1. Research
Research is how we know that what we do at WEAP actually works! We see it every day in the children we serve, but we also have seen these positive results in our own intensive clinical research following the guidelines of the American Psychological Association. WEAP is part of the international research team funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and led by Dr. Ivar Lovaas of UCLA, who pioneered ABA programming for young children with autism.

In fact, WEAP is the first research site to achieve a full replication of Dr. Lovaas’ original 1987 study showing the effectiveness of intensive ABA programming during the early childhood years. All WEAP/EAP programs are organized and facilitated according to the same principles and guidelines found in our research. We pride ourselves on the publication of the results of our longitudinal study in the November 2005 issue of the American Journal on Mental Retardation.

2. Expertise
WEAP/EAP focuses on the quality of every program we provide, and we have the expertise, training, and experience to successfully facilitate programming for children with a wide variety of strengths and challenges. Any ABA programme is only as good as the people running it. If a program is run by one person without the support of more experienced clinicians, the program is limited to the experiences and strengths of just that one particular person. This is why EAP requires significant amounts of quality training experiences and why we value consistent supervision of all of our staff.

Consultants have over 2000 face-to-face hours of ABA experience with children who have a wide range of abilities and have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum. In addition, EAP requires applicants to complete an intensive sixteen-week training internship prior to permanent hire as an EAP Consultant. During these sixteen weeks, each candidate must successfully complete study in three strands: a classroom or academic strand, a professionalism strand, and a clinical strand.

The classroom strand includes building relationships with schools, setting up school readiness goals within the home program and training school shadows. The professionalism strand consists of developing communication and leadership skills. The clinical strand features extensive training by clinical Consultants and other experienced trainers to expand and perfect therapeutic technique and broaden programming skills. The clinical strand also features direct training with approximately four children and teams.

Once the Consultant Intern completes the sixteen week training, he / she receives consistent supervision by highly experienced Senior Consultants, Directors and Psychologists. The importance of consistent clinical supervision cannot be overemphasized. Consistent supervision ensures that each child receives the highest quality intervention and a highly individualized program that meets the needs of that unique child. Without regular supervision by more experienced staff, families and children are at risk for delays in programming and missed opportunities for growth.

3. Experience

WEAP has been providing intensive services for children with autism spectrum disorders for over fifteen years. We have worked with over 1000 Wisconsin children and families in a wide variety of areas and situations. We have worked with children from a variety of geographic locations, cultures, ethnic groups, socio-economic statuses, and family situations. We have worked collaboratively with hundreds of other professionals across many disciplines to ensure that children receive the services they need to make significant progress.

We have contributed to the quality and availability of autism treatment professionals by training hundreds of interested people, including therapists, clinical psychologists, teachers, school psychologists, district administrators, and many other professionals. Some of these people continue to provide services as WEAP employees, and some have moved on to other autism related positions. Our goal in all of our endeavors remains to provide the highest quality therapy services for children with autism and related disorders.