference, discussing both the concept of a "theory of mind," and the parents' role in a child’s therapy. Rosi deDomenico’s poster presentation analyzed the teaching strategies currently implemented for children with Autism and explored other strategies not yet in place.

• Harris, J. & Brownfield, L. (2006, February). You Know What I Mean? - Training in the Concept of 'Knowing' and Generalizing to Social-Communicative Interactions. Paper presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, San Francisco, CA.
• Brownfield, L. & Harris, J. (2006, February). Increasing Independence: A Clinical Protocol to Empower and Educate Parents of Children Receiving Intensive ABA Services. Paper presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, San Francisco, CA.
• DeDomenico, R. (2006, February). Establishing Mands Using Automatic Reinforcement and Direct Echoic Training Procedures: Is There a Difference? Poster presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis Conference, San Francisco, CA.

October 2005

FirstSteps Directors Jennifer Harris and Lisa Brownfield presented at LA FEAT.

• Harris, J., and Brownfield, L. (2005, October). On the road to positive outcomes: Leave early, stay on course, and use a great map. Invited address presented at the Los Angeles Families for Effective Autism Treatment, Manhattan Beach, CA

September 2005

FirstSteps Directors Jennifer Harris and Lisa Stoddard attended an evening hosted by the Autism Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter.

• Harris, J. & Brownfield, L. (2005, September). Expanding Language Skills Using Applied Behavior Analysis. Invited address presented at the Autism Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter.

May 2005

FirstSteps directors enjoyed traveling to the "Windy City" to address their colleagues at the 31st Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis. FirstSteps’ Director Jennifer Harris presented her research regarding first-year treatment intensity in ABA programs, while Lisa Stoddard presented her work on the development of comprehensive programs for teaching complex play skills and social behavior.

• Harris, J. (2005, May). Starting-out Strong: Treatment Intensity Predicts Outcome. Paper presented as part of an International Symposium at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Convention, Chicago, IL.
• Brownfield, L., Tarbox, J., Tarbox, R., & Granpeesheh, D. (2005, May). Teaching complex social behavior: The CARD social curriculum. Paper presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Brownfield, L., Tarbox, J., Tarbox, R., & Granpeesheh, D. (2005, May). Teaching complex play skills to children with autism: A comprehensive program and case description. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

April 2005

The FirstSteps team came out to support Cure Autism Now's efforts in increasing awareness and research at their WALK NOW fundraising event in Los Angeles.
In addition to participating in the walk and raising over $3,000 dollars for CAN, the FirstSteps team had a wonderful time decorating balloons with the hundreds of children that stopped at our booth.

March 2005

FirstSteps Directors Jennifer Harris, Lisa Stoddard, and Rosi deDomenico enjoyed an evening with the Montessori School of Manhattan Beach Parent-Teacher Organization, where they presented, Enhancing education: Strategies for the home and classroom.

February 2005

FirstSteps Instructors had the benefit of attending informative workshops and lectures at the 23rd Annual Western Regional Conference of the California Association for Behavior Analysis. In addition, Jennifer Harris and Lisa Stoddard presented their work on treatment intensity, play skills, and complex social behavior.