Daniela Di Ciano
B. Psych., M. Psych. (Clinical and Educational), C. Psychol.
Daniela is a Clinical Psychologist with experience working with pre-school and school-aged children and adolescents from diverse cultural backgrounds and across a wide range of settings, including mainstream and special schools. She also has experience training parents and staff in supporting children with disabilities and challenging behaviour.
She is specialised in the assessment of:
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (e.g. Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome)
Learning Disabilities
Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders
Emotional Disorders
Problems with sleep, eating, toileting etc
Daniela has experience using the following treatments:
Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA); including Verbal Behaviour Therapy (for autism) and Positive Behaviour Support Planning (for severe challenging behaviour) * explained below
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Family or Systemic Therapy
Specialised educational interventions for specific learning difficulties such as reading, maths and spelling
Parent training and support
She is registered with the following professional bodies:
British Psychological Society
Health Professions Council
She is undertaking training and supervision for certification with:
Behaviour Analyst Certification Board
What is applied behaviour analysis (ABA) / verbal behaviour therapy?
ABA is a model of psychology which utilises the principles of learning to resolve problems of mental health and improve daily functioning. ABA focuses on observable behaviour and seeks to identify features of the environment that influence how individuals behave.
The functional relationship between specific events that precede and follow behaviour is analysed so that we can develop procedures to increase desired behaviours and decrease undesired behaviours (e.g. Differential Reinforcement of Other behaviour).
ABA also uses a variety of teaching procedures to develop functional skills including prompting, fading, chaining and shaping (including specific approaches such as Discrete Trial Training, Precision Teaching, Natural Environment Training).
ABA is an evidence-based treatment for autism particularly when introduced early (pre-school) and delivered intensively (25 hours+). Utilising a functional analysis of language, the Verbal Behavioural Model is useful in developing language and other skills while maintaining positive behaviours.
