Meet our team

Joseph Hickman 

BCBA, MEd (ABA), BPsych(Hons)(1st Class)

My passion for psychology began with a desire to help people improve their mental health and a deep interest in the human brain. I earned a Bachelor of Psychology (First Class Honours) from Western Sydney University (2020) and a Master of Applied Behaviour Analysis from Monash University (2024), graduating with a High Distinction average (GPA 4.0).

I started working in ABA in 2019 as a Junior Behavioural Therapist, became a Registered Behaviour Technician in 2020, and joined Woodbury Autism Education and Research as a Level 2 Therapist in 2021. I was promoted to Assistant Clinical Supervisor in 2022, where I completed my 2,000 hours of clinical placement while working full-time and studying my Master’s degree. In February 2025, I passed the BCBA exam and became a Clinical Supervisor.

I am passionate about modern, ethical, and compassionate ABA and am currently advancing my certification in Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) (Hanley et al., 2014). I am also focused on improving sleep in children with sleep-interfering behaviors, as research shows poor sleep negatively impacts the prefrontal cortex and emotional regulation (Lo et al., 2016).

I founded Modern ABA with two goals:

1. To provide high-quality, affordable ABA therapy at NDIS rates, ensuring families receive effective, ethical support.

2. To train schools in reinforcement-based strategies, reducing reliance on punitive discipline like detentions and suspensions, which research shows are ineffective (Sprague & Horner, 2012).

At Modern ABA, we are dedicated to helping children thrive through evidence-based, compassionate therapy and education.

 

Our core values

Our Values and Commitment to Families

At Modern ABA, our service is driven by our core values of transparency, ethical/client centred care, meaningful client outcomes and evidence based support.

Transparency

We believe families deserve full clarity and honesty of what we do for every step of their child’s journey. We openly communicate our methods, ensuring you understand how and why we apply evidence-based strategies. We provide complete transparency in billing by openly stating that we charge only the NDIS rates for all services (currently these are $194 per hour for direct and indirect services and $120 per hour for travel).

Ethical & Client-Centred Care

Every child is unique. We tailor our approach to respect their individuality, using compassionate, strengths-based strategies that prioritise dignity, autonomy, and well-being. We work collaboratively with parents and stakeholders, to focus our efforts of doing what is best for the child. We understand that funding issues can arise and are open to providing payment options so that children aren’t left without therapy due to funding cuts. 

Meaningful Client Outcomes

Success isn’t just about progress on paper—it’s about real-life skills. We focus on helping children gain independence, confidence, and abilities that improve their everyday life. We aim for all of our programs to be generalisable to the real-world setting. Part of this involves training loosely across multiple settings and people. We also value stakeholder and parent training to improve consistency of training across settings. 

Evidence-Based Support

Our methods are rooted in the science of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), ensuring every strategy we use is research-backed, effective, and designed for long-term success.

Every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential in a supportive, respectful, and effective learning environment. Modern ABA is here to make that happen.

Our approach

  • At Modern ABA, we embrace Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)—a compassionate, strengths-based approach that applies the science of ABA in a way that prioritizes dignity, autonomy, and socially meaningful goals.
  • PBS is not separate from ABA but rather a modern evolution of it, ensuring that every strategy we use is ethical, person-centred, and empowering. 
  • We believe in complete transparency, which is why we openly acknowledge that while we call our approach PBS, it is deeply rooted in the principles of ABA.
  • The science remains the same, but our focus is on practical, respectful, and individualized interventions that support each child in a way that aligns with their unique strengths and needs.

Empowering Children with Evidence-Based Behavioural Support

At Modern ABA, we are dedicated to providing ethical, transparent, and effective behavioural support that empowers children to build meaningful skills and independence. Our  approach is rooted in the science of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), using evidence- based strategies to provide positive behavioural support services and support individuals with autism and developmental differences in a compassionate and individualized way.

Location

Servicing Western Sydney & South West Sydney

Connect

Contact Hours

Monday: 8am - 5pm

Tues- Fri: CLOSED

Saturday: 8am - 5pm

Sunday: 8am - 5pm