Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Mount.
Hi Megan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
One day, my now business partner, JB Hewell, and I met with the idea of a partnership to start our own business and practice together to support the autism community. That idea became DART (Development for Autism and Related Treatment). JB and I bring over two decades of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) experience and expertise in autism. We’re both Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and pursued careers in this field because we love working with children and their families while making a positive impact. JB is from Texas and currently resides in Austin. We launched DART in Austin due to the high demand for ABA therapy and services in this area.
When I was young, I never thought I’d grow up to work with children. My journey didn’t start until high school, and JB’s, by the way. Then, my dad was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He underwent various surgeries throughout his illness, leading to many medications, treatments, and therapies. A few therapies he had were speech and physical therapy. I’d sometimes be at the hospital with him during one of his therapy sessions. I always admired the staff who supported his recovery and how knowledgeable they were in their professional field. This inspired me to pursue a career in speech pathology. After finishing my undergrad, I started working with children on the autism spectrum, providing in-home ABA therapy. This wasn’t my original plan. However, I quickly knew this was the new career path for me. I went on to complete a master’s degree and became a BCBA. I’ve worked in the field for 10 years, servicing individuals on the autism spectrum and their families in home, school, community, and clinic settings.
According to the CDC, 1 in 36 individuals are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), making this one of the largest growing demographics in our society. Current treatments for ASD seek to reduce challenges that can potentially impact everyday performance as well as the individual’s quality of life. A commonly used treatment approach to ASD is behavioral. Behavioral approaches center around replacing behaviors by evaluating what happens before and after the behavior. A pronounced behavioral treatment for individuals with ASD is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA strives to increase desirable prosocial behaviors and decrease interfering behaviors to teach various skills. A BCBA supervises ABA treatment programs.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always struggles in the field of ABA. Insurance can be one of the biggest issues. We must request authorizations from most health insurance providers, which can take some time away from us and our clients to begin therapy. Additionally, due to an increase in individuals diagnosed with ASD, families can wait 6 -12 months for a diagnostic evaluation, then an additional 6-12 months for services. This hurdle makes waitlist management one of our biggest challenges. DART’s promise and goal is to create quality ABA services more accessible to this largely underserved population by determining accurate and realistic waitlists and effectively communicating these with our community.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us more about your business.
DART was founded on the promise to provide engaging, safe, and quality therapy for those diagnosed with ASD. DART strives for individualized lifestyles depending on our client’s wants and needs. Through ongoing assessments, we customize client treatment plans to develop skills. We specialize in providing in-home ABA therapy, parent training, teacher training, community-based therapy, and community outreach to individuals diagnosed with ASD and their families. So, focusing on skills that evolve around social, play, language, and functional living skills is extremely important while simultaneously decreasing challenging behavior by implementing positive reinforcement strategies. We seek to build a community for our clients and their families that improve inclusion and acceptance. By valuing our team wholly and providing a positive and supportive company culture, we’ll enable our team to deliver effective therapy, information about autism, and its awareness to communities.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
JB and I both grew up enjoying sports, the outdoors, and spending time with our families and friends. We’re both laidback but hardworking individuals who value what we do. We love dogs and trying new recipes.
Pricing:
- We accept insurance
- We accept private pay
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dart-therapy.com/
- Instagram: @dart_therapy
