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Learn more about ABG, where personalized solutions and research-backed expertise help you nurture a more harmonious family environment

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The ABG story

Advantage Behavioral Group, LLC, stands as a testament to the vision of three remarkable mothers who not only share the joys and challenges of parenthood but also hold expertise as Board Certified Behavior Analysts and parent education specialists. Drawing from their extensive clinical background, they have meticulously crafted an innovative DVD series, The Secrets of Modern ParentingTM. This series is designed to be a beacon of support and guidance for parents navigating the intricate journey of raising children, offering invaluable insights and reassurance. Specifically tailored for parents facing behavioral challenges with their children, the series reflects the team's decades-long experience in training and coaching families through a spectrum of mild to severe behavioral issues, achieving remarkable success.

While the founders of ABG would undoubtedly wish to personally extend their expertise to every household, they acknowledge the logistical impossibility of such a feat. Recognizing parenting as both an extraordinary gift and an ongoing challenge, these three mothers conceived The Secrets of Modern ParentingTM to transform the visions of families into tangible realities. The revealed secrets within this DVD series are not only distinctive but also remarkably user-friendly, catering to the diverse needs of all parents.

Furthermore, ABG introduces the Foundations Family Wellness program, an invaluable resource for customers. This program not only grants access to live interactions with parenting coaches but also allows participants to complete the program alongside their parenting partners – all from the convenience of their homes. In essence, ABG goes beyond the confines of traditional parenting education, embracing a holistic approach that empowers families to cultivate the harmonious and happy homes they
envision.

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Our vision and mission

We envision a world where every family thrives in harmony, and where children grow up in environments filled with love, understanding, and support.

Our Vision

To offer practical and applicable parent training and behavior analysis services delivered by highly trained and credentialed professionals

Our Mission

To empower parents to effectively discipline their children in a successful and loving way while strengthening the entire family unit

Our core values

These values are the driving force behind the positive transformations we help facilitate.

Empathy and understanding

We believe in the power of empathy to foster deep connections within families. Understanding the unique challenges of each family allows us to tailor our support, ensuring meaningful and effective solutions.

Integrity and trust

Integrity forms the bedrock of our interactions. We operate with transparency, honesty, and trustworthiness, ensuring that families can rely on us for unwavering support and guidance.

Innovation and adaptability

We embrace innovation, constantly exploring new strategies and approaches to enhance family dynamics. Our adaptability enables us to evolve alongside the changing needs of families, ensuring our methods remain effective and relevant.

Collaboration and partnership

We value collaboration, both within our team and with our partners. By fostering strong partnerships, we amplify our impact, creating a network of support that enhances our ability to empower families on a global scale.

Compassion and respect

Compassion drives our interactions, allowing us to approach every family's situation with care and understanding. We respect the diversity of families and cultures, appreciating the unique strengths each one brings.

Our experienced team

ABG comprises qualified professionals who believe that strong families create better communities. Meet the people behind ABG, your trusted partner on the path to family wellness.

img Karin Torsiello President

Karin Torsiello, MS, BCBA

Chief Executive Officer & Board Certified Behavior Analyst

ABG’s CEO, Karin, is a board-certified behavior analyst. She has worked as a behavior analyst for three consulting firms and served on the faculty of the University of South Florida for seven years as the Senior Behavior Analyst with the Behavior Analysis Services Program, in partnership with the Department of Children and Families.

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Paula Antonelli, MS, BCBA

Chief Operating Officer & Board Certified Behavior Analyst

Paula obtained her Masters of Science Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology. Since 2001, she has served the community as a behavior analyst, including service to the University of South Florida for five years. In this capacity, Paula’s role included providing services to families experiencing behavior issues with their children or foster children who were living with them.
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Angelique Walsh

Angelique Walsh, MA, BCBA

Chief Curriculum Development Officer & Board Certified Behavior Analyst

What seems like many moons ago today, I was lucky enough to find my passion at Florida State University. It was probably around 1995 or so when I happened upon a piece of paper hanging in the psychology building labeled Autism Special Topics. Little did I know that this class would forever change my life. In this class I was offered the opportunity to work with a child with Autism in the school system.

After the semester was over I kept returning to the school to work with this young boy because being part of his progress brought me great joy. It was in those moments of joy that I realized that I must pursue behavior analysis to help other children out in the world to reach their potential. For several years after graduating with my B.S. degree in psychology, I worked in homes running discrete trial therapy for children with Autism.

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img Haley Stevens

Haley Stevens, BA

Program Director of Foundations Family Wellness

Haley was born & raised in Nashville, Tennessee. After attending Auburn University and teaching at Pinewood American International School in Thessaloniki, Greece, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2015. Haley taught in elementary schools in Florida until 2020, when she joined the parent education team at Behavior Basics, Inc. After witnessing the transformative merits of the SMP program, Haley approached the company’s leaders with the intention to expand the program and offer our services to parents all over the country. Haley is invigorated by her work to support families and is thrilled to hold the position of Program Director of Foundations Family Wellness.
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Karen Shipper, MA

Parent Coach

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img Michael Hart 1

Michael Hart, BA

Parent Coach

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Our transformative services

The services we offer are meticulously crafted to address specific aspects of family dynamics.

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The Secrets of Modern Parenting (SMP) Video Series

Step into the world of effective parenting with our exclusive "Secrets of Modern Parenting" (SMP) video series. Covering a wide array of topics, from communication skills to behavioral management, the SMP video series equips parents with the tools they need to foster positive relationships, nurture emotional intelligence, and instill essential life skills in their children. With SMP, families embark on a transformative journey toward understanding, connection, and lasting harmony.

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Foundations Family Wellness Program

Our Foundations Family Wellness program is a holistic approach to family well-being, tailored to meet the unique needs of every family. Through personalized guidance and expert support, we assist families in building strong foundations for enduring harmony. This program delves deep into various facets of family life, including communication dynamics, conflict resolution, and emotional well-being. By addressing these essential components, families learn to navigate challenges together, fostering resilience and unity.

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Begin your journey toward a loving, structured, and peaceful home environment today

Get the support and resources you need to improve family dynamics and children’s well-being.

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© 2024 Advantage Behavioral Group. All Rights Reserved
img Karin Torsiello President

Karin Torsiello, MS, BCBA

Chief Operating Officer & Board Certified Behavior Analyst

ABG’s CEO, Karin, is a board-certified behavior analyst. She has worked as a behavior analyst for three consulting firms and served on the faculty of the University of South Florida for seven years as the Senior Behavior Analyst with the Behavior Analysis Services Program, in partnership with the Department of Children and Families.

In this capacity, Karin supervised a team of behavior analysts who provided direct services to families who were experiencing behavior issues with their children. These cases often involved children with mental health issues or developmental disabilities. Karin was also responsible for curriculum development and revision, research activities specific to parent training, and training caregivers in the community. Karin has also developed behavior management programs for local group homes and mental health facilities.

Karin’s current roles include developing curricula development for parent training, conducting behavior management training for parents, for teenage mothers, and for prisoners awaiting re-entry into the community, and providing in-home consultation services for caregivers and children. She also consults with multidisciplinary committees to review cases of children who are displaying maladaptive behaviors, as well as trains graduate students pursuing certification as a behavior analyst.
Paula bio pic

Paula Leonardo, MS, BCBA

Program director & board-certified behavior analyst

Paula obtained her Masters of Science Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology. Since 2001, she has served the community as a behavior analyst, including service to the University of South Florida for five years. In this capacity, Paula’s role included providing services to families experiencing behavior issues with their children or foster children who were living with them.

Paula has extensive experience working with children who suffer with mental health problems and/or developmental issues. She also has half a decade of experience providing parenting training for various types of caregivers in the community. She has had great success in changing the lives of those she has worked with in regard to decreasing unwanted behaviors and replacing the behaviors with appropriate ones.

On top of these, Paula has a great deal of experience in training residential facility staff and monitoring implementation of behavior programs for regional group homes and mental health facilities.

She currently holds the additional duties of assisting in developing curriculum for parent training and providing behavior management community training for people from diverse backgrounds. Paula is also involved with training college students working toward their master’s degree in applied behavior analysis.

Angelique Walsh

Angelique Walsh, MA, BCBA

Chief Curriculum Development Officer & Board Certified Behavior Analyst

What seems like many moons ago today, I was lucky enough to find my passion at Florida State University. It was probably around 1995 or so when I happened upon a piece of paper hanging in the psychology building labeled Autism Special Topics. Little did I know that this class would forever change my life. In this class I was offered the opportunity to work with a child with Autism in the school system.

After the semester was over I kept returning to the school to work with this young boy because being part of his progress brought me great joy. It was in those moments of joy that I realized that I must pursue behavior analysis to help other children out in the world to reach their potential. For several years after graduating with my B.S. degree in psychology, I worked in homes running discrete trial therapy for children with Autism.

In 2001 I began working in the child welfare area with children who had been abused and neglected on a granted project through the University of South Florida and University of Florida. The effects of behavior analysis on this population was profound as the team I worked with assisted in keeping children in their placements longer, increased the number of behaviorally trained families, decreased the frequency and duration of runaways, assisted with reunifications, transition families through behavior changes during an adoption process, and helping step children down to less restrictive placements.

Shortly after joining the granted project, I went on to purse and complete my master’s degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from University of Nevada at Reno in 2003. Sadly in 2008 the granted project through the University ended and Karin Torsiello, Paula Leonardo and I quickly came together to figure out how we could continue to offer services to this underserved population without the grant. Along with securing contracts in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast regions with a team of caring and dedicated people we were determined to also service people who lived outside those regions. To allow others outside the area at least learn about using behavioral principals for creating a happier home and change the upsetting behavior we designed a DVD series named the Secrets of Modern Parenting.

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Karen Shipper, MA

Parent Coach

Karen obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication/Journalism from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. In 2008, she obtained her Florida Teacher’s Certificate for grades K-6. That same year, she took over as the Physical Education teacher at Bridges Montessori in Stuart, Florida.

As a teacher, she was provided great professional development opportunities, including seminars and workshops in Peaceful Parenting and Conscious Discipline. This training was instrumental in preparing Karen for her job as Behavior Coach with ABG.

Karen lives in Palm City, Florida with her husband and 11-year-old daughter. She enjoys coaching her daughter’s softball teams and attending sporting events with her family. Karen grew up in a military family and had the wonderful opportunity to travel all over the world, and hopes to bring her daughter to other countries as she gets older.

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Michael Hart, BA

Parent Coach

Michael has a strong desire to work with families in need and serve the community in which he was raised. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Florida Atlantic University.

As a longtime resident of the Treasure Coast, Michael has had many opportunities to meet and work with people from all backgrounds and cultures. ABG gives Michael the ability to work hands on with families and closely track their progress.

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