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See the whole system
A skill never develops in isolation. Attention, language, imitation, and interaction can strengthen—or limit, what becomes possible next.
MEET CRISTINA BUSU, MS, BCBA
The work started with questions I couldn’t stop asking
Cristina Busu, MS, BCBA, is an educator, clinician, author, and business leader with more than 20 years of experience working with children and individuals across the autism spectrum. Her work has been shaped by a simple but persistent question: what helps a learned skill become useful beyond the teaching moment?
Her professional path brought together psychology, early childhood development, and Applied Behavior Analysis. In 2007, Cristina became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and founded Help, Hope, Solutions, which has grown into a multidisciplinary clinic supporting children with developmental needs.
Working directly with learners over the years gave Cristina a close view of how skills develop together rather than in isolation. The manuscript reflects that thinking by connecting foundational attention with conceptualization, reciprocation, and initiation as parts of a broader learning system.
That experience became the foundation for Functional Skills Across the Spectrum, a curriculum created to help professionals, educators, and caregivers understand not only what to teach, but how skills build on one another and move toward more functional use.
Explore the Curriculum →WHAT THE WORK TAUGHT HER
The Framework Began By Noticing What Others Miss
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Respect the sequence
Before asking for a new response, look at what it depends on. Strong teaching starts with the right foundation, not simply the next target.
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Plan for less help
Support should make learning possible without becoming permanent. The goal is to build toward responses that can hold when prompts begin to fade.