AT-Large
Indiana Behavior Association
April Higgason is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with 14 years of experience serving individuals with various developmental and intellectual disabilities and traumatic brain injury through TBI Waiver direct support, CIH and FS Waiver behavior management, and commercial and Medicaid funded intensive Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
April earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Olivet Nazarene University in 2004 and a Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis with an Emphasis in Autism from Ball State University in 2015. April earned her BCBA certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in 2018 and Organizational Behavior Management certification from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2019.
April has had the pleasure of working with individuals and families across many settings, including homes, schools, a large variety of community environments, and intensive ABA clinics. April has experience in the clinical director role for a start-up ABA company, where she completed everything from writing and setting clinical policies, completing credentialing/contracting with insurances, setting company ABA rates, grassroots marketing, completion of new client behavioral assessments and treatment plan writing, and medical necessity review hearings. Prior to earning her Master of Arts degree, April gained experience in executive grocery retail and pharmacy benefit management roles. Currently, she applies her business operations and leadership skills in co-owning and directing New Beginnings Behavior Intervention Services.
April has a passion for providing children, adolescents, and adults and their families with behavioral and skill acquisition supports where the supports are most needed. She also loves encouraging individuals to embrace their greatest strengths, discover new aspects of themselves, and learn new skills to reduce life challenges. April believes in the biopsychosocial model of health and delivers her services holistically. She believes strongly that behavior management services should be person-centered, collaborative, fun (if possible), fluid, and tailored to each individual and family. April is passionate about individuals’ needs to be valued, to feel secure and safe, and to be active participants in their behavior management services, to the best of their current abilities.
On a personal note, April loves to spend her free time with her husband and two children. She greatly enjoys outdoor and physical activities, such as hiking, playing softball, bike riding, weightlifting, yardwork, going to beaches and parks, and teaching her children how to play sports. April also loves coloring and creating pencil portraits and mosaic art, cooking, watching movies, and having game nights with friends. April is an avid, lifelong learner and loves to read about neuropsychology, trauma-informed care, executive functioning skills, and various types of medical news. April identifies as neurodivergent and enjoys learning new things about herself and how her personal history has molded and shaped her life pursuits.