About

CARD® was founded on the principle that early intervention using applied behavior analysis (ABA) can yield significant and meaningful clinical results for individuals with autism.

Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, Ph.D., BCBA-D, founded CARD in 1990, opening the first CARD center in Encino, California. Built on evidence-based ABA principles, the CARD Model was developed by Dr. Granpeesheh to optimize individual outcomes using a comprehensive treatment curriculum for individuals diagnosed with autism (Granpeesheh et al., 2014). CARD has trained thousands of technicians and behavior analysts on this methodology and has treated tens of thousands of individuals, successfully increasing their independence and quality of life. Under Dr. Granpeesheh’s leadership, CARD has expanded its reach nationwide. Today, CARD has locations throughout the United States and continues its mission to help families from all backgrounds obtain top-quality, evidence-based treatment that results in meaningful progress for each individual.

CARD is committed to remaining at the forefront of research, investigating ways to make ABA more effective, efficient, and accessible. In a 2017 study, CARD researchers investigated the impact of treatment setting on clinical outcomes, finding center-based services to yield significantly higher rates of learning compared to home-based services (Dixon et al., 2017). To ensure CARD families benefited from this opportunity to acquire skills more quickly, CARD pioneered the center-based ABA model that is commonly used today by most ABA providers. CARD researchers also conducted one of the first studies to examine the effectiveness of direct ABA services provided via telehealth. Results revealed telehealth services to be effective for individuals across different age ranges and skill levels, indicating that telehealth is a viable treatment option to increase access to ABA (Nohelty et al., 2021).

CARD is equally committed to developing and leveraging technology to advance treatment quality and increase accessibility to ABA by professionals and families around the world. In service of this commitment, CARD developed Skills®, a breakthrough web-based tool based on more than 30 years of research on human development, ABA, and autism. Skills® provides comprehensive skill assessment, individualized treatment plan design, and progress tracking with automated graphs and charts. With lessons designed to teach 8,000+ age-appropriate skills, Skills® is the most in-depth system of its kind in the world.

CARD also endeavors to expand accessibly of ABA through policy and legislation. Dr. Granpeesheh has advocated for individuals with autism throughout her career and was at the forefront of policy and legislative developments that mandated coverage for ABA. CARD continues to advance policies, legislation, and research that increase access to ABA that reflects best practices.

CARD clinicians strive for success with each patient and are committed to helping every patient fulfill their potential, gain independence, find their own unique voice, and achieve happiness in life.