Adults who have been awarded the Waiver for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (Adult Waiver) are eligible for services through Visions, LLC. Adults who have not applied to receive the Adult Waiver must contact their DHS-designated Pre-Admission Screening/Individual Service and Support Advocacy (PAS/ISSA) agencies for information – see Illinois DHS PAS Agencies website. In some cases, Visions may provide support for children or young adults who have the Children’s Support Waiver or Children’s Residential Waiver; this will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Visions typically provides behavior services to individuals participating in residential and Community Day Services programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). For more information on eligibility for funding and application procedures see the state’s website: Illinois Developmental Disability Services.

If you have already applied for the Adult Waiver or received it, please contact your Pre-Admission Screening (PAS) agent or Individual Service Coordinator (ISC) to request a referral for behavior services.

A brief description of behavior services funded through the Adult Waiver is provided on the state’s Behavior Services page: Illinois DHS Behavior Services.

“Behavior Services include behavior intervention and treatment, behavior counseling (individual and group) and psychotherapy (individual and group). 
These services must be:

Based on behavior assessments documenting the ongoing need for the service.

Included in the individualized service plan.

Must receive written approval from the Service Planning Team.”

At Visions, we offer behavior intervention and treatment, primarily for individuals. We can also conduct group sessions when such sessions might be beneficial, such as when teaching daily living skills, community safety, or coping skills. Our services meet the three criteria listed above. We do not offer traditional counseling or psychotherapy but may include techniques based in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Information on ACT) or mindfulness (What Is Mindfulness?).

Visions focuses on improving clients’ quality of life. This includes both deficits and excesses in behavior. Services are designed to support and facilitate ongoing adaptive behavior, including teaching new skills and increasing the client’s level of independence. We address behavioral excesses, typically by supporting more adaptive behavior to counteract the need to engage in challenging or problematic behavior.

Visions strives to collaborate across settings with all relevant parties that support or work with our clients, including family members, caregivers, teachers, residential staff members, day training service providers, and personal support workers. Consultation may take place using in-person and/or telehealth visits, observations, interviews, and direct work with clients and family/staff.

We can help with a wide range of concerns, including behaviors involving physical and verbal aggression, property destruction, elopement, medication refusal, sexually inappropriate behavior such as unwanted touching or unsafe behavior online, stealing, impulsivity, and more. We always keep in mind the severity and risk of the individual’s behavior and will collaborate with providers from other disciplines or recommend referrals as needed.

We provide behavior consultation for individuals who experience intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, including autism. Often our clients have more than one diagnosis, which may include mental illness. We work to address behavioral needs associated with the client’s diagnosis, and incorporate the individual’s team of providers as necessary, such as mental health providers and medical doctors, to ensure appropriate and effective support.

We will work together to come up with a plan that includes making changes to the individual’s environment based on a behavioral assessment, data, and input from family and providers.

We will work directly with the client to teach coping strategies and other alternative behavior to take the place of problematic behavior that occurs during emotional dysregulation. This may include using sensory items to de-escalate and/or provide comfort.

Yes, Visions of Illinois provides ABA services, primarily for adults. ABA is an ethical, evidence-based approach to improving behavior that is based on the science of Behavior Analysis. The techniques used by Visions are person-centered, individualized, and monitored on a continuous basis to ensure that behavior change is effective and efficient. Continuous data collection allows changes to be made quickly if behavior improvement is not happening fast enough. Visions relies on the use of positive, proactive behavior intervention for the reduction of challenging behavior and includes the client in the planning process to the greatest extent possible.

We work with our clients and those who interact with them to assess their needs, concerns, and challenging behavior. We focus on building trust and rapport with clients and take time to truly understand their needs, as well as the concerns of their staff and families. We take a person-centered approach in our process and always prioritize improving quality of life when trying to improve behavior. By identifying realistic strategies to help reduce triggers and increase alternative, adaptive behavior, we facilitate improved communication and trust between the client and their staff/family for long-term benefit.