Chargé d’Affaires, Margaret Nardi visits REACH Behavior and Development Center

The U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, Margaret Nardi, visited REACH Behavior and Development Center on April 1. She was accompanied by Karin Elhert, Public Affairs Officer and Mary McGiness from the American Chamber of Commerce.

They were received by Mona Tadayyon, Executive Director, and Sinéad Ní Fhloinn, Clinical Director.

During the Chargé’s visit, Mrs. Nardi was taken for a tour of the center, discussed the different services being provided, as well as the importance of offering quality ABA services in Bahrain for children with challenging behavior and communication and language delays.

“We are very grateful to Mrs. Nardi for taking the time to come see the center and welcome her interest in learning more about what is being done for the special needs community in Bahrain,” said owner and Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Mona Tadayyon.

“Our team at REACH is dedicated and passionate about improving the lives of children with autism and other developments delays, through ABA, Occupational and Speech therapy. We specialize in providing comprehensive programs to enhance the lives of the children that we work with, and having Mrs. Nardi visit us and enquire about our services, our accreditation and the work that we do was both motivational and reinforcing for the team.” Tadayyon added.

“There is a pervasive shortage of BCBA therapists to provide necessary ABA services in Bahrain. Compounding this difficult situation is the fact that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is on the rise in Bahrain,” Tadayyon said. “However, we are doing what we can to spread awareness and empower and educate parents on how to help their children at home and how to best seek appropriate service providers.”

REACH offers in-home, center, school, and community-based Behavioral, Speech and Occupational Therapy. The comprehensive programs strive to foster children’s independence in areas including communication, social skills, behavior, cognitive functioning and life skills. REACH has been recognized by The Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE). The Accreditation acknowledges the organization as a behavioral service provider dedicated to continuous improvement in applied behavior analysis (ABA). The BHCOE Accreditation recognizes behavioral health providers that excel in the areas of clinical quality, staff qualifications, and promote systems that enhance these areas.