Thoughts about t
Isn't it true that the brain is an amazing organ? Some people function with only a small piece of their brain..that were in accidents or injuries.  I have had many clients with alot of seizure, lobotomies and brain damage yet they learn to do almost anything... so I think even if the research specifically has not been done the outcome of teaching people shows that the brain can develope and grow in most all areas of learning and performance.

Parents often spend endless days and nights wondering what the next step is to send the child to school or wait and do further ABA. In many cases the question is also whether to hold off on sending him to the next grade level and do both ABA and the previous grade again.  There are many factors to consider in this decision. 

One factor is the reaction of others in society to their decision. Many times parents fear of the negative reactions of their friends, relative, peers or school administration effects their decision to hold the child back one year.  Most people would agree that the most important factor should be that the child progress normally and live a normal life. The temporary reactions of others will not be remembered in most cases once the child is making wonderful grades and living a normal childhood with no behavior problems. 

A second factor is the actual work that the child does based on the decision that is made.  In some cases people will say that he will not be challenged as much if he stays in the same grade.  When in fact usually reviewing the same material with basic academics can build a strong foundation for future academics. 

A third factor to consider is the social relationships of the child. If the child is very young usually the social factors that are disrupted by keeping the child back are only temporary and are forgotten in the next year or so. The friends he would have had in kindergarten are just replaced by different friends when he takes the class again. 

Finally, maturity, height and biological issues sometimes discourage parents from holding a child back. When in fact a child that is taller or smarter than the others will usually receive more accolades and awards and positive feedback then the child that is the shortest and not as knowledgeable in the classroom. The positive feedback can lead to an improved self-concept and higher expectation for success that usually lead to a  what is referred to as "positive momentum" and further success for the child.  

In general, each of these factors should be weighted and if there is more doubt then it is the current authors opinion that keeping the child in the current classroom with ABA assistance will lead to a more productive life.  The past problems will be forgotten once the child is receiving positive feedback and success. The child will more probability that he will be mainstreamed and graduate in the regular classroom, go to college possibly and live a much more fulfilled life in the future.

Parent often are frustrated trying to figure out what to do when there child is running away frequently.  There are several ideas to consider and to prevent the running away listed below that might be good for your child. 
The first  most important thing to consider is safety issues. Parents or Caregivers should consider making every precaution to prevent any injury. If the child is headed in a direction such as towards the doorway to a busy street, towards sharp objects parents should try to block the child from running in that direction by standing in front of them if possible or in front of the door. Secondly, parents should consider the fact that chasing the child or grabbing the child is very often a reinforcer or pleasant event for the child. Therefore, any physical contact should be minimized and avoided if possible except when there is a safety risk.   Finally, parents should remember that a child is typically running away because there are more reinforcers outside the area or home he is located in.  In order to prevent running away parents can identify all possible reinforcers that can be placed in the home for their child and put as many of them as financially possible in the home. For example, the child might like electronic games, stuffed animals, board games, music, edibles, attention from parents, musical instruments or exercise equipment. The more fun he has in the home the less likely he is to seek other locations outside the home to acquire what he wants! Parents might make a wish list of items possible and try to add more each month!  Soon the home becomes the best place in the world for the child to want to be living in!!

Trainers in the field often find themselves limiting there reinforcer list to a short number of standard reinforcers. There are several things to remember to make your reinforcers extremely powerful. 

One thing is to use some sort of reinforcer survey to assure you capture as many possible reinforcers as possible. There are many surveys already available to you that others have done or you can create your own! 

Second is to remember that anything that increases the probability the behavior will occur is a reinforcer. Therefore even relatively unusual items such as a nap, a favorite chair, a unusual toy, helping you with a chore, running out side in the yard, even a rock that the child likes the color of can be used as reinforcers.  Therapist should keep their eyes and ears open for novel and unusual reinforcers especially in the case of clients that are difficult to teach things. 

 Thirdly, reinforcer sampling is a good practice. This technique of reinforcer sampling involves testing the reinforcer with the client by giving them a sample to see if they enjoy the item and even giving it contingent on a behavior to see if it increases the behavior. 

REmember Reinforcement is extremely powerful in training the child or client but only if it is truly a reinforcer in that it increases the frequency of the desired behavior! :)

Parents and others often ask about the differences between Speech therapy and Behavior Therapy with a Communication goal.  There are several possible differences one might observe in the Applied setting. Although in theory they are not usually specified in books or training programs (See guidelines speech and Behavior therapist follow for more accurate discussions).

One difference is the focus of Behavior therapy is usually first on breaking down the speech into functional components rather then structure of the words or sentences. Behaviorist usually set goals such as training of words to attain items, express a need or other functional use of the words.  Speech therapist traditionally stress the formulation of the words and the exact pronunciation as well as use of the word. Note that the above is a generalization over many years of experience and observation and may not be the case with all speech therapy. 

A second major difference is the focus of the behaviorist is on generalization, maintenance of speech and using the words in the environment on a daily basis consistently. In order to achieve this behaviorist typically set up different environments to practice the functional use of the words at home or on outings for example. The may also have the client use the words throughly the day in different situations in one environment in order to achieve consistency. Behaviorist almost always set-up contingencies and reinforcers specific to the individual in order to motivate the client to actually Speak. The outcome research and applied application usually shows a tremendous increase in verbalizations by the client  in a very short time using Behavioral Approaches. 

Parents and Administrators often ask what are the differences between the Different titles BCBA, CBA and CaBa. Some of the general differences are of course the level of expertise, the acronyms are difference and the credentialing and Continuing education requirements. The BCBA for example requires more requirements for certification and more credits for continuing education as well as more education the CABA.   A BCBA, Board Certified Behavior Analysis is certified to practice in different states not just in the state they are located since it is a National Certification. The CBA is a local certification in the state in which it is located. The BCABA is usually a bachelors level certification and is also national while the CABA is a local level certification. This is a general distinction as I recall more specifics and more accurate distinctions can be attained at the BACB website. When selecting a therapist obviously you should consider the differences in titles in your decision making.  Rachel Azrin is a BCBA contact her if you would like a BCBA. 

Happy Fourth of July may mean different things to a child with Autism.  For example, some autistic children enjoy the loud fireworks and bright visual colors. In this case the Fourth of July display would be considered a reinforcer.  The parent might use the ceremony display as a reinforcer by having it contingent on certain desirable behaviors such as eating dinner, dressing, absence of undesirable behaviors and even packing the car to go to the ceremony!    In another example, the ceremony might be an aversive event. The autistic child may dislike the loud noise and the light may be overstimulating to them. In this case the parent might try to prevent behavior problems at the event by providing earplugs or radio earphones to mask the loud noises while the family enjoys the fireworks.  Also, an alternative prevention technique would be to watch it on television and adjust the volume as needed.  Parents and therapist should remember each autistic child is different and assess the different reactions in the past to problem situations. A complete analysis of past fourth of July behavior will result in  more wonderful, happy and exciting Fourth of July celebration for you and your family!:)  

One of the things that we are all concerned about with todays economic landscape, is the costs associated with medical treatments. What most people don't consider is the TOTAL cost of ignoring a problem. When deciding on a course of treatment, unfortunately, not everybody can have all therapies. Most people have to consider the cost vs. benefit of any course of therapy. When performing this admittedly formulistic analysis, behavioral therapy ranks very high when compared to alternative approaches. Furthermore, behavioral therapy can often be synergistic with other treatments. If there are chemical imbalances that cause undesirable issues, implementing behavioral therapy in parallel often will allow the prescribed drug regiment to be significantly attenuated from what would be required otherwise. There are numerous studies showing that otherwise unredeemable (read this as institutionalized) individuals become productive members of society, even getting married and having a full, rewarding life! The cost of "giving up" on an individual is far higher then spending a relatively small sum each week for therapy. With the advent of tele-therapy, the costs are far lower then most people realize. When the therapist does not have to travel to the client, this radically lowers the cost. One such system, Skype, is well known, and millions of people use it daily. If you want to know more, contact Rachel Azrin.