No Time to Waste!

Scientists, teachers, doctors, and parents all agree:

The preschool years are the most critical time for developing cognitive, social, and communication skills.

How each child spends their early years will have an enormous impact on their future. And this is especially true for young children with special needs. Without extra help, children with developmental disabilities or delays may not learn to communicate their wants and needs. They may never learn to participate in a group, or respond calmly to conflict, or perform the basic self-care required to live independently.

High-quality early intervention is a crucial step in the path towards friends, fun, and independence. And simply put, special-needs children do not have time to waste in ineffective therapies or educational programs.

The Problem in Arlington, Virginia

Currently, Arlington families seeking intervention for their developmentally-disabled, preschool-age children must choose between individual, insurance-funded therapy or public special education. Neither of these options are ideal.

Children enrolled in intensive, individual therapy miss out on group social opportunities. But children enrolled in public special education miss out on medically-necessary therapy.  Families are exhausted by the task of cutting through insurance and educational red tape in order to access appropriate, individualized care for their special-needs children. Other counties in Northern Virginia have more options for their families. Why is Arlington left behind?

When children miss out on high-quality, individualized intervention, they become more likely to develop aggressive, dangerous, and disruptive behaviors.

These challenges limit access to general education and childcare, decrease opportunities for social support and recreation, and cause family conflict. And as children grow older, services become more expensive and harder to find. There is a short window of time to prevent challenging behavior and teach important skills.

But there is also lots of hope! By intervening early, we can prevent problems rather than react to them.

How to Solve It

The overall goal of the Arlington Sunshine Project is to provide developmentally-disabled preschool children with evidence-based therapeutic services in a joyful, social environment.

To achieve this goal, we will

• Establish a learning center within Arlington County and staff it with Licensed Behavior Analysts (LBAs) and paraprofessionals who work under the LBAs’ close supervision.
• Provide high-quality, evidence-based intervention for the development of disabled children’s cognition, communication, and social skills.
• Teach the prerequisite skills necessary for children to transition successfully out of our programs and into group learning in area public and private schools.
• Expand access to behavioral therapies beyond those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and to a wider variety of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Who We Are

The Arlington Sunshine Project was founded by Ally Patterson, PhD, BCBA-D. Dr. Patterson is local to  Arlington and owns a small, in-home behavioral therapy practice serving families in Northern Virginia. She has first-hand experience with the challenges families face when choosing between medically-necessary therapeutic services and social opportunities for their special-needs children. Unfortunately, even in Arlington, these challenges include inappropriate school placements and ineffective therapies.

In her clinical work, Dr. Patterson has de-escalated dangerous crisis situations with older children and adults who did not receive effective early intervention. She knows that there is nothing more important than teaching young children the vital skills of communication and cooperation in a social setting. These skills allow children to make friends, learn in a group, and use healthy coping strategies during moments of disappointment. 

Dr. Patterson has become disenchanted with the for-profit therapy model. Currently, health insurance companies dictate when, where, and how therapeutic interventions take place. This is not in the best interest of our children, nor is it in the best interest of our community as a whole.

Join Us

We are looking for Northern Virginians who can help expand access to evidence-based, high-quality early intervention for children diagnosed with developmental disabilities and delays.

If you are interested in this mission, please get in touch!