One example of teaching your child to say juice is the following. In this case we have identified the targeted word or phrase and this must be done before you start teaching. Also the item identified is preferably a strong reinforcer and an item the child frequently wants. Usually you want to choose a word the child might use frequently and that is fairly easy for him to pronounce or that he has some approximations to the word already in his repertoire. Secondly, the caregiver waits for the child to have a situation in which he wants the items such as the juice. Third, the caregiver delays giving the item until the child says some approximation or the actual word. Fourth, the caregiver gives the child the item immediately or as soon as possible after the word or approximation is completed by the child. Fifth the parent continues to delay giving the item in every situation in which the child wants the item during the day. Sixth, the parents delays giving the water until the child states the complete word clearly. Seventh, the caregiver adds other words to the criteria for reinforcement of the juice. For example, the caregiver might wait for the child to say "juice Please". Finally, the caregiver continues this process and adds more words to the original words and additional words for other reinforcers! In a sort time usually even in the most difficult cases the child will be talking!
How do parents teach there child to talk with behavioral therapy(an easy basic step by step example)9/3/2013 Parents often find themselves frustrated after months of going to therapy sessions and no success. One of the quickest way to increase your childs vocabulary is through behavioral techniques. The key to success is consistency, powerful reinforcers and generalization of your training in different situations.
One example of teaching your child to say juice is the following. In this case we have identified the targeted word or phrase and this must be done before you start teaching. Also the item identified is preferably a strong reinforcer and an item the child frequently wants. Usually you want to choose a word the child might use frequently and that is fairly easy for him to pronounce or that he has some approximations to the word already in his repertoire. Secondly, the caregiver waits for the child to have a situation in which he wants the items such as the juice. Third, the caregiver delays giving the item until the child says some approximation or the actual word. Fourth, the caregiver gives the child the item immediately or as soon as possible after the word or approximation is completed by the child. Fifth the parent continues to delay giving the item in every situation in which the child wants the item during the day. Sixth, the parents delays giving the water until the child states the complete word clearly. Seventh, the caregiver adds other words to the criteria for reinforcement of the juice. For example, the caregiver might wait for the child to say "juice Please". Finally, the caregiver continues this process and adds more words to the original words and additional words for other reinforcers! In a sort time usually even in the most difficult cases the child will be talking!
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Parents should always make an effort to rule out any signs of medical issues in order to increase the effectiveness of the behavioral treatment. If the child has a medical issue it may reduce, slow down or prevent the child from a complete habilitation from behavioral intervention or mainstreaming. Some medical issues to keep in mind include the following. The following list includes some items that research has suggested a relationship to developmental delays and autistic type behaviors. One example is hearing or hearing problems. Numerous research articles and papers at conferences have talked about the strong relationship between hearing problems in clients with autism, aspergers, aggression and developmental delays. They often present data with a direct correlation between these problems or control studies. These children usually have a history of ear infections, tubes in their ears or pain in their ears. When a behavior therapist or parent does an assessment this is a very useful thing to ask about when reviewing the history of the child and the "organism" variables in the SORC analysis. If the parent or child has a history of ear problems they should be referred to a specialist for ear problems not just the general practitioner. The reason for this is that often a general hearing test may not pick up some more specialized problems with the ears. A specialist such as an otologist or ENT is preferred to be sure there is no problem that could jeopardize learning for the child. Other examples might be medical problems that lead to sleep problems, genetic disorders that causes a variety of problems, small seizures that are not detected, vision problems, allergies, stomach problems and constipation. These topics will be discussed more in depth in future blogs. Medical issues should be ameliorated so that the child can progress to his upmost ability developmentally through behavioral interventions.
The latest trend is to buy and iPad, Ipod or other computer gadget and expect learning to magically occur. In most cases more is needed. I a few cases the child may learn on their own but in most cases parents should consider the following in order to have success. One point is that often a child with autism is not visually motivated to use the equipment. In this case the parent can motivate the child with extrinsic reinforcers for use of the equipment. For example, if the child plays one educational game or looks around on the web for 30 minutes then the child receives a preferred food snack such as chips or an activity. Another point is that the computer must have reinforcers within the aps that reward the child automatically. For example there are programs such as "head sprout" that include reinforcers within the educational game at the end of a correct response by the child. Parents should be careful to set-up reinforcers within the device programs and extrinsic reinforcers in order to achieve optimal chances of success when purchasing an electronic gadget so that the money is put to good use and learning occurs in the child!!
Caregivers and Parents often complain that there child does not sleep. Some options and ideas about what issues to bring up to doctors and behavior analyst are listed below. The first thing a caregiver should do is to make some sort of data sheet or log with the behavior analyst recording how much sleep the child is actually getting and at what time of the day.
A second suggestion is to rule out any medical problems. Children often suffer from sleep apnea, allergies, colds, urinary tract infections, or incontinance, ear infections or other medical conditions or side effects of medications that lead to a reduced number of hours of sleep. Situational problems such as living arrangements that are loud or noisy, roommates, recent break-up of parents, loss of a relative, stress at school or with other problems. The above issues should be addressed before designing complete and effective sleep program procedure. Note:These are just a few of many items to consider Parents are often in great turmoil about when to agree to move their child to the next grade or wait in his current grade. The concerns parents often have are in regard to whether the child is ready and what the effects will be if the child is moved up or stays in the current grade. The concerns often occur as earlier as preschool, nursery school, kindergarten or first grade. The following is a list of some possible things to consider in making this decision.
First, the parent should consider the level of problems the child is having and whether they will be easily overcome or remedied in the next year. Supports can be put in place to assist the child at home or within the school system. Secondly, Social concerns are often something parents worry about. The stigma form the parents peers or from the childs peers is often a roadblock in the parents mind to keep them what they think might be better developmentally for the child. In many cases parents should remember that the social disapproval from other peers will probably be forgotten very quickly and may not be worth years of the child having problems academically and socially. If the child has another year to develop he may be far in advance of his classmates and academics and socialization will be a joy for him and very easy. Thirdly, if the child is placed in a special classroom and need additional help this is often helpful if the cild has severe problems. However, many cases in which a child that has only few issues that could be resolved with intensive ABA and delaying the move to the next grade. The child may have a very small chance of being promoted out of a special education class. The actual statistics (or the approximate number per year) of your school for how many children are put back in the normal classroom can be attained from the school. In most cases with very strong supports from behavior therapist (ex. CBA or BCBA) children with mild autism can often be mainstreamed in the normal classroom. In general, the level of supports, level of functioning of the child should be considered. The present discussion provides some general points for you to weigh in making this difficult decision of whether to move your child up to the next classroom and not a formula for every child. If the numbers are very low for mainstreaming in your school then the stigma of being in a special classroom may not be worth it. It may be better to have your child be the tallest smartest kid in his class by delaying his enrollment in the next grade. People will forget about the problems once they see how wonderful your child is progressing and moving toward attaining his degree in the regular classroom! There are many options for selection of a person or persons' to run your childs' program. Some of them are reviewed in the following. One options is to hire a BCBA,CBA or BCaba to run the program or supervise others running the programs in the home or via electronic such as Skype. Another option is to hire some aide or person with a certificate to do this type of training such as a behavioral assistant. The advantage of this is that they have some training to do the program and some safety training that may protect your child. Another options parents choose is to have a nanny or other person with no training provide the service. One advantage is that this is easy to find. One disadvantage is that they may not be able to learn the skills needed to run the program and may not have the safety concerns that a trained or certified person has. Another choice is to send the child to a school that provides the training. The advantage is the convenience of dropping them off at one location. The disadvantage is that they do not always have the certified staff or available hours to help your individual child and certainly would not address directly the problems at home. Finally, one option is for the parent to run the program or another family member. This may be in addition to others running the program. The advantage is that the parent spends alot of time with the child typically and the parent is with the child on vacations and at night. The disadvantage is that a parent may need others to help with running the program when working. Whatever service provider is used the Parent needs to know how to run the program so that when they are spending time with the child they are consistent and the child will be able to achieve more skills more quickly!
Bathing is a very complex task for a person that has not done this task before. Therefore it definitely should be broken down into small steps. After one step is mastered then move to the next step. Usually, the first step is to step into the shower. The last step is usually the hair which is a little more complex. Many caregivers do not realize the amount of time it saves for them by making the child or person independent in bathing. This is a task that is usually done daily. The effort for a month or two of training will pay off in the long run with years of not having to bathe them. Also, the child or adult will feel much better about themselves and the control they have over the activities in their own lives. In general, people that can perform most of their own care feel much happier:)Consistent
Parents and Caregivers often say that they use the techniques they have for years since it is easier for them to respond in that way rather than to use another recommended procedure from a behavior therapist.
One reason they do not choose to change is that they do not realized that in the long run it will be easier for them to eliminate the undesired behavior. For example the parent may give the child a reinforcer at the grocery store to stop a tantrum. They do not consider that the result is that the parent will be doing this for the rest of their lives. In contrast if they wait patiently, even though it may be difficult, and deliver the reinforcer only after good behavior at the store then future shopping trips will be much more pleasant and they will have years of "easier" more pleasant shopping trips. Consistent reinforcement of appropriate rather than inappropriate behavior will result in a much easier lifestyle. Note: Many other issues related to consistency will be discussed in future blogs. |
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