Opening the Door to Brighter Futures

Our mission is simple: to provide high-quality care that empowers every child diagnosed with autism. Through tailored ABA therapy backed by science-based methodologies, Little Leaves helps build vital social, communication, and adaptive skills—creating a solid foundation that fosters real-world success.

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Clinical Leadership

Steve DeVore, President of Little Leaves, has served in leadership roles spanning different sectors of healthcare and within organizations of various scale and structure. Steve has proven adept at helping organizations scale effectively and progressively, while in the process building and/or rebuilding functions, systems, and teams. Steve joins the company after serving as President and CEO of Pediatric Therapy Holdings Inc. (PTHI), whose Education Services business line provides specialized occupational, physical, and speech therapy to students in 115 school districts throughout Pennsylvania, and whose outpatient business line (formerly Theraplay, Inc.) operates facilities that provide pediatric occupational, physical, and speech therapies, among other services, to children throughout their 32 locations across four states. Steve was previously a board member for Hippo Veterinary Group in Arizona, where he served as an active advisor, coach, and mentor to the executive team to aid in their strategic growth and objectives. His previous experience includes serving as CEO for Kolmac Outpatient Recovery Centers, an addiction recovery business, as COO for Lightwave Dental, as Group Vice President for National Veterinary Associates, and as a Vice President with DaVita Healthcare Partners, Inc. Steve received his undergraduate business degree from Washington College and his M.B.A. from the New York Institute of Technology.
Dr. Chong is a licensed psychologist and doctoral level Board Certified Behavior Analyst with 28 years of experience working with autistic individuals across the lifespan. She has developed and supervised programs across hospital, university, home, school, and center-based settings. From 2017 to 2023, Ivy served as Senior Vice President of Children’s Services at the May Institute. Prior to that, she held the role of Director of Autism Services and Training at the Scott Center for Autism Treatment and was an Associate Professor in the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts at the Florida Institute of Technology from 2008 to 2017. Ivy holds academic appointments at Brock University and University of Massachusetts Lowell, maintains leadership roles on several advisory boards, and has presented at numerous conferences nationally and globally.
Barbara Davis, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Territory Vice President, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has been working with individuals with intellectual disabilities for nearly 15 years. Barbara was previously the Little Leaves Regional Director for the DC Metro region before she and her family moved to the South Florida area in 2017. Since moving, she has served as the Clinical Director for two community-based residential programs serving children and adults with intellectual disabilities and severe problem behavior. Previously, she worked on the Neurobehavioral Unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute in various roles. Dr. Davis holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida, an M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology – both from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis, International, Association for Professional Behavior Analysts, and the Florida Association of Behavior for Behavior Analysis. Her research has been presented at regional and national conferences and workshops and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Lisa Guerrero, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Regional Director (South Florida) is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has been working with children with developmental disabilities for nearly 10 years. Dr. Guerrero specializes in the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders. Prior to working at Little Leaves, Dr. Guerrero worked at the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Intensive Program at Children’s Specialized Hospital and Rutgers University. Dr. Guerrero earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology at the University of Florida and completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis, International, and the Florida Association of Behavior Analysis. Her research has been presented at regional and national conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Maureen Rushton, M.A., BCBA, LBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Behavior Analyst who specializes in working with children with Autism. She has worked in the area of early intervention for the past 15 years; providing services in school, home, and clinic settings. Prior to working at Little Leaves, she spent over 5 years as an ABA Program Supervisor at The Shafer Center, a non-public school for children with Autism located in Owings Mills, Maryland. For 2 years, Maureen served as a board member of the Baltimore Autism Society. Maureen holds a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, completed her Graduate Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis at The Pennsylvania State University, and earned her M.A. in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. Maureen’s professional interests include the study and application of Organizational Behavioral Management (OBM) to increase staff performance in the workplace.
Reigna Pierce, MS, BCBA, LBA is an experienced professional in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), with over a decade of expertise and 5 years as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Her work emphasizes the integration of evidence-based practices to create meaningful behavior change. Reigna is particularly passionate about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Organizational Behavior Management (OBM), areas where she has demonstrated her expertise by presenting Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for professionals in the field. Her commitment to advancing ABA through these specialized approaches reflects her dedication to improving outcomes for individuals and organizations alike.
Rich Miller has been a Regional Director with Little Leaves since July 2024 currently serving the Baltimore region centers. He received a Masters of Science in School Psychology and ABA from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017. Since earning his Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) certification in 2019, Rich has cultivated a comprehensive understanding of applied behavior analysis through diverse roles spanning school/community consultation, assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, and supporting clinical operations teams.Driven by a commitment to the core value of growth, Rich is passionate about supporting center directors in their journey towards becoming clinical and operational leaders for their teams. Rich is dedicated to ensuring families receive the high-quality care they deserve from all team members at Little Leaves.

The Core5 values guide how we make decisions, treat each other, and work together to shape brighter paths for children, their families, and our communities. These values are action-oriented—reflecting how our team members live them out in a way that creates impact for life.

Transparent

Communicate clearly, openly, and directly.

We share information with each other, students and their families, and our community.
We build trust by cultivating a positive work environment.
We streamline processes together, so we achieve better.

Decisive

Demonstrate a bias for action.

We have a mindset that prioritizes swift and proactive decision-making.
We encourage calculated risk-taking, even amid uncertainty or incomplete information.
We foster agility, innovation, and results-driven behavior.

Humble

Acknowledge and learn from mistakes.

We believe a humble workplace cultivates collaboration, empathy, and openness.
We believe that humility encourages teamwork and a positive work environment.
We believe that humility, teamwork, and positivity drive organizational success.

Accountable

Embrace personal ownership.

We take ownership of our actions, decisions, and outcomes.
We are reliable and responsible for delivering on our commitments.
We hold ourselves and each other accountable for results.

Inclusive

Promote respect, representation, and belonging.

We welcome, appreciate, and support each other.
We build authentic teams who do our best work, value diverse opinions, and embrace other’s differences.
We care and make a difference to each other and the communities we serve.

FAQs

Little Leaves is in network with many insurance plans and fully supports families in accessing and using their insurance benefits. Not all insurance companies, however, cover ABA for the treatment of autism. Please visit our Insurance page to learn about our plans and how to research whether your plan covers autism. You can also feel free to reach out to us, and we can help you research your benefits.
Little Leaves only provides ABA therapy but we regularly collaborate with a child’s speech and OT providers to ensure a coordinated team-approach to treatment. At our centers, we are usually able to accommodate outside therapy providers who would like to come in to see clients during the day.
Contact us to learn more about our services and if they are right for your family.
While ABA can be used to treat skill deficits or challenging behavior regardless of diagnosis, most insurance companies require a diagnosis of autism in order to reimburse for our services. If you would like to explore the option of paying for services without insurance coverage, please contact us to discuss further. (Note: In the state of Florida, some plans also cover ABA for children with Down’s Syndrome.)
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is based on the science of how people learn and can be used to change behaviors. Behavior is anything that we can see a person do – talking, playing, getting dressed, cooking dinner, etc. Behavior change can include learning a new behavior, strengthening a behavior we already do, or decreasing a behavior we want to do less often. One way that ABA can teach or strengthen behaviors is through reinforcement. When someone’s actions are reinforced (something good happens), they are more likely to do the same thing again. For example, if your exercise routine is paying off, you are more likely to keep at it! ABA uses a systematic approach to applying the principles of learning to help people change their behaviors. It can be used both for increasing socially desirable behaviors (e.g., finishing chores, talking, or playing with a peer), and also for decreasing behaviors that are less desirable (e.g., smoking, tantrums, aggression). There are many strategies that fall under the ABA umbrella, such as Natural Environment Training, Incidental Teaching, Discrete Trial Instruction, Verbal Behavior, and Pivotal Response Training. At Little Leaves, we will individualize the strategies and approach we use for each child based on his/her needs.
Professionals who have degrees and training in psychology, education, and related fields can become trained and credentialed in ABA as well. The Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) offers a range of credentials for clinicians in the field of ABA. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are masters- and doctoral-level clinicians with extensive training in ABA methodology and procedures who are certified to deliver and oversee ABA treatments. At Little Leaves, your child will have a BCBA who develops and manages his/her care. Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) have been certified by the BACB to deliver the treatment that a BCBA has designed. An RBT credential is earned through a combination of coursework, on-the-job experience, and passing an exam. All Little Leaves Behavior Technicians have earned their RBT credential or are working toward doing it. All Little Leaves Behavior Technicians are also college educated.
Little Leaves primarily offers center-based services for young children with autism which are run in a preschool-like setting. At the center, each client works one-on-one with a trained behavior technician on individualized goals with a focus on social communication, social interactions, and school readiness skills. Our program runs Monday through Friday from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. During the day, children have the opportunity to participate in individual therapy time, small group activities with peers, and activities of daily living. While many clients are at our centers for the full day, an individualized schedule is developed for each child based on his/her therapeutic needs. Little Leaves also works with clients in their homes, daycares, and preschools, most frequently when clients are ready to transition from a Little Leaves center into community setting.
Little Leaves serves children with Autism. With our focus on early intervention, Little Leaves works primarily with children from the time they are diagnosed until they enter kindergarten.
Research in the field of ABA has shown that an intensive treatment of 30-40 hours per week for at least two years yields the best long-term outcomes for young children diagnosed with autism. When engaging in ABA therapy, children are busy learning new skills and practicing them until they are happening automatically. Both of those things take a lot of time and practice! Remember the last time you tried to learn a new challenging skill that wasn’t in your repertoire yet? The more the practice, the sooner the skill is mastered! For children with delays, the goal is to use as much of their time practicing and learning new skills as possible to help them approach developmental parity. While 30-40 hours per week of ABA may seem like a lot of time, remember that typically developing children are playing and learning from the world around them every waking moment of the day. An intensive ABA program will help a child with developmental delays do the same.
If your child is experiencing developmental delays, his/her physician may have referred you to ABA. In particular, if your child was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), then ABA was likely prescribed. ABA is considered the gold-standard treatment for autism, and there are decades of published research demonstrating its efficacy. It has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Academies of Science, and the Surgeon General as the best practice for individuals with autism. You can learn more at https://asatonline.org/. Interventions based on ABA can be applied in many areas to help your child, such as (but not limited to) increasing language and communication, improving social and play skills, increasing adaptive skills such as toileting, dressing, and feeding, and reducing unwanted behaviors such as tantrums, aggression, or other dangerous behaviors. Research has shown that early, intensive treatment with ABA can have a very significant impact on the course of a child’s development for those diagnosed with ASD or other developmental delays.

Contact Us

Serving Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Florida.

Little Leaves Behavioral Services provides high-quality ABA therapy to children ages 1-6 with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in a preschool-like, center-based setting. Find a center below for center-specific contact information. You can also contact us by submitting the general contact form.

Opening the Door to Brighter Futures