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How ABA Therapy Can Help in School

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Parent Perspective: Ways to utilize ABA in your child’s educational setting

When I became a mom, I was completely unprepared for what was ahead—let alone the journey of parenting a child with learning differences. There is a steep learning curve to autism, therapy, the school system, and accompanying medical diagnoses. But as time went on, I found my footing as an autism mom. Slowly but surely, I learned to navigate the various systems and how they interrelate. One of the most valuable tools for our family has been ABA. Incorporating principles from ABA into my son’s classroom has made an enormous difference in his learning ability. 

Life doesn’t happen in a vacuum. What your child is learning at ABA applies to their educational setting and at home. For my child to succeed, we needed to find ways to partner with his ABA provider and the school and connect the two. Both parties need to know what the other side is doing. They had to learn from each other to have consistent programming for my child across environments. This collaborative approach, where everyone’s input is valued, was critical to our child’s success. 

This blog explores how to build relationships among everyone on your child’s team and gives ideas for where you can leverage the benefits of ABA to help your child in school. 

aba in school

Making connections and building relationships

Your child’s ABA providers, therapists, and teachers are part of a team of support people on their journey to development. Each person has a different role, but parts of their jobs overlap, especially regarding your child’s behavior. That’s why, in many cases, ABA can lead the way toward your child’s overall growth. With the proper support and strategies, there’s a world of potential for your child’s development. 

As both you and your child build a trusting relationship with your child’s board certified behavior analyst (BCBA), communicate with them what is happening at home and school. Your BCBA can give you some guiding principles to share in different settings. 

There may come a point where you want to connect your BCBA with your child’s occupational therapist (OT) to help with behavioral challenges that occur during fine motor work, for example. Or your child’s school teacher as you work together toward writing a behavior intervention protocol (BIP) for their IEP. 

It may take time before you are ready to introduce your BCBA to other professionals on your child’s team. That’s okay. Everyone needs time to get to know one another and build trust. 

Areas where ABA may be beneficial in a school setting

There are many ways to leverage what you and your child have learned in ABA to benefit your child’s overall growth and development. As they enter the education system, view ABA as a resource for you in some of the following areas. 

Developing a social skills program

Our kids learn more than academics at school. They learn about having positive, healthy relationships with their peers. For kids with autism, these friendships may be tricky at times. Having extra ABA support by developing school social skills programming that teachers can help implement at school may be very beneficial. 

ABA can assist in setting specific social goals for your child, such as asking three friends a question each day or willingly sharing toys without undesirable behaviors. When added to your child’s IEP, these goals can be tailored to your child’s needs and contribute to their growth and the health of the overall classroom relationships. 

Navigating speech and communication challenges

Speech and communication can be significant challenges for autistic kids. Whether they need help articulating their needs and wants appropriately or are learning to talk on an alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) device, ABA may be able to come alongside and support what the school is doing. 

Many kids receive speech services at school or privately. The goals designed by the speech-language pathologist (SLP) to help develop your child’s communication may bring out resistant behaviors in your child. Making your child’s BCBA aware of how an SLP works with your child is super helpful because they can practice speech and language during ABA therapy sessions. The more practice and consistency your child has working toward using their words or activating their speech-generating device, the more they are going to be reinforced by the success they have. 

Speech and language is foundational to education. As you learn how your child can best communicate, figure out how you can loop your ABA provider into that process so that you have the reps your child needs to make progress. 

The area of communication is one in which I have been so grateful for ABA working with my son. He uses an AAC device. His ABA therapists have implemented his device into his sessions, whether it be by having him carry it with him from room to room so it is always available for him to “talk” or by using it during games, snacks, and table time, I have seen massive growth in his vocabulary. What ABA can do alongside his teachers and private speech therapists has pushed him further than where I could have taken him alone. 

Reviewing or helping to write BIPs

Depending on your child’s behaviors in school, the staff may recommend that you develop a behavior intervention protocol or BIP. You may also request a BIP from the school if you notice behaviors that need to be addressed consistently and promptly. 

Writing a BIP is a lengthy process. It often involves a lot of observation of the ABCs: 

  • Antecedents to the behavior
  • Behavior itself
  • Consequences (positive or negative) of the behavior

You may be asked to gather the ABC information at home or in therapy, but the school should also record this behavioral data. 

Another critical component of writing an effective BIP is interviewing adults close to your child. Many times, ABA therapists can provide beneficial information. If the school is open to querying your child’s therapists, this will help ensure a more consistent approach to helping positively direct your child’s behavior. 

After the school staff have been able to analyze and write a report outlining the BIP, have your BCBA review the document and provide feedback. Again, this helps reinforce your overall behavior goals. 

Helping write IEP goals and interpret progress reports

Unless you are professionally trained to write IEP goals, you may feel overwhelmed. I know I did. I still feel overwhelmed by reading and understanding the very specific, measurable information packed into my child’s goals. As a team, we want them to be attainable but also challenging enough that he is stretched to grow. 

Before each Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting, my son’s teacher will usually ask me what I think some of his goals should be. Sometimes, I have a ton of ideas. But in some areas of his learning, it’s hard for me to come up with things. Use your ABA therapists to help you brainstorm goal ideas. They know your child well and may be able to identify some excellent ways to challenge and motivate your kid. 

When it’s progress report time, I often face the same challenge of understanding the complex reporting structure of which specific aspect of the goal he achieved or didn’t achieve. I’ve found it helpful to review these reports with my child’s teacher as well as with his BCBA. She can provide understanding in layman’s terms. And she adapts her ABA plan in conjunction with what he’s working on in school and how well it’s going. 

Attending ARD meetings

Some BCBAs can attend ARD meetings. Meeting attendance will largely depend on scheduling, your provider, and given that you consent to the school district in writing. It’s worth it for the hoops you have to jump through. Having another person at the table who is advocating for your child and knows your child in a way that helps move them toward the next step in their journey is an incredible thing. 

We’ve invited our BCBA to my son’s ARD meetings for over five years. The collaboration I see happening on both sides of the table is exciting. They can give one another ideas to encourage my child’s success. The more I see multiple support providers giving him what he needs in various areas of his life, the more growth and development I see in him.

I am so grateful for our team and the way they work together. This partnership can only happen because of the trust we’ve built. Establishing trust takes time. Sometimes, when someone leaves my child’s team, and we get a new person, it takes a while to build back to where we were. I must remind myself that every person has something to contribute to his learning journey. And if I don’t see that they are, that’s when it’s graciously time to make a change. 

It doesn’t always look like I expect it to or want it to, but I’ve consistently found that when I begin to network and pull providers together at the same virtual—or actual—table, amazing things happen for my kiddo. I can only look on in gratitude for all of the incredible work they do on his behalf. 

You are not alone. 

Advocating for your child in school doesn’t mean you must do it alone. Remember, you have a team beside you. Your ABA clinicians, private therapists, and school staff all play a vital role in your kid’s development. They care about the challenges you are facing as a family and, together, will help your child down the path to being unique and shining bright.  

What are your biggest questions or concerns about connecting your ABA provider with your child’s teacher? 

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below. If you found this post helpful, please feel free to like, share, and follow us for more insightful content on autism and ABA therapy.

If a positive, play-based approach to ABA appeals to you, we invite you to contact BrightPath Behavior. The friendly team at BrightPath Behavior is always ready to answer your questions.

 

Kathy McClelland is a freelance copywriter and marketer for pediatric healthcare and special education brands from Austin, Texas. Before becoming a mom, her work included promoting medical journals and online publications for the American Academy of Pediatrics and parenting books for Tyndale House Publishers. When her second son was born with a rare genetic condition, she was thrust into the world of special needs parenting. Her website is kathymcopywriting.com.

 

Disclaimer: While I am a consultant writing on behalf of BrightPath Behavior, my child is not a current client. The views and experiences shared in this blog post are entirely from a parent’s perspective. My goal is to provide informative content and insights based on my personal experiences, as well as interviews conducted with the staff at BrightPath Behavior.

Is ABA Best for My Child?

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A parent’s perspective of ABA therapy and how it can help.

Trying to decide if ABA therapy is right for your child? Consider this parent’s perspective.

Shortly after my son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), I remember sitting in the pediatrician’s office, wondering what to do next. I was exhausted from years of hoping he was “okay” to grieving that he may be different from who I expected. But his diagnosis was a turning point for me; I knew it was time to do something. 

I was concerned about some of his unusual behaviors. He would suck on his hands for hours, bang a rattle against his front teeth, or grab at people for attention. Some of the things he did annoyed us. Some of them were obvious attempts to communicate. But, most concerning was that some of his behaviors could escalate or become self-injurious if we didn’t intervene. 

As I vented my frustrations about these usual behaviors to my son’s doctor, she graciously shared with me that she, too, had a child with autism and would write a referral for ABA therapy. Then she said, “It’s the only thing that helps.”

That phrase stuck with me. After five years of ABA, I wholeheartedly agree. It’s the only thing that works. But I would add one clause. ABA works best when you find the right ABA provider.

To find the right ABA provider, you need to know what you’re looking for.

finding the right ABA therapist for your child

Photo by Marisa Howenstine on Unsplash

The easiest way to understand and explain ABA therapy.

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. It’s about analyzing the function of a behavior. To understand why a behavior occurs, you must understand what happens directly before and after the behavior.

Many ABA therapists teach the ABCs of behavior:

  • Antecedent – observing what happens before the behavior 
  • Behavior – the behavior you are trying to understand
  • Consequence – noticing what happens directly after the behavior 

Consequences don’t have to be negative; they can be positive too. Awareness of the negative and positive consequences of behavior is beneficial for understanding how to shape behaviors. ABA may sound simple in theory, but it takes a lot of patience in real life. 

Learning a new ABA way of parenting.

ABA therapy takes some getting used to—both for your child and you. It requires you to adjust your parenting style. Most of us parent the way we were parented or not parented. When you switch to ABA, you may be unable to use the principles you were raised by or to simply follow your gut. Changing to an ABA parenting style requires humility, teachability, and patience.

It’s hard to admit that your parenting isn’t working with your child. The first thing that struck me about ABA was that my behavior affected my child’s behavior. I needed to be like a detective and understand why I did what I did and how my child responded. I had to notice what my instincts were and suspend them in midair.

Fortunately, you will have a team of ABA therapists led by a Board Certified Behavior Therapist (BCBA) who help guide you. Remaining open to their input is essential to the process. 

Parenting from an ABA perspective also requires you to try to understand things from your child’s perspective. As tiring as it can be, it’s also fascinating. It enables you to understand and connect with your child in the long run.

Not all ABA clinics practice the same philosophy. 

There is a learning curve to understanding ABA as a parent. In the beginning, I learned there are different ways ABA is delivered. Having an idea of the different philosophies of ABA may help you determine what is a good fit for your child and family. 

Highly-structured ABA clinics utilize a lot of table work and routine.

ABA is a relatively new form of therapy, but even within the last 20-25 years, so much has changed. Many of the early therapy centers provided highly structured learning. Some still do. The idea is that structure and routine are highly preferable for individuals with autism. Many ABA clinics are like classrooms where kids must sit down and learn at the table all day long. The phrase “drill and kill” originated in this kind of setting. It may work for some, but others find it incredibly dull.

Early childhood ABA clinics focus on getting pre-schoolers ready for school.  

Other ABA providers focus on early childhood but don’t offer services for older kids. Children with autism have more complex needs as they grow into school-age and adolescents. And there are fewer experienced providers available to help them. Some clinics, like ABA Connect, offer early childhood, school readiness, and the social skills needs of older kids. 

Play-based ABA clinics, like ABA Connect, pair having fun with making progress!

In recent years, more clinics are emerging with a play-based approach. ABA Connect is the industry leader in playful ABA therapy that happens in a naturalistic setting. This approach considers the needs and wants of the child. 

ABA Connect therapists realized long ago that having fun in therapy and making developmental progress are not two mutually exclusive events. ABA Connect’s foundation is built on the idea that what motivates a child helps form positive outcomes for kids and their families. Instead of working against the grain, therapists are working alongside your child to help bring out more of who they are rather than trying to get your child to conform and fit a mold.

Learn more about how ABA Connect offers therapy as unique as your child.

There are many ways to force a child to comply using negative associations. However, wouldn’t you prefer a positive approach? ABA Connect uses positive reinforcement more effectively, kindly, and compassionately than some intense, high-pressure providers. 

It is crucial that you find an ABA program that will meet your child’s needs and help you learn how to work with them without shortcutting the process or using punitive reinforcement. 

Questions to ask when considering which ABA provider or BCBA to go with:

 

  • Do the therapists tend to have playful, fun, and inviting personalities, and if in a clinic, is the clinic setting welcoming and engaging?

 

  • Do they ask you questions about what your child likes and doesn’t like? Do they ask what your child’s strengths and weaknesses are? These are important things to incorporate into a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP).

 

  • Do they enjoy being with your child and other children in the clinic? Can they give examples of progress in their treatment plans? Is there hope for a fulfilling life awaiting your child and family?

 

  • Do they have experience working with different communication modalities? Are they flexible and willing to use what your child prefers, even if that means learning an entirely new AAC software program?

 

  • Do they incorporate life skills and community exposure into your plan? So much of what ABA providers teach are developmental skills in progression. Developmental skills build on one another but can’t happen in a vacuum. Are those skills practiced in everyday life? For example, use a towel to dry your hands after you wash them. Or visiting the library without pulling all the books off the shelf and then walking away?

 

  • Are there opportunities to interact with other children to learn peer-to-peer relationships? Things like turn-taking, greeting one another, and working together to play or build something.

 

Seeing ABA therapy at work!

Last weekend, our family was discussing something we watched on TV. Nathan sat beside me, watching YouTube Kids on his iPad. I couldn’t hear the conversation over the volume. I leaned over and turned the volume down without telling him what I was doing. Nathan then started to pull on my hair and scowl at me. 

Honestly, my first response was anger, but I tried not to show it and instead redirected his behavior by grabbing a stuffed animal and pretending to make him sneeze. He began laughing. Shortly after, I realized he was angry that I turned his iPad down without asking or giving him a choice to pause and wait until we finished talking.  

This example is just one of many everyday life skills that ABA can help with. It teaches you how to redirect behavior to something fun, empathize with your child, and understand how everyone in the family can adapt to make things easier for everyone.

Finding the right ABA therapist for your child.

After implementing ABA therapy in our family’s life, I can confidently say that it has been a game-changer for us. It has taught us how to understand and communicate with our son in a way we never thought possible. The skills we have learned have helped us create a more peaceful and enjoyable home environment. 

If you have a child with ASD, I encourage you to consider ABA therapy. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the benefits are worth it. Remember, finding the right therapist and resources for your child is vital. Don’t give up if you don’t see the changes you want immediately. Keep working with your child’s therapist, and don’t be afraid to make adjustments along the way.

If you have any questions or comments about ABA therapy, please leave them below. The team at ABA Connect is happy to help answer your questions. 

And if you found this post helpful, please share it and follow us on social for more content on autism or ABA therapy.

If you are interested in a positive, play-based approach to ABA, contact ABA Connect.

Knowing When to Ask is Key to Our Success – Pt .1

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In my practice as a behavior analyst, I like to focus on helping the children I work with to increase desirable behaviors. In order to achieve this increase in behaviors, I use reinforcement and discrimination training techniques.

When working with the child to increase these desirable behaviors, it is often valuable to note the relationship between the time a behavior and its corresponding events occur. I do this by analyzing the behavior in what is known as the A-B-C diagram. In this diagram, the A is the antecedent, or event that occurs in time just before the behavior in question, the B is the specific behavior we’d like to see more of in the future, and the C is the consequence, or event that takes place in time just after the behavior has occurred. By using at the A-B-C diagram, we can better understand the behavior and its relationship to events in time.

For example; a mom asks her daughter, Bobbie to take her cup to the sink (antecedent), Bobbie quickly takes her cup to the sink (behavior), and Bobbie immediately gets a special treat (consequence). If the rate of Bobbie’s behavior of taking the cup to the sink when mom asks her to increases in the future, we learn that the special treat worked to reinforce the behavior. This is good to know! Now we have a way to see how the behavior increased.

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or therapist, breaking the behavior and events down into these three parts is helpful. It helps us to get a clearer picture of certain behavior patterns, and also the A-B-C diagram helps us to develop tools in order to select more appropriate behaviors from the children we are near.