For those of you who are still figuring out which therapy regimen to use for your autistic children, or are looking for a way to reduce problem behavior at home, I thought it might be useful to divulge some details from JBoy's behavior plan. These strategies were created by his wonderful teachers at the Able Academy, and I have to say, they are consummate professionals. They know their stuff. Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is their focus and they're very good at it. Explanations can be found all over the internet and I'm STILL learning about it, but for our purposes at home, it seems to be a very simplified and intense regimen of positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is strictly downplayed beyond removal from reinforcement.
That being said, J Boy has anxiety problems that can be VERY difficult to live with and very difficult to break. Since he has problems understanding cause-and-effect, his reactions to pretty much anything can be unpredictable. This plan is effective, but we are constantly finding ways to reapply it as J Boy grows in maturity, language skills and sometimes, frustration levels.
1. Escape from overstimulation. When this plan was first created, J Boy would hang out in his room for awhile until he had reset all his buttons. Now, he doesn't want to be alone, ever, so this has changed to playing on the lanai with the door open (hello, power bill) when he needs quiet time.
2. Changing routines to avoid tantrums. For example, J often refuses to get dressed in the morning, so instead we place his clothes by the door and slip them on as we're walking out. He does not like to be rushed, so we avoid it when possible.
3. Reinforcement (such as praise) every 10-15 minutes that J Boy does not display a problem behavior. This is so easy, I realized I've been doing this since he was a baby. ONE THING I've got in the bag.
Here's his negative reinforcement:
1. After giving him one prompt during an outburst, we are to ignore him and physically guide him through the task until it's completed. This one is often very hard for me. I HATE feeling like I'm overpowering him because he will flop around on the floor like a fish, joints loose and slippery, and I have to manhandle him to complete whatever task is at hand. This often happens in public, making J Boy look noncompliant and me look like an blooming idiot. I'm sure none of you (all of you) autistic parents have had this problem. It happens, however, and he usually gets over what he needs to.
2. Remove him to a place devoid of reinforcement until his tantrum is over.
When we're teaching him a new skill, the strategy we use is heavy reinforcement until we're able to fade it away once he's mastered it. It's important that we don't argue with him, just prompt him once and guide him to completion. I remember when I read this plan the first time and it seemed too easy, but that was only because I go through life pretty full of myself. It works, but it's difficult to comply when you just want the screaming to stop before you brain yourself against the wall. Since we implemented it over the summer, along with the 25 hours of ABA he receives at school, J Boy's communication has improved and he's overcome more than a handful of sticking points in our lives that you can read about here.
Research will tell you that ABA is by far the most effective therapy regimen for ASD kids and we are so happy we found a school devoted to it. If you live in southwest Florida, by all means, check out the Able Academy. They have no idea I'm writing them a love letter; I just think that by being part of the special needs community, I'm obligated to share what I've found to be effective to make everyone's lives a little better. God knows I've benefited from the wisdom of people who've come before me.
Able Academy Rocks!!
Posted by: brenda.kaiser39@gmail.com | 11/03/2011 at 04:44 PM