HUNTSVILLE — Madison County is now home to the first Applied Behavior Analysis provider in the state to receive national recognition for their “commitment to quality improvement.”

By receiving a two-year accreditation through Behavior Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) Accreditation, Madison Behavior Therapy aims to continue growing in their service to local clients with autism and other related disorders, as well as their families.

“We are thrilled to become the first BHCOE Accredited ABA provider in Alabama,” said Madison Behavior Therapy Executive Director Lindsay Chapman in a news release. “This accreditation reflects our commitment to maintaining the most up-to-date standards in our field and programs to best serve our clients. Our wonderful staff is proud to offer personalized and evidence-based services of the highest quality. We look forward to the growth and improvement of our organization, as we continue to provide Alabama with top-notch Applied Behavior Analysis service for years to come.”

The staff at Madison Behavior Therapy celebrated their achievement with fun and games Nov. 19 at downtown Huntsville’s Pints and Pixels.

Rachel Chapman got to play a dual role for the evening as both Lindsay’s mother and co-chair of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Business Council.

“Since Lindsay was a teenager, she’s wanted to work with special needs kids,” Rachel said. “I love that passion in her, so I thought it was my role to just develop her and give her every opportunity to bring this to Huntsville, and it’s amazing what has happened with it. She has taken it from there. She and her team get all the credit.”

At the celebration, Clinical Supervisor Leigh Ayres, BCBA, also spoke of her love for Madison Behavior Therapy, its team and their clients.

“The team of therapists and employees at Madison Behavior Therapy is a great one,” Ayres said. “It’s one like I’ve never been around before. Every day I get to watch not only my clients make progress, but … I get to work with people who see the sheer joy in what we do—people who don’t take it for granted, people who go above and beyond always for each other—but more than that, I get to work with a team of individuals who care about ABA and implementing it the right way.”

An inside look at Madison Behavior Therapy | CONTRIBUTED

Ayres also praised Chapman for her hard work and dedication put into helping Madison Behavior Therapy build its high reputation and earn the honor of accreditation.

“Lindsay spent hours and hours converting assessment scores, answering questions and preparing for an hours-long interview—which she totally aced, by the way,” Ayres said. “When it comes down to it, Madison Behavior Therapy accomplished this together as a team, but without Lindsay’s drive to do the best for our clients, our families, our employees, [it] still wouldn’t be possible.”

With a great number of children and families touched by autism in the Huntsville area, Rachel said she is excited to see Madison Behavior Therapy bring these services to the area. With the accreditation, Lindsay and her team at Madison Behavior Therapy received recognition from BHCOE for their work in providing these ABA services that experts developed to measure effective services of this kind.

BHCOE measures for the accreditation “via a wide-ranging audit” based on clinical quality, staff qualifications, consumer satisfaction and the promotion of systems that enhance these areas.

In addition to the interview with agency clinical leadership, Madison Behavior Therapy had to undergo in-depth, onsite observation, a detailed staff qualification review, an anonymous staff satisfaction survey and an anonymous consumer satisfaction survey.

“A commitment to strong treatment programming and planning is clearly apparent at Madison Behavior Therapy,” said Sara Gershfeld, founder of BHCOE, in the news release. “Providing quality care and support to each family helps to promote positive changes in their clients. The professionalism and passion of the team at Madison Behavior Therapy exemplifies clinical integrity. We are excited to commend Executive Director Lindsay Chapman and her team on creating an outstanding program that provides the Huntsville autism community with valuable support.”

To learn more about Madison Behavior Therapy, its team and the services they provide, visit www.madisonaba.com. For more information on BHCOE Accreditation, visit bhcoe.org.

Madison Behavior Therapy has two locations in Madison County. The Madison office is located at 230 Hughes Rd., Suite F, while the Huntsville office is located at 475 Providence Main St. NW, Suite 201.