Pierce ABA

Dr. Tiva Kermode, Owner

Families navigating Autism Spectrum Disorder often face fragmented care, where therapy, education and medical services operate in isolation. This lack of coordination can limit progress, leaving parents to manage multiple providers while trying to ensure their child receives consistent and effective support.

Pierce ABA addresses this challenge by adopting a holistic, family-centered approach that treats the child within the context of the entire family unit. Its model emphasizes coordination, education and targeted intervention to support both developmental progress and long-term outcomes.

“We move beyond treating isolated symptoms, choosing instead to view and serve each child as a whole individual within the context of their family unit,” says Dr. Tiva Kermode, owner.

Empowering Families through Education and Coordination

A key challenge for families is navigating complex educational systems while advocating for appropriate services. Pierce ABA places strong emphasis on educating parents about Individualized Education Program processes, ensuring they understand legal frameworks and can actively participate in planning decisions.

The organization also plays an active advocacy role, supporting families in discussions with school systems to secure appropriate services. This combination of education and advocacy enables parents to engage confidently and make informed decisions about their child’s development.

Coordination across multiple providers is another critical need. Pierce ABA creates structured roadmaps for each family, ensuring communication between pediatricians, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and school personnel. This approach aligns all services toward shared goals and reduces fragmentation in care delivery.

Structuring Early Intervention for School Readiness

Pierce ABA’s programs focus on addressing core developmental needs while preparing children for integration into school environments. Targeted ABA interventions are designed to build foundational skills that support communication, learning and behavior.

Children typically enter intensive programs between birth and three years of age, receiving up to 30 hours per week of therapy. During this phase, the focus is on developing pre-learner and communication skills that form the basis for future educational success.

The organization maintains close collaboration with families throughout this process, addressing immediate concerns while aligning interventions with long-term developmental goals. This ensures that progress made during therapy translates into readiness for structured learning environments.

Demonstrating Measurable Progress through Transition

The effectiveness of Pierce ABA’s approach is reflected in its structured transition model from therapy to school. After completing intensive intervention, families and clinicians collaborate with local school districts to align the child’s Individualized Education Program with the progress achieved in therapy.

This alignment ensures continuity between clinical and educational environments. When children meet their developmental targets, they transition into school settings with the skills needed to engage successfully.

The completion of these milestones marks a significant achievement for both the child and family, demonstrating how coordinated therapy and education can produce measurable outcomes in early development.

Looking ahead, access to therapy services remains a critical concern, particularly for underserved populations. Pierce ABA continues to support Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Medicaid families, addressing barriers that often limit access to high-quality care.

The organization also advocates for sustained and expanded funding to ensure that families relying on Medicaid can continue to receive essential services. This focus on accessibility supports broader adoption of early intervention programs.

By combining family education, coordinated care and structured intervention, Pierce ABA enables children to build foundational skills, supports families in navigating complex systems and creates clear pathways toward successful integration into school environments.