The diagnosis of autism isn’t the end.
It’s a beginning.
ABA/VB
To master daily life
and to enable a life in our society,
people with autism and their families need help.
There is that help.
My name is Silke Johnson
I help children with autism recognize the beautiful melody of life.
Emotional Freedom Techniques
To handle stress I experience great success with EFT.
In heart connections the melody of life sounds for us, combined with joy in the sun, hearty laughter and lively cheerfulness.
The diagnosis of autism isn’t the end.
It’s a beginning.
ABA/VB
To master daily life
and to enable a life in our society,
people with autism and their families need help.
There is that help.
My name is Silke Johnson
I help children with autism recognize the beautiful melody of life.
Emotional Freedom Techniques
I am making great efforts with EFT in dealing with stress.
In heart connections the melody of life sounds for us, combined with joy in the sun, hearty laughter and lively cheerfulness.
My name is Silke Johnson and I’m glad you found your way to my site! Here, you will find insights into my work, with studies on the topic of autism and maybe, you will also find the courage to break new ground with me.
The philosophy of my Melody Learning Center
Individuals with autism and their families face major challenges every day. Helping them find stability in everyday life and giving them techniques to overcome crisis situations and to build heart connections means a lot to me. With my Melody Learning Center, I offer a unique learning environment for children with special needs.
I go to the families who need my help and create an individually tailored learning program that I adapt to your child’s ever-changing needs.
My name is Silke Johnson and I’m glad you found your way to my site! Here, you will find insights into my work, with studies on the topic of autism and maybe, you will also find the courage to break new ground with me.
The philosophy of my Melody Learning Center
Individuals with autism and their families face major challenges every day. Helping them find stability in everyday life and giving them techniques to overcome crisis situations and to build heart connections means a lot to me. With my Melody Learning Center, I offer a unique learning environment for children with special needs.
I go to the families who need my help and create an individually tailored learning program that I adapt to your child’s ever-changing needs.
Recent article
A Perspective on Today’s ABA from Dr. Greg Hanley
Studies on autism
Information on Autism and current Research
ABA/VB info-video
Videos about autism and teaching with ABA/VB
Interesting Links
Interesting links about ABA/VB
Testimonials
Psychologist of an institution
ABA/VB, which is based on the principles of behavioral therapy, is an evidence-based, effective and differentiated method of treating autistic disorders. Due to the specialization on the circle of persons and the extensive empiricism, the procedure offers manifold and custom-fit intervention possibilities, which a non-specialized form of behavior therapy (I personally am licensed as a behavior therapist) cannot offer. In my work with autistic people, I often encounter children and adolescents for whom, in my estimation (and knowing other methods such as TEACCH) ABA/VB offers the best and sometimes the only support options. In the interest of people with autism and their caregivers, for whom ABA/VB offers possibilities of intervention and help that other methods cannot offer, I consider this method indispensable. As I am not familiar with comparable offers and providers in the region and beyond, I wish the Melody Learning Center continued success in its work.
Curative educator
As an active curative educator, I came across the ABA/VB method through working with people affected by autism.
Since I attended ABA/VB training courses with two parents who have children affected by autism, we came into contact with the Melody Learning Center. This resulted in an extremely fruitful cooperation.
Unfortunately, at the moment ABA/VB is not recognized by the responsible authorities, so that parents and schools are forced to look for financing possibilities. This is usually difficult and time-consuming, and a lot of time and energy is lost.
With Silke Johnson I got to know a very committed and competent person. The help that she can bring to people of the autistic spectrum and their environment, the parents and I did not know in this way until then!
Parents
Our 10 year old daughter is autistic. The diagnosis was made at the age of 4. At that time she could not speak a word and hid in the bed and behind the shower curtain. She also had many fears of animals and other things.
We did six years of intensive ABA/VB. For this purpose we conducted several days of supervision and workshops with Silke Johnson.
Our daughter made a lot of progress thanks to ABA. Today she is much more accessible, is less anxious, and can speak a few words. Now, she can say when she is hungry or thirsty, when she doesn’t want something or when something hurts her.
We would like to thank Silke Johnson for her efforts and for sharing her knowledge. She has helped make our daughter’s life easier.
Mother
Our 8‑year-old son showed a number of problematic behavior, which brought us to our limits and made various domestic procedures almost unbearable. After contacting the Melody Learning Center, we got an appointment for an initial consultation after only a short time. Then, we were accompanied by a competent consultant for three days. The success was immediate. The development of the token system and the use of reinforcement to increase motivation led to an immediate change in behavior. Especially the problematic eating behavior could be improved considerably. Through the following continuous ABA/VB consultations afterwards, further learning goals could be achieved, such as significantly more variation in the language and significantly more appropriate behavior both in the home environment and at school.
Educator and co-therapist
Thanks to the excellent support from the Melody Learning Center, we can now report enormous progress both with the autistic boy and with our entire team of therapists. The greatest success is certainly that this child has developed so positively in such a multi-layered way that it can now attend regular school. This was preceded by three extremely gratifying kindergarten years, for which the professional guidance of the Melody Learning Center set the course very early on.
Parents
In the last two years our daughter has made enormous progress. She used to try to make herself felt by scratching and spitting. This was her way of communicating as she had no other language skills. Today she actively seeks eye contact with other children or adults. She can consciously address other people and reacts to their words and gestures. Many learned activities, which are a matter of course for other children, give our daughter the feeling to be a part of the whole. Sometimes it is the little things that make you feel special. Our daughter is now able to go to the toilet and she knows that she has to wash her hands after going to the toilet. She can do this almost completely self-sufficiently.
During the sessions she learned to sit quietly at a table. This step was the prerequisite for her to be able to learn by herself. And this is really “special”, because we realize how much fun and joy our daughter has in learning and how happy she is when she is challenged!
In the name of our daughter we regret very much that the costs are not covered by the office. The improvement in quality of life gained through ABA/VB would not have been possible without the professional support of the Melody Learning Center.
Parents
Our son (7 years) has infantile autism. We found ABA/VB while searching for adequate forms of intervention. The autism center near us announced a waiting period of at least one year. We did not want to accept this lost time for our son and therefore looked around for alternatives. We then contacted the Melody Learning Center. The ABA/VB approach was exactly what we had researched in advance. At that time, our son was relatively immersed in his autistic world and spoke very little to hardly any of our “normal” language. Corresponding video recordings document this starting point. Through several on-site visits, telephone calls and video analyses, individual programs were developed that were adapted to the current state of development. The progress achieved in the last 15 months, which was also documented on video, is excellent and includes, among other things, the independent active use of language in the sense of expressing wishes, (vocal) search for interaction with fellow human beings as well as an active understanding of a very large number of objects and knowledge.
We as parents have benefitted a lot from the consultations.
Parents
Our son was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 4.
The doctor who diagnosed us made us aware of the Melody Learning Center. From the very first day we felt well cared for and above all well looked after: our son’s willingness and ability to communicate has developed miraculously positively and above all he was looking forward to every encounter with Silke.
Supervision of the Melody Learning Center was also very important to us — it enabled us to receive positive feedback on the measures applied from an experienced and competent source. In the end, we are not professionals and always have to rely a little on our gut feeling! But for us as parents, in addition to the good feeling, the sustainable positive development of our son is also decisive, e.g. through the learning programs for social competence and the use of the token system in the classroom, we were able to see direct success. For us, the great care and support of Silke in the cooperation with teachers and other therapists is also a great advantage — not to forget the learning of our co-therapists. All people involved have always given us a positive feedback regarding the cooperation with Silke — the results are also clearly recognizable for us. Our personal experience with the responsible authorities and their personnel in the relevant positions had prompted us to get legal assistance in order to get the costs covered for ABA/VB. We wish Silke continued success — we were able to see the clear success of ABA/VB with the Melody Learning Center for our son.
Testimonials
Parents
In the last two years our daughter has made enormous progress. She used to try to make herself felt by scratching and spitting. This was her way of communicating as she had no other language skills. Today she actively seeks eye contact with other children or adults. She can consciously address other people and reacts to their words and gestures. Many learned activities, which are a matter of course for other children, give our daughter the feeling to be a part of the whole. Sometimes it is the little things that make you feel special. Our daughter is now able to go to the toilet and she knows that she has to wash her hands after going to the toilet. She can do this almost completely self-sufficiently.
During the sessions she learned to sit quietly at a table. This step was the prerequisite for her to be able to learn by herself. And this is really “special”, because we realize how much fun and joy our daughter has in learning and how happy she is when she is challenged!
In the name of our daughter we regret very much that the costs are not covered by the office. The improvement in quality of life gained through ABA/VB would not have been possible without the professional support of the Melody Learning Center.
Psychologist of an institution
ABA/VB, which is based on the principles of behavioral therapy, is an evidence-based, effective and differentiated method of treating autistic disorders. Due to the specialization on the circle of persons and the extensive empiricism, the procedure offers manifold and custom-fit intervention possibilities, which a non-specialized form of behavior therapy (I personally am licensed as a behavior therapist) cannot offer. In my work with autistic people, I often encounter children and adolescents for whom, in my estimation (and knowing other methods such as TEACCH) ABA/VB offers the best and sometimes the only support options. In the interest of people with autism and their caregivers, for whom ABA/VB offers possibilities of intervention and help that other methods cannot offer, I consider this method indispensable. As I am not familiar with comparable offers and providers in the region and beyond, I wish the Melody Learning Center continued success in its work.
Curative educator
As an active curative educator, I came across the ABA/VB method through working with people affected by autism.
Since I attended ABA/VB training courses with two parents who have children affected by autism, we came into contact with the Melody Learning Center. This resulted in an extremely fruitful cooperation.
Unfortunately, at the moment ABA/VB is not recognized by the responsible authorities, so that parents and schools are forced to look for financing possibilities. This is usually difficult and time-consuming, and a lot of time and energy is lost.
With Silke Johnson I got to know a very committed and competent person. The help that she can bring to people of the autistic spectrum and their environment, the parents and I did not know in this way until then!
Parents
Our 10 year old daughter is autistic. The diagnosis was made at the age of 4. At that time she could not speak a word and hid in the bed and behind the shower curtain. She also had many fears of animals and other things.
We did six years of intensive ABA/VB. For this purpose we conducted several days of supervision and workshops with Silke Johnson.
Our daughter made a lot of progress thanks to ABA. Today she is much more accessible, is less anxious, and can speak a few words. Now, she can say when she is hungry or thirsty, when she doesn’t want something or when something hurts her.
We would like to thank Silke Johnson for her efforts and for sharing her knowledge. She has helped make our daughter’s life easier.
Mother
Our 8‑year-old son showed a number of problematic behavior, which brought us to our limits and made various domestic procedures almost unbearable. After contacting the Melody Learning Center, we got an appointment for an initial consultation after only a short time. Then, we were accompanied by a competent consultant for three days. The success was immediate. The development of the token system and the use of reinforcement to increase motivation led to an immediate change in behavior. Especially the problematic eating behavior could be improved considerably. Through the following continuous ABA/VB consultations afterwards, further learning goals could be achieved, such as significantly more variation in the language and significantly more appropriate behavior both in the home environment and at school.
Educator and co-therapist
Thanks to the excellent support from the Melody Learning Center, we can now report enormous progress both with the autistic boy and with our entire team of therapists. The greatest success is certainly that this child has developed so positively in such a multi-layered way that it can now attend regular school. This was preceded by three extremely gratifying kindergarten years, for which the professional guidance of the Melody Learning Center set the course very early on.
Parents
Our son (7 years) has infantile autism. We found ABA/VB while searching for adequate forms of intervention. The autism center near us announced a waiting period of at least one year. We did not want to accept this lost time for our son and therefore looked around for alternatives. We then contacted the Melody Learning Center. The ABA/VB approach was exactly what we had researched in advance. At that time, our son was relatively immersed in his autistic world and spoke very little to hardly any of our “normal” language. Corresponding video recordings document this starting point. Through several on-site visits, telephone calls and video analyses, individual programs were developed that were adapted to the current state of development. The progress achieved in the last 15 months, which was also documented on video, is excellent and includes, among other things, the independent active use of language in the sense of expressing wishes, (vocal) search for interaction with fellow human beings as well as an active understanding of a very large number of objects and knowledge.
We as parents have benefitted a lot from the consultations.
Parents
Our son was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 4.
The doctor who diagnosed us made us aware of the Melody Learning Center. From the very first day we felt well cared for and above all well looked after: our son’s willingness and ability to communicate has developed miraculously positively and above all he was looking forward to every encounter with Silke.
Supervision of the Melody Learning Center was also very important to us — it enabled us to receive positive feedback on the measures applied from an experienced and competent source. In the end, we are not professionals and always have to rely a little on our gut feeling! But for us as parents, in addition to the good feeling, the sustainable positive development of our son is also decisive, e.g. through the learning programs for social competence and the use of the token system in the classroom, we were able to see direct success. For us, the great care and support of Silke in the cooperation with teachers and other therapists is also a great advantage — not to forget the learning of our co-therapists. All people involved have always given us a positive feedback regarding the cooperation with Silke — the results are also clearly recognizable for us. Our personal experience with the responsible authorities and their personnel in the relevant positions had prompted us to get legal assistance in order to get the costs covered for ABA/VB. We wish Silke continued success — we were able to see the clear success of ABA/VB with the Melody Learning Center for our son.