If you’ve been with us long enough, you know how we feel about visuals. They are in important part of teaching new skills and for promoting independence: https://howtoaba.com/importance-visuals/ Using a visual schedule helps to provide predictability and routine in lots of situations. Teaching a child to follow a visual schedule is a skill that will Read more about How to Teach Students to Use Visual Schedules[…]
Any of us working in the field of ABA and special education have seen our share of social stories. They are promoted in schools, at home and in many settings that our kiddos find themselves. What I’ve never seen is a child who isn’t able to greet others, reads a social story about appropriate greetings Read more about Do Social Stories Change Behaviour?[…]
Data is a big part of what we do. We are bound to make data-driven decisions and update or revise programs based on what the data tell us. However, it is possible to be so consumed with data that it interferes with learning. How well can a person engage and think on their feet if Read more about Choosing the Right Data Collection Method[…]
Social skills should always be an integral part of any good ABA program right from the start. By social skills, I don’t just mean being able to play with other kids. In typical development, socializing starts very early – a baby making eye contact with his mother, a toddler pointing out an interesting sight to Read more about When is a Child Ready for a Social Skills Group?[…]
Something I often discuss with teachers is the concept of intrinsic vs extrinsic reinforcement. At what point can we expect the tangible and outside reinforcement to morph and for the student to begin to actually want to do the right thing (and not just because he/she is rewarded for the right thing)? In my experience, Read more about Using Antecedent Teaching to Manage Challenging Behaviour[…]
Looking back on my years as a teacher, I can now say that ABA was the missing piece in my classroom (see: 5 ABA Principles I Wish I Knew as a Teacher). As a preschool and elementary teacher, I was struggling with the concepts of reinforcement and behaviour management. This is why I find the Read more about How to Use ABA to Manage Challenging Behaviour in the Classroom[…]
Parents often hesitate to remove their child from preschool or daycare in order for the child to receive 1:1 ABA. Understandably, parents want their children around typical peers and for them to learn in a natural classroom environment, and sometimes that is appropriate. So why would we recommend for a child to receive 1:1 ABA Read more about 6 Skills a Child Needs to Be Ready to Learn in a Group[…]
On a recent post about visuals prompts, one of the questions we received was: “Why are you using visuals if the goal is for the student to verbalize? Won’t the visuals make the learner dependent on them?” This is a great question and the answer is that it depends on the learner and on how Read more about The Importance of Visuals and How They Promote Independence[…]
Too often, my sons come home complaining that they lost their recess time because classmates were behaving badly. This is one of my pet peeves as a parent, former teacher and BCBA. Recess is non-contingent reinforcement and I believe it should NOT be earned or lost. Generally, removing outdoor time does not improve behaviour – kids Read more about Classroom Reinforcement Systems That Work[…]
When I was a classroom teacher, I didn’t always have the tools or knowledge to effectively deal with learning or behavioural challenges. It was frustrating! Soon after I graduated with a Masters in Education, I was given a group of 4-year-old preschool children; and, despite my years of studying, I was unprepared. There was one Read more about 5 ABA Principles I Wish I Knew When I Was a Teacher[…]