About Us

Our mission is to provide high-quality interventions to children with autism and other disabilities while educating the community, regardless of the family’s ability to pay for services.

Serving children since 2007

Is a Non-Profit Organization

Using Research-Based Methodologies

Located in Colorado Springs, PlayDate Behavioral Interventions was established to help children with special needs. For communication, emotional disorders, and learning disabilities, we create personalized intervention plans to help your child. You can be rest assured your child will be treated with the utmost respect and care.

In order to meet this critical need we are continually applying­ for grants and devel­op­ing fund­ing mech­a­nisms that allow us to offer schol­ar­ships for fam­i­lies who have exhausted all other fund­ing sources. Please see our Make a Difference page for infor­ma­tion about how you can help us meet this lofty goal.

Our History

When Christina Nulk was in elementary school there was a student who was deaf in her class. She wanted to be able to communicate with him so she learned sign language. While in middle school Christina became a peer facilitator, volunteering with children with disabilities. In 1996 Christina started in the ABA field, as an implementer. After high school Christina completed her undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders and Emotional Disturbances/Learning Disabilities. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Early Childhood Special Education specializing in Autism.

After graduation Christina started her career as an Elementary Special Needs Educator. While teaching Christina achieved her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2007. She was the fourth BCBA in Colorado Springs. Christina dis­cov­ered a huge gap between the ser­vices avail­able and the num­ber of chil­dren need­ing ser­vices. All of the BCBAs in the Col­orado Springs area had long wait­ing lists and many fam­i­lies lacked the fund­ing to pay for the basic ser­vices their chil­dren needed, let alone the kind of high-quality, research-based pro­grams BCBAs typ­i­cally offer.

Initially, Christina addressed this gap by providing a social skills groups for children on Saturdays, while continuing teaching on weekdays. These social skills groups provided opportunities for par­tic­i­pants to engage in guided inter­ac­tion under the super­vi­sion of a trained therapist who helped the chil­dren nego­ti­ate rela­tion­ships and build social con­nec­tions. The group for­mat allowed fam­i­lies on wait­ing lists to access some ser­vices at a rel­a­tively low tuition rate.

The first group was offered in April 2007 with 4 stu­dents enrolled. In Decem­ber 2007, PlayDate Inc. became a non­profit orga­ni­za­tion ded­i­cated to pro­vid­ing ser­vices to fam­i­lies at an afford­able cost.

In 2008, Christina con­sol­i­dated her pri­vate prac­tice with PlayDate Inc. creating Play­Date Behavioral Interventions, and now offers a full range of ser­vices for chil­dren with autism and other disabilities.

Since then, the pro­gram has seen enor­mous growth. PlayDate Behavioral Interventions currently provides high-quality ABA therapy Colorado Springs to about 60 children. Christina consciously limits the caseload to maximize the quality of service provided to each individual child.

Our Team

Every member of our staff is carefully trained in services that include Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior techniques. We have qualified ABA therapists, RBTs, BCaBAs, and BCBAs who work with individuals with a variety of diagnoses, including Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and other developmental delays/disabilities.

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Christina Nulk

Executive Director

Christina obtained a Masters of Science in Special Education at Florida State University and received her BCBA certification in 2007. She then received her Colorado State License to teach as a Special Education Specialist in 2015.

"One of my favorite things about ABA is the way it can create positive change in the lives of the people that we serve. It starts with teaching our kids the skills they need to interact with their environment in functional ways - whether it’s requesting their favorite toy or learning how to make their favorite snack. It is also amazing to watch as parents learn along with their children, whether it’s a parent working on household chores with their child or a family sitting down together for dinner or game night.

At PlayDate, we believe there is no such thing as “small” progress - fostering independence on any skill is an accomplishment worth celebrating, and it is my pleasure to celebrate that kind of growth with our clients, their families, and our therapists every day."

Shay Farley-Jennings Senior Therapist

Shay Farley-Jennings

Senior Therapist

Obtained her RBT certification in 2015.

“I love ABA because it is a flexible science that allows us to help all children reach their full potential, while preserving their personalities and the qualities that make them unique individuals.”

Neal Shipley - Consultant

Neal Shipley

BCBA

Obtained a Masters of Science in ABA at Chicago school and received his BCBA certification in 2017.

“I love ABA because it's a science that is incredibly flexible, can be used to problem solve a wide variety of behaviors and skills, and often provides results that immensely benefit our kids and their families.”

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Lindsay Foss

Doctor Physical Therapy

Obtained her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Regis University, Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, in 2017.

“I love physical therapy because I can help children achieve their mobility goals through the use of play. I believe each child has the right to a unique treatment plan and therapy should be adapted to the individual’s needs. Physical therapy can be very effective in providing children with the skills they need to enjoy movement and access their environment. Physical therapy can help with a wide range of diagnoses and therefore encourages creativity in how treatment is provided.”

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Rebecca Force

BCBA

Master's Degree in Special Education from UCCS in 2019. Obtained an additional certificate for Inclusive Behavior Support in 2021, and BCBA certified in 2022.
 
"I love using ABA because it's a proven science that benefits clients and families using evidence-based practices."

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