Frontline Focus: Julia Touloukian

This week’s Frontline Focus introduces us to Julia Touloukian. Julia is a therapist at our West Lafayette center. See what she has to say about her role as an ABA Therapist:

My name is Julia and I started doing ABA therapy at Cornerstone a year and a half ago.  What impressed me the most about Cornerstone is how we get to work directly with the parents and families to accomplish goals that are important to them.  I love how therapy can be quickly customized to individual issues and obstacles without having to go through a ton of red tape and paperwork.  We can identify a problem and work through it so fast, giving the families the tools they need to function better, whether it’s having their child being potty trained, not being afraid of something like a vacuum cleaner, or eating regular family meals without having to make something different for their child.

I love that we can make their lives a little bit simpler in these ways.  The main thing that I’ve learned about ABA is that every little thing you do or say can give the child a message, and you always have to be aware of what that message is saying. It can be so easy to inadvertently encourage the wrong thing for a child, so I have to keep wondering what they are processing when I make a move.  My favorite thing about Cornerstone is building a relationship with these kids and seeing their personalities come out.