I’m Silke Johnson

Owner and CEO of the Melody Learning Center

I help children with autism learn new skills and discover the beau­tiful melody of life. I love my profes­sion. And I love to observe the posi­tive deve­lo­p­ment that children and their fami­lies make through my assistance.

I am happy to support you with my exper­tise, my ability to iden­tify the func­tions of beha­vior and to find prac­tical alter­na­tives, and with my struc­tured but loving manner.

As an EFT Inter­na­tional accre­dited EFT Master Trainer and Certi­fied Clinical Trauma Profes­sional (CCTP) I support indi­vi­dual clients with my unique and indi­vi­dual HEMRY ® Coaching to get in touch with their younger selves, to dissolve trau­ma­ti­cally processed events and to be (again) in heart connec­tion with them­selves and others through a balance of body, mind and spirit.

Addi­tio­nally, I am offe­ring EFT Inter­na­tional accre­dited EFT Work­shops and Mento­ring for (re-) certifications.

Please feel free to contact me. I am looking forward to your interest.

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.

My professional career

My profes­sional career began in 1994 as a nurse in a beha­vi­oral and beha­vi­oral therapy clinic.

And just four years later, I started my appren­ti­ce­ship in ABA (Applied Beha­vior Analysis) in Los Angeles. After a few years as ABA consul­tant in diffe­rent insti­tutes, I had the wonderful oppor­tu­nity to attend the work­shops of Dr. Vincent Carbone, BCBA‑D. This was an expe­ri­ence that streng­thened me in my atti­tude, approach and metho­do­logy to this day. And I knew after that time: Yes, that’s my mission. I would like to work with children with autism.

In 2004, I came back to Germany and devoted myself to a three-month inten­sive trai­ning period as an ABA consul­tant. And right after that, I worked as an ABA/VB consul­tant for the Knospe-ABA insti­tute under the direc­tion and super­vi­sion of Robert Schramm (MA, BCBA).

And at some point I had the courage to go into my own busi­ness with the Melody Lear­ning Center. Across Germany and in Switz­er­land, I look after fami­lies with children with autism. And I never get tired of conti­nuing to educate myself and deal more deeply with this exci­ting topic area.

If you would like to learn more about my profes­sional career and my many further trai­ning courses, you find more infor­ma­tion in my CV.

How to work with me

Usually, the first step is an initial consul­ta­tion with the parents at their home. There, I can get a good picture of the current situa­tion. This initial consul­ta­tion usually lasts three days. After getting to know the family and their child for the first time, in colla­bo­ra­tion with the family, I create an indi­vi­dual beha­vi­oral and lear­ning program for the child.

My main focus lays on estab­li­shing and streng­thening the connec­tion between parents (care­gi­vers) and child, as well as the connec­tion between child, siblings and peers. Through moti­va­tion and rein­force­ment, I create a way to deal with ever­yday life’s chal­lenges with more ease and joy.

Depen­ding on the deve­lo­p­ment of language, the lear­ning program concen­trates at the begin­ning on the deve­lo­p­ment of language and commu­ni­ca­tion. I explain and demons­trate the prin­ci­ples of ABA/VB to the parents and all other people involved (e.g. educa­tors, teachers, grand­par­ents, older siblings, etc.). There is plenty of time for ever­yone to prac­tice. This is very important and there is enough time available.

Usually, in monthly follow-up sessions, which usually last one to two days, an assess­ment of the basic skills is made. On the basis of this assess­ment I create a detailed, indi­vi­dual lear­ning program. If neces­sary, I also design an indi­vi­dual beha­vior plan. This can be very helpful as an orien­ta­tion aid.

You are also very welcome to contact me between coun­seling sessions — I even recom­mend that you contact me weekly by phone or e‑mail. In the conver­sa­tion, possibly supported by videos and online consul­ta­tion, I can answer ques­tions that arise at the moment and discuss possible difficulties.

I go to the fami­lies who need my help and create an indi­vi­du­ally tail­ored lear­ning program that I adapt to the child’s ever-chan­ging needs.

My goal is to teach all people who are in close contact with the child. I will show you how the child’s envi­ron­ment can be changed by the use of ABA/VB’s scien­ti­fi­cally proven prin­ci­ples so that the child is able to make decis­ions about their beha­vior and lear­ning skills.

The key to my approach is, firstly, to ignite the child’s moti­va­tion. And secondly, it’s about streng­thening the rela­ti­onship with the child. The use of the prin­ci­ples of rein­force­ment and moti­va­tion, as well as buil­ding new beha­vior, increases the likeli­hood that desired beha­vior will occur more often in the future and reduce inap­pro­priate behavior.

I strive for accep­tance of diver­sity and crea­tive lear­ning varia­tions for children. And, of course, with every unit, a very decent dose of fun is also included. Because posi­tive rela­ti­onships with rewar­ding expe­ri­ences are important for every child.

The goal of my Melody Lear­ning Center is to ensure that the safe and healthy deve­lo­p­ment of the children can take place in a plea­sant envi­ron­ment. Our main prio­rity is the deve­lo­p­ment of self-esteem, self-assu­rance and an enthu­siasm for learning.

The Melody Lear­ning Center was founded by Nikola Trajanov in Zug, Switz­er­land, in January 2008.