Referral Information for Clinicians | JoySpark Developmental Studio

The gap I focus on

Strong repertoires, limited generative use.

Many verbal autistic children develop solid foundational repertoires — labeling, receptive identification, memorized scripts, reliable discrete-trial responding — yet plateau when language needs to become generative: answering novel questions, deriving untaught relations, sustaining flexible conversation, taking another's perspective.

In relational terms, these are children with intact directly-trained repertoires but limited derived relational responding — mutual and combinatorial entailment, transformation of stimulus function. The result is a learner who "knows" a great deal but struggles to use it flexibly in the moment.

This is the piece that many skill-acquisition and classroom programs aren't structured to target directly — not a shortcoming, just a different focus. It's the piece I specialize in.

Who's a good referral

You may recognize these children.

Consider referring a verbal autistic child who:

›Has a strong tact/label repertoire but limited intraverbal or novel-question responding.
›Performs well in structured or discrete-trial contexts but doesn't generalize to novel situations.
›Relies on memorized scripts and struggles to recombine language flexibly.
›Shows marked splinter skills — advanced in some areas, stuck in others.
›Has "plateaued" in generative or pragmatic language despite ongoing services.
›Struggles with perspective-taking and deictic relations (I–you, here–there, now–then).
›Can answer what but not why, how, or what-if.
›Has some vocal-verbal or reliable communicative repertoire to build on.

Age isn't a barrier — I work across the developmental range. What matters is that there's a communicative foundation to build from.

My approach

Grounded in RFT and PEAK.

My work is grounded in Relational Frame Theory and derived relational responding. I'm PEAK Level 2 certified and draw on the PEAK Relational Training System where it fits a given learner — but the foundation is RFT itself, not any single curriculum.

For assessment, I often use the PEAK Comprehensive Assessment (adapted for tele-delivery where appropriate) to build a qualitative profile of a child's relational repertoires — which frames are established, emerging, or absent. Intervention is individualized: multiple-exemplar training to build derived relational responding across coordination, distinction, comparison, opposition, hierarchy, and deictic framing — drawn from the PEAK curriculum where it's the right tool, and built directly from RFT principles where it isn't — with attention to transformation of stimulus function and generalization to novel contexts.

The throughline is generative language — a child using what they know in situations no one directly trained.

About

Ann Roberts

I've spent nearly 20 years in autism education and intervention, across the full developmental range — early intervention through adulthood — and across settings: self-contained special education classrooms, clinics, and homes.

For much of that time I watched bright, capable learners stall at rote, scripted language, and I was never satisfied with the idea that this was simply the ceiling. Discovering Relational Frame Theory and derived relational responding changed how I practice — it gave me a framework for teaching the flexible, generative language that had been missing. That relational work is now the entire focus of my practice.

M.Ed. · BCBA · LBA-CT · NY · Certified Special Education Teacher · PEAK Level 2 Certified

How referring works

Simple, and I close the loop.

Step 1

Share my information

Pass along this page or the one-pager, or reach out to me directly. There's no formal referral form — an email, or a family getting in touch, is enough.

Step 2

We start with a conversation

Every family begins with a free discovery call, so we can make sure it's a good fit before anything else.

Step 3

Assessment & intervention

If it's a fit, I complete a Language Flexibility Profile — a PEAK-based relational assessment — and, where appropriate, begin one-to-one intervention.

Step 4

I keep you in the loop

With the family's consent, I'm glad to share findings and coordinate care. Closing the loop matters to me.

Private pay · one-to-one · serving families in Connecticut & New York.

Colleague to colleague

Have a child in mind?

I'm always glad to talk through a case — no commitment, and no formal referral needed just to ask.

Talk through a case Download the one-pager

Ann Roberts, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA-CT, NY · Connecticut & New York