Free Webinar presented by: Ben Sarcia, MA, BCBA, LBA, BSL, Clinical Director of the Healthy Beginnings Program at Verbal Beginnings.
Pickiness is common in all children. Food selectivity isn’t.
Food selectivity and refusal is common in children with and without developmental delay. Yet, autism spectrum disorder adds an additional layer of complexity as refusal at mealtime rarely resolves on its own. In this free webinar, experienced therapist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst Ben Sarcia will discuss how to effectively teach food selective children on the autism spectrum to eat new foods in a manner that can be generalized outside of the clinic setting and implemented by caregivers. This is especially important because often times, caregivers are directed to non-behavioral interventions that do not account for the function of behavior and simply don’t address problematic mealtime behavior in a way that produces meaningful gains. With this in mind, success in developing appropriate replacement mealtime behaviors considers the child’s current food repertoire, skill deficits, performance deficits, learning style, and the feasibility of implementation of intervention in the home, school, and community settings. Attention will also be given to recognizing the physiological symptoms that may require additional consultation and collaboration with other ABA therapists or teams.
About Ben Sarcia, MA, BCBA, LBA, BSL
Ben Sarcia is a board-certified behavior analyst and director of the Healthy Beginnings behavioral feeding therapy program at Verbal Beginnings Center in Columbia, MD, a program he founded in 2016. Ben’s mission for this program is to provide outpatient ABA-based therapy to children who present with behavioral challenges, as well as skill deficits related to mealtime. Prior to joining Verbal Beginnings, Ben worked within the Feeding Disorders Continuum at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. In this position, Ben participated in the day treatment, inpatient, and outpatient programs. Holding advanced degrees from Penn State University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and the Florida Institute of Technology, Ben’s research and work has been presented at the nation’s largest and most respected conferences and published in multiple professional journals.
Webinar Details
Aug 17, 2021 05:00 PM
