How to use ABA techniques to conquer your New Year goals

As the saying goes: New Year, New Me! But it’s February and maybe we’ve already fallen off track. On a serious note, how many of these goals do we actually meet when the year comes to an end? Most of the time, we don’t even remember what our goals were for the previous year! This article will review how to use ABA to conquer your new goals. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) studies behaviors and the environmental variables that contribute to these behaviors continuing to occur or not occurring at all. Follow these steps to ensure that you are able to reach your goals using ABA techniques:

1. Setting clear and objective (measurable) goals: describing in detail what we wish to accomplish and what constitutes meeting this definition. An example could be “I will go to the gym 3x a week”.

2. Values are very very important when selecting goals! Knowing WHY we want to make a change will help in the times that we begin to find ways to escape from the task. As an example, my family history includes lots of unhealthy habits and as a result, higher medical stats which decreases quality of life. As a result my WHY for being active includes to create a legacy for my family of healthier living.

3. Take data on your behavior: As behavior analyst, we LOVE analyzing data to see why behaviors are/are not occurring. This application when completing it on oneself is called self-management: the personal application of behavior change tactics that produces a desired change in behavior (Cooper, Heron, Heward, 2007). By taking data on the behaviors outlined as your goals, you can determine if these goals are being met and why/why not this system is/is not working.

4. Review your data! If your designed plan is not working, begin to review what variables may be contributing to not reaching these goals. If the goal is to workout 3x a week but the gym is 30 minutes away with traffic, the response effort to attend the gym and sit in traffic may be too high and thus inhibit the motivation to complete the workout. You can find a closer gym or try completing at home workouts instead.

   • Note: A fun way to track this is through free printables like this one here.

5. Make antecedent and consequent manipulations: Changing the environment to facilitate behaviors occurring at higher frequencies is called antecedent manipulations. An example of this could be to set out your workout clothes the night before to decrease the hassle of getting ready early in the morning. You could even set our your measured pre-workout and water for a quick mix in the morning. Consequent manipulations are also extremely important! Create a reward system for yourself if having a system like this in motivates you to keep doing it! An example could be: If the contingency is to to work out 3x/week for a month then you can allow yourself to get a new piece of gym equipment or a new pair of sneakers. This technique is also called the Premack Principle or “Grandma’s Rule”: If a contingency is met then a reward is received.

6. Find an accountability partner: Some of our “love language” is attention which can be provided in various forms including praise. By having an accountability partner, this person will be able to provide you with that praise you may enjoy receiving and also redirect you to your goals if you fell a little off track.

Credit to: The housewife modern

These techniques can be used in all scenarios of either increasing or decreasing behaviors. As discussed above, it is extremely important to take data and review measurable goals to determine what is/is not working and meet your 2022 goals!  

References:

Cooper J.O, Heron T.E, Heward W.L. Applied behavior analysis (2nd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson; 2007.

5 Things To Do After Receiving an Autism Diagnosis

Read Time: 5 Minutes

As a parent, receiving the news that your child has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum comes with a whirlwind of emotions and questions. Depending on the level on which your child was diagnosed, difficulties may follow. As you may have read, there is no “cure” for Autism. However, you are your child’s number 1 advocate and you will be able to fight for what your child needs. What follows are a few recommendations of things to do after your child has received an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis: 

1. Evidence-Based Practices. Researching evidence based practices will be very important to ensure your child’s success. Evidence based practices have been heavily studied, researched and replicated. The National Autism Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder provides a great list of evidence based practices you can see here.

2. Therapy Services. Your child may need additional support that your pediatrician/neurologist and/or psychologist may have recommended. Service providers will specialize in areas like speech development and communication, behavioral health, mental health, physical therapy and additional school services. We will be writing a blog post soon to discuss each of these service professionals and the incredible services they provide. 

3. Books. We often learn from other’s experiences. There are several books that we love and recommend to start the journey. Here are some of our favorite books: Parenting with ABA (Leanne Page, BCBA does an incredible job discussing behavioral concepts that you can implement with your child), The Verbal Behavior Approach (Dr. Mary Lynch Barbera discusses Verbal Behavior and how to implement it with your child) and last but not least the book we are currently reading Differently Wired (by Deborah Reber who discusses how to overcome the challenges in raising an neuroatypical child). 

4. Parent/Caregiver Support Groups. We have joined several support groups to help parents and caregivers. In these groups, we often see families come together and help support each other when they need advice, recommendations and support. Some of the groups in Hillsborough County include: Special Needs Community Resources of Pasco County- Florida, Southshore Special Needs Support, Families with Special Needs Kids-Tampa Bay. 

5. Additional Resources. There are several pages that provide additional resources from initial diagnosis to transitioning to adulthood. Some of our favorites are: 

   1. Autism Speaks

   2. Associations for Science in Autism Treatment

   3. First Words Project

   4. National Autism Association

Remember, this is a time where your child needs you at your best. Be open to new techniques that may be suggested by your service providers. The journey will not be easy but your child needs you in their corner to celebrate each milestone and help them reach their full potential. Teach your child that they have a voice and their voice matters regardless of their diagnosis. Your child deserves respect, dignity and deserves to receive what they need to be successful. This is not an easy feat but YOU (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, foster parent) are here to help your child be the best they can be and we believe in you!

Teaching Your Child/Adult to Tolerate Wearing a Mask

Read time: 5 minutes

For some of our children/adults, clothing in general may present discomfort. With the pandemic we are facing today, it may be necessary for your child or adult to wear a mask while out in public. In this article we will teach you 5 steps to help your child/adult tolerate wearing a mask while out in public. 

1. Allow the child/adult to become familiar with the mask by playing with it, modeling how it is used on a favorite stuffed animal or on yourself. We want our child/adult to know that there is nothing scary about the mask! 

2. As part of the teaching process, we can use a social story if the child/adult understands the concept. We would not solely suggest this as the only method but it may be helpful if the child/adult understands the information being provided. A link to a social story about wearing masks can be found here: Wearing a Mask Social Story

3. When the child/adult has become more familiar with the mask, begin requiring that the child/adult wear the mask and time how long they are able to tolerate it. This will be our starting point! If the child/adult takes it off after 1 minute, we may need to start at 45 seconds and provide praise and lots of reinforcement once you hit 45 seconds when you practice. 

4. We will then start increasing the time required to wear the mask. If we had 3 successful times of tolerating the mask at 45 seconds, we can then move onto 1 minute, then 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes and so on while doing other things at the same time (i.e. reading a book, playing with blocks, going for a walk). Our mission is to increase the time gradually and successfully while making the process for the child/adult less aversive. This is a procedure we call shaping. Think of it as creating the shape of a clay bowl: we must work on the small steps over and over again until we can achieve our biggest goal.  

5. The next step will be to test in the natural environment. Take your child/adult to a place where a mask may be required (i.e. grocery store). Remind the child/adult of the expectations before arriving and remind them of what was practiced at home. If the child/adult does not tolerate the mask in a public place, we may need to take a few steps back and test again to see where we need to work on and try again. 

Additional COVID-19 social stories: Autism Little Learners

We hope these steps are useful to you in these times! If you have any questions, please email me at amarilys@amabehavioralconsulting.com