Adolescent & Adult Services

Summary of Services

• Age range: 13 years through adulthood
• Hours range: 6-12 hours per month
• Duration of services: dictated by need
• Locations of services: in home, in office, community settings, group format
• Areas served: Sacramento and surrounding regions (see ‘Services’ page for more information)

Adolescent & Adult Program 

It is the goal of Maverick’s behavior-analytic-based treatment program to provide training and support related to socially significant areas of functioning for adolescents and adults. Treatment focuses on developing skills and reducing behaviors that interfere with everyday functioning in order to promote increased independence in the social environment and natural settings.

Clients typically participate in between 2- 4 hours per week of treatment with a Program Manager, at our Administrative Office. During this time, the client and Program Manager engage in focused activities related to teaching the objectives identified through the initial evaluation. However, treatment does not stop there. As an essential component to effective teaching; treatment also includes modeling, rehearsing, and immediate feedback. Therefore the client and Program Manager will also connect in the community, between 4-6 hours per month, to practice the skills targeted during treatment sessions.

The following are examples of potential target areas focused on during treatment:

• Daily living skills: Activities of daily living that enhance a client’s ability to manage their own self-care, gain increased independence in their living environment, access the social community in order to achieve increased independence.
• Leisure skills: Activities related to leisure are planned with the client and systematically taught, so as to increase access to socially acceptable pleasurable activities. Leisure activities may take place in an individual or group setting, and can also be identified as useful skills which the client can use to enrich his/her experience in the daily living environment.
• Vocational skills: Essential skills necessary for entering the workplace are explored and activities to improve the client’s ability to find and maintain employment are trained.
• Social relationships: The ability to read social cues and respond appropriately are key components to improving social relationships. Activities focusing on how to more effectively identify, relate to, and respond to others, are addressed during treatment.
• Planning and prioritizing: Strategies to assist the client in planning, prioritizing, and maintaining their own daily schedule and tasks are often an important area of focus.
• Environmental stressors and elicited responses: Specific environmental stressors and client’s responses to those stressors are systematically identified and discussed. Behavior analytic strategies are then incorporated in order to teach the client to both manage emotional responses, and engage in more positive coping strategies.

In addition to individual sessions, this treatment model also allows for services to be provided via a group format. Inclusion into group settings may be considered once the client has acquired skills that allow him/her to acclimate to a group format with greater comfort and ease. The Program Manager and the client would then discuss the appropriateness and expectations of participation in the group. This service model is beneficial in that it is a friendly and welcoming environment where the client can begin to develop friendships, and actively utilize the skills worked on in individual sessions, while simultaneously accessing the support of the Program Manager during group sessions, as needed.