Who We Are

Brandon Thurman, MA, BCBA

I have been working with the families of children, teens, & young adults with developmental delays or challenging behaviors for over 15 years. Autism is my primary area of expertise, and my passion is empowering youth & families by teaching functional communication & reducing challenging behaviors. My style of therapy is child-led and centered around fun & celebration. My approach in parent consults is collaborative & responsive to your family's values, needs, & stressors.

Celebration

We want to be your family's loudest cheerleader for milestones big, small, and medium-sized.

Collaboration

We believe you & your child are the experts in who you are, what you need, & what works for you.

Compassion

Wherever you are in your parenting journey & wherever your child is in their growth, we see you. We care.

Our Clients

• We work with the families of children from 18 months to 18 years of age.
• Our expertise is in working with children with challenging behaviors and/or developmental disabilities such as autism.
• Our services are home-based in Northwest Arkansas. We are based in Fayetteville and predominantly serve the Washington County area.
• We provide telehealth services throughout the state of Arkansas.
  

We provide evidence-based behavioral interventions to reduce challenging behaviors and to increase communication, functional life skills, and self-advocacy. Our therapy is rooted in a progressive approach to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. Unlike many ABA providers, we are fully affirming of neurodiversity and 100% committed to only intervening in areas where we have both your consent as the parent and your child's assent.

We do not teach neurodivergent children to engage in masking behaviors such as compulsory eye contact or suppression of self-stimulatory behaviors. Our goal is to teach children the skills to embrace, love, & communicate who they are—never to hide it. We believe in celebrating autistic joy!

Parent Consults

Whether your child is learning to communicate, is engaging in challenging behaviors, needs help with toilet training, or something else, we've got your back.

Expert, Focused Therapy

Most ABA providers utilize minimally trained RBTs to teach your child. At Riverbend, an expert, board-certified clinician will work directly with your child.

Consulting & Speaking

We are proud to offer consulting & speaking services to organizations on the topics of behavior management & inclusivity.

We will provide an individualized coaching plan centered around your family's values & strengths. Depending on your family's needs, sessions can range from 1-2 hours in length and are offered on a daily, twice weekly, weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. See below for more information on our areas of expertise for parent consults:

Behavior

If you're feeling overwhelmed by your child's behavior, we can help you come up with a plan that is not only effective but that also aligns with your parenting values & strengths.

Coping Skills

If your child is having difficulty tolerating essential health & safety routines such as dental care, medical examinations, or haircuts, we know how to implement an effective plan with gentleness & empathy.

Communication

As the parent, you have the most power of anyone in facilitating your child's ability to communicate. We can help you harness and maximize that power so that your child can find their voice.

Neurodiversity

Common sense strategies often have to go out the window when parenting a neurodivergent child. We can help you align your parenting with your values in ways that are both effective & affirming of your child's diversity.

Toilet Training

From toddlers to teenagers, we have extensive experience in toilet training for all ages. If your child doesn't yet have this pivotal life skill, we have the expertise to help.

Individualized Plans

If you don't see what you need here, chances are we can either help or provide you with a referral to someone who can. We have experience working with families on sleeping, feeding, hygiene, sex ed, & much more.

Our focused intervention is delivered by

We provide focused treatment in the areas of communication or behavior reduction, consisting of 10-25 hours per week of fun, play-based therapy with a board-certified clinician who will teach your child empowering skills. Focused care is currently available for Tricare clients.

Communication

If your child doesn't yet have a reliable way to communicate their needs, we can help. We have a proven track record of teaching communication vocally, as well as with assistive communication devices, picture exchange, and sign language.

We believe in a collaborative, team-based approach and will coordinate with your child's speech therapist to identify the mode of communication that best fits your child's strengths & needs.

Contact us to schedule a free consulation on how we can help your child find their voice.

Behavior Reduction

Whether your child is engaging in severe challenging behaviors, or has emerging behaviors that you want to address before they worsen, we can help. We will conduct an assessment to determine what function your child's behavior is serving and then empower them with more appropriate ways of meeting that same need, as well as the ability to tolerate things not going their way. We will also collaborate with your child's team to identify and treat any medical or psychological components of their behavior.

Contact us to schedule a free consulation on how we can help your child turn the corner.

If your school, organization, or agency is looking for assistance with behavior management or inclusivity, we would love to discuss how we can help. With over 15 years of experience working with children with challenging behaviors or developmental delays, we have the expertise to help guide your team forward.

Consultations

If your school or organization is looking for a partner to assist with behavior management or strategies for being more inclusive of neurodiverse individuals, we'd love to talk more about the services we can offer. We have more than 10 years of experience in behavior planning and intervention, including with severe crisis behaviors. We will consult with your team on a plan that is not only effective but that also meets the unique needs of your organization, employees, and consumers.

Contact us to find out more.

Speaking Engagements

We're passionate about building a more inclusive community for neurodiverse individuals in Northwest Arkansas. We have been honored to speak in the past at a variety of local organizations, including the University of Arkansas, the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter, Northwest Arkansas Community College, the Autism & Developmental Disabilities Symposium, and more. If you're looking for a dynamic, passionate, and informed speaker on the topics of neurodiversity, inclusivity, or behavior management, contact us with your inquiry.