Growing Minds Behavioral Health

Growing Minds Behavioral Health Growing Minds Behavioral Health delivers high-quality ABA therapy for children with autism and developmental needs.

Our team works closely with families to build skills that support learning, communication, and independence.

Eye contact is often seen as a sign of attention, respect, or engagement, but that’s not true for everyone. Many autisti...
06/02/2026

Eye contact is often seen as a sign of attention, respect, or engagement, but that’s not true for everyone. Many autistic individuals and others may listen, learn, and connect better when they aren’t focused on making eye contact.

When we prioritize eye contact over comfort, communication, and understanding, we may miss what someone is actually trying to tell us.

There are many ways to show you’re listening. Looking away doesn’t always mean someone isn’t paying attention. Normalize meeting people where they are.

05/29/2026

Representation in care is not a bonus, it is a meaningful part of how support is experienced. When children see providers who reflect their identity and lived experience, it can strengthen trust, increase engagement, and support more natural connection within the therapeutic process.

This work is about creating environments where children feel understood without needing to translate who they are. Care should be responsive, culturally aware, and grounded in respect for each child’s identity, communication style, and needs.

My goal has always been to build a practice where support feels human, connected, and intentional, and where families can feel confident that their child is truly seen in the process.

Representation matters because kids deserve to see providers who understand them, families deserve culturally responsive...
05/28/2026

Representation matters because kids deserve to see providers who understand them, families deserve culturally responsive care, and our field deserves more diversity at every level. These numbers aren’t meant to divide, they highlight the gap and why intentional inclusion matters so deeply.

Only 5.8% of BCBAs are Black. That matters. Because representation builds trust, connection, advocacy, and access. We need more seats at the table, more voices being heard, and more opportunities being created.

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05/27/2026

Two things can be true at once: Some autistic people have been deeply harmed by ABA and some families finally felt seen, supported, and less alone because of it. Both stories deserve space.

There are kids thriving because they finally received compassionate, neurodivergent-affirming support that helped them communicate, build confidence, and feel understood and families with positive ABA experiences shouldn’t feel afraid to say that out loud.

This space is for the families who found hope here too. Accountability and healing matter, but so does recognizing the providers trying to do better every single day.

Autism doesn’t have a look because autistic people are beautifully diverse.Some autistic people are verbal, some use AAC...
05/26/2026

Autism doesn’t have a look because autistic people are beautifully diverse.

Some autistic people are verbal, some use AAC. Some flap, rock, pace, hum, or seek movement. Some need high support, some need low support, and many move between both depending on the day. None of these experiences make someone “more” or “less” autistic. Autistic people exist in every race, culture, personality, gender, and age group.

There is no one right way to communicate, play, regulate, connect, or experience the world.

At Growing Minds, we believe children deserve spaces where they feel safe being themselves. So much of the world asks ch...
05/22/2026

At Growing Minds, we believe children deserve spaces where they feel safe being themselves. So much of the world asks children to suppress, mask, rush, or fit into expectations that may not align with how their nervous system naturally works. We want our clinic to feel different from that.

We normalize movement, sensory needs, communication differences, emotional regulation, and individuality because children are not robots meant to perform perfectly. They are human beings with unique strengths, challenges, personalities, and ways of experiencing the world. The goal is never to change who a child is.

Children are human too. They get overwhelmed. They have off days. They feel embarrassed, frustrated, anxious, overstimul...
05/21/2026

Children are human too. They get overwhelmed. They have off days. They feel embarrassed, frustrated, anxious, overstimulated, tired, excited, and misunderstood just like adults do.

The difference is that they are still learning how to process and communicate those feelings. Sometimes we expect children to regulate emotions that even adults struggle to manage. Sometimes we expect instant compliance without considering sensory overload, exhaustion, hunger, anxiety, or simply having a hard day. Behind every reaction is a nervous system, a feeling, a need, or an experience we may not immediately see. Children deserve patience, respect, support, and emotional safety too.

Address

9701 Apollo Drive Ste 100
Upper Marlboro, MD
20743

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm

Telephone

+13014564787

Website

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