RUBI Parent and Caregiver Training Program

This program is for parents and caregivers who have a child between the ages of 3 and 10 with a diagnosis of autism and problem behaviors such as:

• Aggression (hitting, kicking, biting)
• Meltdowns
• Noncompliance
• Screaming
• Tantrums
• Whining
• Other behaviors that interfere with daily life

Your child should be able to follow simple, 1-step instructions.

• Need interventions that focus only on increasing skills (for example, language, play and social skills)
• Only have problem behaviors at school
• Have 1 of the following as the primary target(s) for treatment: running off (elopement), eating non-food items (pica) or self-harm behaviors

The program includes up to 16 weekly visits. Each visit lasts 1 hour. RUBI is delivered 1-on-1, which means it will be you and a therapist working together on your child’s behaviors. You will also need to have a 1-month follow-up visit after you complete the program. We will work with you to schedule a regular day and time for your appointments.

• Why behaviors occur
• How to prevent problem behaviors from happening
• How to encourage or promote positive behaviors and skills to replace a problem behavior
• How to effectively respond to challenging behaviors after they occur
• How to ensure positive behavior changes maintain over time and in different situations

For this program to be most effective, it will be important that you are committed to learning and practicing the skills.

RUBI is a “parent-mediated intervention,” which means we teach parents and caregivers skills to use with their child throughout the day to reduce problem behaviors.

These visits are for parents or caregivers only. Your child is not required to attend. In-person and telehealth (video) visits are available. If you participate in a video visit, you must be physically in Washington state at the time of the session.

To maintain consistency, the same parents or caregivers should attend every session. We strongly encourage other caregivers to come to appointments and be involved in your child’s treatment.

If you have health insurance, we will bill them for each session you attend. We recommend you call your insurance company to find out if the cost of the program is covered and how much you need to pay if the full amount is not covered. The procedure code billed for parent and caregiver sessions is 90846, which is “family therapy without patient.”

If you are interested in signing up for this program, please talk with your child’s therapist at the Autism Center. If you are not a current patient at Seattle Children’s, please contact your primary care provider or mental health provider. They will need to send us a referral.