Maitri Shah is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) from Houston TX. She graduated with a Master’s in Special Education (M.Ed.) from University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley and further pursued a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).  She is a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in Texas, and also an International Behavior Analyst (IBA).

Her journey into the world of neurodevelopmental disabilities began over a decade ago with the birth of her son. During the first year when her son’s developmental milestones were not being met, Maitri talked to the pediatric doctors and they dismissed her saying she has “too much time on her hands, and don’t worry”. She and her husband took matters into their own hands, and sought out specialists who could give a definitive answer. The answer was a diagnosis of autism. With that, they were able to begin intervention services early. As their son entered school, IEPs and ARD meetings became a regular occurrence. During one such meeting, a panel of school professionals (Principal, Special Education Teachers, Psychologists, Compliance Officers) sat face-to-face with Maitri and her husband, and point blank said that they “are the professionals in the field, and you are simply parents without knowledge of how things work”.  That did not sit right with Maitri, and so she began her journey to “learn how things work”.

Maitri completed her Master’s in Special Education, and certification in Applied Behavior Analysis. Through her professional experience in the field, and first-hand knowledge, she was no longer a “simple parent without knowledge of how things work”.  For the betterment of her son, Maitri became very involved with Fort Bend ISD school district.  She was on the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC) as a campus representative at each school that her son attended, Elementary, Middle, and High.  SEPAC is a volunteer organization like the Parent-Teacher Association, but for Special Education only.  Over the years, as her son went through the school system, she brought many great ideas to the school and district as a whole.  Because of that in 2023, she was voted in as the President of the SEPAC Organization for the entire Fort Bend ISD.

In 2024, she was invited to a special invitation-only committee in FBISD to work on improvement measures.

She continues to study, research, and attend numerous seminars on ABA.  This intense experience motivated her to help make a difference in the lives of other children and their families, and give them the tools they need to enjoy the best that life has to offer. This journey has helped her learn the values of patience, perseverance, and love.  She enjoys providing ongoing training to therapists, staff, and most importantly the parents to incorporate a two-fold approach to increase skills and reduce challenging behaviors. She enjoys training parents on the ABA principles so that the treatment can continue well beyond the clinic, into the home and community. In her clinic, she has directly made many success stories. These include cases from parents about their experiences in the community that were difficult or not at all possible before. The most rewarding part of her job is seeing the clients’ progress in a fun, loving, nurturing, and a truly collaborative environment.

As a BCBA, and the Clinical Director of Aloha Behavior, Maitri believes in early intervention and focuses her practice on individuals between the age ranges of 1-10 years. The younger a child is able to receive ABA, the more the child will learn.

Her passion of ABA extends to helping others pass the BACB certification exam! She supervises and trains future BACB certificants (BCBA, BCaBA, and RBT). Her hobbies include listening to music, watching movies, and spending quality time with her family!