Name: Eli
Age at Start of ABA Therapy: 2
Primary Challenges: Nonverbal, self-injury, limited engagement and communication
Eli was just two years old when his family first came to Behavioral Innovations. He had been evaluated around that time and received his diagnosis, but the hardest part wasn’t the word itself, it was the silence. Eli wasn’t speaking at all. He didn’t participate, didn’t communicate, and spent most of his time in his own quiet world. His family hoped speech therapy alone might help, but it was Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at Behavioral Innovations that began to open the door.
On top of the communication challenges, Eli was hurting himself frequently and intensely. The behaviors were so severe that he had to wear a helmet every day just to stay safe. His family was overwhelmed with fear, stress, and heartbreak. They wanted their little boy to enjoy life: to laugh, to play, to connect, but they didn’t know how to reach him. That’s when their journey began.
Eli started full-time ABA, eight hours a day, five days a week. That first year became the turning point for his entire family. Slowly, he began to change. The self-harming behaviors decreased, and before long, the helmet came off for good. The little boy who used to sit on the sidelines started noticing the people around him. Within that first year, he began to do something his parents hadn’t seen before; he approached other children to play.
His treatment was never something done to him, it was something built with his family. His Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) checked in often to make sure the goals at the clinic matched the goals at home. His parents were given predictable routines and expectations they could follow outside of therapy, so Eli’s world felt safe, familiar, and consistent wherever he was.
As Eli began to grow, his care plan grew with him. His team didn’t just focus on therapy time; they supported his whole family. They offered tools that his parents could use at home and included his siblings in the process too. To make transitions easier, his therapists incorporated pictures of his family into his daily routines at drop-off. Even the smallest details were treated with care and intention.
The more secure Eli felt, the more he began to open up. And as he opened up his goals were adjusted to meet him right where he was.
Around age three and a half, Eli started speaking. At first, it was a few words here and there. A year later, language was no longer a barrier; it was a bridge. He didn’t just learn to talk. He learned to express what he wanted, share what he was thinking, and let his personality shine through.
The little boy who once stayed quiet in every room is now the life of the party: greeting friends by name, initiating play, and proudly telling others exactly what’s on his mind.
Eli’s transformation changed more than just his daily life, it restored the well-being of his entire family. His mother had been under so much stress in the early days that she suffered a stroke. The fear, the self-harm, the unknown, it all took a toll. But as Eli began to grow, communicate, and stay safe, the weight on the family’s shoulders began to lift.
His mom said she could physically feel the relief as the stress that once consumed her started to melt away. She finally had room to heal too.
Eli’s mom wants other parents to know they’re not alone, especially in the beginning when everything feels uncertain. She said:
“The unknown can be scary, but trust that it’s going to get better. Our experience with BI went against all the rigid ideas we had heard about ABA. There are so many horror stories about robotic ABA, and that is NOT what BI is. They were warm and professional the entire time.”
Eli started his journey nonverbal, isolated, and unable to express himself. Today, he is in a general education classroom, thriving alongside his peers. He is artistic, musical, clever, and incredibly observant. If you show him how to do something once, he remembers it and he can do it himself right away.
One of the most surprising moments came when his family realized he had taught himself Spanish. When watching YouTube, he always chose the Spanish-language videos, and before long, he could name colors and count to 20 in Spanish without anyone ever formally teaching him.
From silence to connection. From fear to confidence. From crisis to celebration.
Congratulations, Eli — we are so proud of you, and we’re honored to be part of your journey.
