Meet Rebecca Urbano Powell of Seven Dimensions Behavioral Health

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Urbano Powell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Rebecca. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was raised by a police officer who worked 2-3 jobs to support his family and a woman who took jobs at her children’s school so she could be close and know when her daughter got detention before it even happened. But hey, I got free cookies at lunch so it’s a fair trade. From a young age, the concept of “giving back” and “making the world a better place” was instilled in me by these people.

What I’ve been told from a very young age is that I was put on this planet for a reason. My mom was convinced I was here to change the world. I was taught that it was my responsibility and my purpose to “leave the world better than I found it.” So when I took that part-time ABA job working with the cutest red-headed little boy with autism, I was not yet aware that I had found my purpose. That realization came after working with this little boy for a few months when I fell in love with ABA. It then became my goal to help families touched by autism through working directly with the child and parents. I wanted to change the world, one child at a time. I decided to pursue this goal by becoming a BCBA.

I have been working in the ABA field for over 18 years and I love it more than I can even say. My goal of changing the world one child at a time has grown into wanting to effect change on a larger scale through education and training of staff working with individuals with autism and parents of children with autism. Though I still do love working directly with my clients! My purpose is to make a positive impact, leaving the world just a little better than I found it, by extending my passion and knowledge to other providers and to caregivers who are directly impacting individuals with autism on a daily basis to improve their quality of life.

Why do I love ABA?

1. Because… science. 2. No two days are ever alike! Every individual with autism is completely different and absolutely amazing in their own way. And in what other job do I get to use humor to diffuse a situation, talk about science endlessly to staff and families, and see the development of a skill that I helped to teach the individual or parent? Playing and potty humor are daily activities in this job which also happen to be talents I was born with. Also, fart apps. They are gold when it comes to motivating a child. You’ll thank me later. I also typically win at “guess what happened to me at work” at friendly gatherings.

There are so many families in underserved areas around the world that don’t have the same access that we do here to the services and professionals that they need for their children to have the same success that our children have experienced.

In February, I joined the Global Autism Projects initiative for promoting sustainable teaching programs and advocacy for individuals with autism around the world. I recently returned from travelling with a team to work in an ABA center in Prague, collaborating with the amazing staff and parents in ABA, for two weeks in October.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There are frequent challenges working in the healthcare industry. This ranges from difficulty in getting approval from insurance for much-needed therapy for a child, to getting claims denied for various technical reasons, being required to submit a large amount of documentation to justify billing for services, to being denied certain services due to insurance restrictions which negatively impact the child’s progress. We are extremely fortunate to have a great support team of lawyers and billing professionals to help us navigate these confusing and choppy waters and families that are understanding and persistent in their pursuit of receiving appropriate supports for their child.

Please tell us about Seven Dimensions Behavioral Health.
Seven Dimensions Behavioral Health was formed in October 2018 with a desire to run a company that BCBAs and Behavior Technicians loved working for while providing the highest quality services to our clients. We empower parents of individuals with both developmental and behavioral challenges with training and tailored intervention plans for their family members. With a foundation in Applied Behavior Analysis, we utilize empirical models of Early Childhood Intervention that focus on the social and developmental skills of the younger clients. For our older clients, we utilize the best models of ABA provided to us in the research to obtain highly desirable outcomes. Therapists work in the home of the client and in the community to maximize client success and to precisely tailor programs to the natural environment. Our goal is to grow our ability to serve clients well while maintaining an ideal workspace and cultural identity. We serve all ages and diagnoses.

What were you like growing up?
My mom likes to remind me that I have always been independent, determined, strong willed, and questioning. I always had a “cause” even when very young. I have always stood up for the underdog and less fortunate. She reminded me that I would give away my special treat from the grocery store or my leftovers from dinner to a homeless person nearby. She says I was never afraid to speak out even if it was not a popular opinion. I was always ready to “right a wrong” and had a tender heart. My mom recently shared a story with me about my elementary school years. One year I was so determined to win a school reading contest that I read over 200 books that year to earn a red ribbon for “most books read”. My mom also tells me regularly that she always knew I was capable of making the universe a better place. Both of my parents have taught me to help others, stand up for what is right, and “do good”. I try to follow their example every day.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.7dbh.com
• Phone: 720 295 3790
• Email: info@7dbh.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/7dimensionsbh/

Image Credit:
all taken by teammates on our SkillCorps Trip to Prague

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