Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cassandra Yarborough. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cassandra , appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I’ve been in ABA now for 11 years so you can say that is definitely a passion. I came into it working in a traditional clinic, learning traditional methods and practices; as many of us do. But behind the scenes I am also an autism mom. My youngest child was diagnosed on the spectrum not long after I entered the field. Although I already had different views and opinions, looking at it from the perspective of an autism mom completely changed my outlook on how things were done. It changed my mindset from “what does the book say should be next” or “what does insurance say should happen,” to “what would actually help my son in this situation?” And that is when things began to change for me and I begin to take notice of all of the parents that were thrilled to hear about all of the amazing things their kids could accomplish in the clinic, but were still struggling at home in their everyday routine. That’s where the idea came from to tackle the issues from a meaningful and real-life level. My mission became applying the science and research in such a way to a child’s home and natural environments so that they benefited from them immediately in ways that would help with their overall quality of life. I don’t want to see pretty graphs or have isolated great behavior for me in a clinic setting. I want their parents to feel accomplished because they were able to make it through a grocery store trip alone, or that they were all able to sit down to dinner as a family. I wanted my families to start feeling like they weren’t chasing behind the standard of “normal” but creating their own standard for what works best for them.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I actually stumbled into the field at a job fair at my college. I’d never considered working with children and actually did not know what ABA even was. At the time I was already a mother of two and wasn’t even sure I would be able to handle it. After meeting my first client and falling in love with seeing his growth, I knew that this was something that I would never want to leave. I’ve always been very strong-willed and opinionated and I think that is what led all of my supervisors to push me into becoming a BCBA. I was super excited to accomplish something that is known by all in the field to be difficult. But even more so, I was excited to now be in a position to better help all of my families. Of course, all those strong opinions and independence began to cause conflicting emotions with me about how things were traditionally run and I began to consider branching out and away from the model I started in. It took a health scare to make me think “if I only had one year left, would I be content with the impact I’m having now?” The answer was no; and thus a business was born. It started from my savings with just me and my personal clients and grew by word of mouth and reputation. I’m proud to be known as the no-nonsense BCBA that tells it how it is and keeps it real, but cares about all of her kids as if they are her own. I meet my parents where they are and don’t force them to adjust to how society tells them they should be. I work to provide them with the best staff with the most up-to-date training and resources. I put my all into what I do to make sure that my clients and their families come first, with my staff being a close second.

Any advice for managing a team?

This has been one of the hardest things for me as I’m learning as I go. My motto has always been “I know what I hated from work so I won’t do it to you.” And that’s what I lead with. In addition to that I have more than an open door policy. I encourage my staff to be completely transparent with me when it comes to what they need professionally and privately. I’m here to support them in whatever ways I can. Mental health days are a must and time off is encouraged. I also like to make sure we do lots of activities together to continue to build our relationships. And not just team building chosen by me…. Let’s go to brunch and celebrate birthdays, go try out the new cupcake spots, celebrate upcoming nuptials. At the end of the day they aren’t just employees, they’re people with families, hopes, and dreams. I try to support and nourish them in each of those avenues.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

First starting I knew nothing of insurance companies, pay rates, pay schedules, employees, etc. It was literally a learn as I go experience with lots of trial and error. Lots of claims were rejected until I learned the appropriate ways to get them in. Audits were atrocious before I figured out how to work through them. But in the end, even the insurance reviewers have commended me on my quality and work ethic.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.perfectfitaba.com
• Facebook: A Perfect Fit ABA, LLC