Mr Zhang Liyuan

Liyuan began his career as a Behavioral Therapist.  His training in ABA was directly passed down from the founder of ABA, Psychologist Ivar Lovaas. Eventually, he incorporated aspects of cognitive theory to his work with higher functioning children, which led him to start practicing CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Always seeking to improve his methods, he is also trained in DIR Floortime and uses some of its theories and methodologies in his intervention approach. He is passionate and constantly explores new ways to provide the best learning opportunities for every child. The testimonials left by his satisfied clients attest to the effectiveness of his work—he is often described as experienced, skillful, precise, passionate and most importantly, sincerely concerned about every single child.

Started training under ABA founder

Liyuan began his career as a Behavioral Therapist. His training in ABA was directly passed down from the founder of ABA, Psychologist Ivar Lovaas. Eventually, he incorporated aspects of cognitive theory to his work with higher functioning children, which led him to start practicing CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).Always seeking to improve his methods, he is also trained in DIR Floortime and uses some of its theories and methodologies in his intervention approach. He is passionate and constantly explores new ways to provide the best learning opportunities for every child. The testimonials left by his satisfied clients attest to the effectiveness of his work—he is often described as experienced, skillful, precise, passionate and most importantly, sincerely concerned about every single child.

Providing for the children

To date, Liyuan has accumulated over 20,000 hours of work with children with autism; moreover, his work spans the entire spectrum—from low functioning children to high functioning children. On top of that, he has also worked with children from a wide range of countries such as India, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, America, United Kingdom and Finland.

As an experienced practitioner, Liyuan has trained numerous therapists, case managers, parents and even teachers in schools such as Mindchamps. These are responsibilities he gladly takes on as he considers this an integral part of his vision—to equip everyone with the skills necessary to effectively support children with autism.

Liyuan’s goal is to provide a means for children to transition along the developmental spectrum to that of a normal developing child. Hence, the word “STEP” in AutismSTEP. It denotes that the programs are structured in manageable steps, providing a non-stressful and progressive method of intervention.