Today we’d like to introduce you to Alana Guilarte.
Hi Alana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey to becoming a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) started when I was in high school. At the time, my twin brothers were 3.5 years old and recently diagnosed with PDD-NOS. ABA therapy was one of their first forms of intervention and where our family saw the most success. After observing some of their sessions, I knew this was something I wanted to dedicate my time to. After graduating high school, I attended NYU where I graduated with bachelors degrees in in Early Education, Special Education, and Psychology. While pursuing my master’s through Nova Southeastern University in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Behavior Analysis, I was A Special Education teacher in New York City as well as in Miami. I became a BCBA in 2017 and was fortunate enough to work for a few great companies down here in Florida. In December of 2020 I gave birth to my daughter and after a year of maternity leave, I knew that when I went back to the workforce, I had to do things for myself. During my maternity leave, I spent a lot of time working on all the back-end things of opening Maven in Behavior. In December of 2021, we began seeing clients in the home, providing ABA therapy. Now in July of 2022, we just opened our office in South Miami and are seeing clients there!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
While my road has been relatively smooth, there are always bumps along the way! Transitioning from a stable teaching position to the unpredictability you sometimes experience in this field was a challenge for me at first. Working for different ABA therapy providers I always found the business side of things to be daunting and overwhelming, especially when it came to medical billing. Truthfully, it made me put my dreams of owning my own company on hold for quite some time. But having time away from the field during my maternity leave solidified for me that it was time for me to start something of my own.
As you know, we’re big fans of Maven in Behavior. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Maven in Behavior is a BCBA-founded and owned ABA therapy company based in South Miami, Florida. We provided ABA therapy and offer 1:1 direct services, parent consultations, school consultations and we also work on picky eating, as well as potty training. While ABA therapy is typically associated with individuals with Autism, ABA therapy can help any individual or family that is struggling with behavioral challenges.
Maven in Behavior stands apart from other ABA therapy companies because we are committed to working not only with our individual clients but as well as their families to ensure that the success we see with our clients is the same success their families are able to have with them! Our individualized treatment plans focus on teaching skills such as communication, daily living skills, and social skills, and work on decreasing problem behaviors.
I am most proud that Maven in Behavior has grown organically over the last 7 months. All our clients have come based on word of mouth and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful as it speaks to the quality of our services.
Maven in Behavior is currently taking on new clients and we work with a variety of insurance companies. We offer free 30-minute phone consultations to discuss any questions you may have!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you.
I’m not sure if I’m a believer in luck, but I do believe that everything happens for a reason, especially when it comes to the timing of things. Starting a business in the midst of a pandemic, while on maternity leave, you would think wouldn’t be ideal, but it was the time when I had the most passion and drive to make this business what it is today. All the years leading up to this moment have allowed me to create connections within this community that helped get me to where I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.maveninbehavior.com
- Instagram: @maveninbehavior.com
