An ABA Therapist's Perspective

What does a day in the life of an ABA therapist look like? Follow the link to find out!

"What does that look like?"

I play: I play with your child, on their level. I make sure I am the most fun person they have ever met. I am the giver of all things: iPads, m&ms, bubbles, trains, tickles, hugs; you name it, I probably have it in my fanny pack. I play with your child to foster social interactions that can lead to communication, play, and imitative progress. I play with your child because they are amazing, fun and I want them to share their interests with me.

I push: I push your child. I do not let them give up. I may make your child angry, I may make them frustrated, I may make them hit me, or bite me, or scream at me. I encourage them and I support them. I continue to work on one skill until I am confident that it can be repeated with anyone, anywhere. I am aware of the limited time frame for language development and social skills acquisition. I acknowledge the incredibly valuable time and money that you spend for your child and do not allow it to go to waste. I push myself, to be a better therapist for your child, to always try something new in a session and to always be transparent with you.

I praise: I praise your child. I give parties like you haven't seen since 1999, and I can say that as I am one of the older therapists that was actually, cognitively aware during that time. I praise all things, big or small, I am indiscriminate. I give random dance parties because I have found that your child loves jazz music or Frozen, techno-remixes. I act ridiculous, I have come up with faces, silly noises, and words with no meaning; just because it motivates your child and I can make them smile.

I worry: I worry for your child. I worry for you. I worry that I will not be effective, that I will not teach your child a skill in such a way, that they can achieve their highest level of awesomeness. I worry that the behaviors they engage in will isolate them, or hurt them, or hurt you. I worry that my being honest about the difficulties we faced in our session today will come across as rude or insensitive; uncaring to you. When in actuality, it was a sharing of truth, and a respect for your position as a caregiver to continue to keep you updated on the reality of your child's progress.

I respect: I respect your child. I always treat them with the dignity they deserve and hold them in the highest regard. I respect you, you are so incredibly important. You are your child's protector, cheerleader, advocate, mother, father, grandparent, sibling, friend, and teacher. You are their safety net. I respect your right to say no. I respect your ability to be the best source of information in regards to your child.

I love: I love your child. I love their hugs, their laughs, their smiles, their sounds, and their happiness. I love making them happy. I look forward to seeing them each morning or afternoon. I cannot wait to experience their next accomplishment in therapy and to share that progress with you.

Applied Behavioral Analysis can often attract negative statements of: clinical, robotic, or cold. That is not the way I experience or implement ABA therapy. It is instead, liberally laced with joy, hope, and lots upon lots of coffee. 

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Written by Kate Butler

PROMPT: Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets

Here at Therapyland our Speech Language Pathologists are trained in PROMPT. They frequently utilize this technique with the varying children they treat.  

PROMPT was developed by Deborah Hayden. She began manipulating the oro-motor structures to help adults and children with varying speech disorders to produce sounds that could be shaped for verbal interaction with others. PROMPT therapy is a physical-sensory approach that integrates all domains and systems toward effective communication outcome. Children with various disabilities such as: developmental delays, phonological impairments, apraxia of speech, speech disorders, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD), hearing impairment, dysfluencies, etc., can benefit from PROMPT therapy. PROMPT may be used on all speech production disorders from approximately 6 months of age and up. By using this program it assists in developing motor skills in development of language for interaction - it has an emphasis on vowels, consonants and diphthongs through tactile cueing. 

For more information on PROMPT check out their website: PROMPT website

Why You Should Avoid Teaching “More,” “Please,” and “Thank You” to Children with Autism.

Check out why you should avoid teaching children with autism how to communicate "more", "please" and "thank you". In summary, teaching vocabulary for nouns and verbs first are more beneficial for children with autism in order for them to communicate their specific wants and needs.

Click here for link to article

THE BIG PICTURE: Focusing intervention for autism

Gail J. Richard, PhD, CCC-SLP, a former chair, professor emeritus and director of The Autism Center at Eastern Illinois University, emphasizes the importance of incorporating all aspects of development when targeting treatment - including not only the speech profile but also social, sensory, and motor. These separate factors all play different imperative roles throughout the child’s life; roles that may affect how they function in the real world. For example, furthered education may be effected by a decreased ability to perform executive functions tasks (initiate, plan, organize materials, and manage time and academic expectations). As stated by Richard, “their strong intellectual potential cannot be realized without an infrastructure to facilitate their success.” (Richard G.J., 2017). By assessing all aspects of development, therapists can focus their intervention on the big picture and gain the best results possible. At Therapyland, all areas of discipline approach their treatment goals with this theory in mind. Whether it’s physical, occupational, language, speech, feeding or behavioral, the target is consistent with the ‘big picture’ – generalizing skills with each child’s unique ‘real world’ factor in mind. The vast collaboration amongst disciplines further facilitates this objective.

To dive more into this educational read, check out the full article ASHA leader published in their latest magazine: http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2615520&resultClick=3

Pediatric Feeding News by Krisi Brackett MS CCC/SLP

Check out Krisi Brackett's blog where you can find an abundance of information on pediatric feeding difficulties. Her most recent blog post is about how stress may explain digestive issues in kids with Autism. Carly Morris at Therapyland follows many of her principles and believes in a medical, motor and behavioral approach to feeding. For more questions regarding feeding therapy and what it can do for you, please contact her at carly@therapyland.net.

Pediatric Feeding News

More about ABA...by Sandi Rivers, M.Ed. BCBA

What About When Behaviors Occur? CONSEQUENTIAL STRATEGIES


* Refer back to the Functions (EATS). Do your best to gauge the function so a pay- off is minimized for their problem behavior.
* Planned ignoring – to ignore minor problem behaviors “junk behaviors” and respond then to first appropriate behavior, i.e. being quiet, sitting nicely, etc. Then give them the words they may use to get attention or a desired item they want if possible.
* Pivoting – providing attention to other peers for appropriate behavior while using planned ignoring for another child’s problem behavior. Pivot back to child with problem behavior upon first appropriate behavior and provide praise, reinf., etc.
* Best Practice is to NOT tell the child what NOT to do, yet tell them what TO DO. For example, tell a child to fold their hands or sit down instead of telling them to “stop,” “don’t run,” “no, that hurts,” etc.



* NO Rationalizing during problem behavior, this is attention. This is why IF/THEN Boards are important to set expectations. Your words go away not visuals.

There is nothing wrong with talking to the child at a separate time or once calm to address the problem behaviors and expectations.

* IF a demand has been placed, use 3 step prompting thus eliminating verbal attention.
1. TELL WHAT TO DO,
2. GESTURE OR MINIMAL ASSIST FOR WHAT TO DO,
3. PHYSICALLY PROMPT FOR WHAT TO DO.
However, you may need to wait the child out for when you are unable to physically prompt.
* IF a child needs to be removed due to sensory overload or more intense behaviors, do your best to NOT provide preferred items/activities until calm, displays some form of compliance, i.e. clap your hands, pick up an item, sit in a chair, etc. then provide the communication for the child to get what they want using their words.
* Behavior Momentum / Redirection – Many times you can redirect a child starting to engage in problem behavior by using simple directions, i.e. clap your hands, high five, touch your nose, etc. then reinforce.
* You need to give strategies approximately 3 weeks before you rule out that they are not working.

"It's FINE to work on OT skills at home"

5 Simple Ways to Help Kids Develop Fine Motor Skills at Home

http://mamaot.com/5-simple-ways-to-help-kids-develop-fine-motor-skills-at-home/