Play is the language of childhood. Through it, children learn to express themselves, connect with others, and explore their own creativity. Play is a fundamental… Read More »Nurturing the Joy of Play: A Step-by-Step Guide for BCBAs to Teach Play
Steve Ward is back on the show, along with his co-authors, Madelyn and April. Their upcoming book includes over 2,100 inexpensive ideas for play and intrinsic motivation. Our conversation includes ways to use the environment in motivation strategies, how to expand play and motivation while building interest, and suggestions for new BCBAs to be more creative and engaging, and more.
ABA social skills is a common area that we tackle within an ABA program. Social skills can be taught with one-on-one ABA therapy as well as with social skills classes.
Play is a skill that a lot of our learners need to be taught. It doesn’t come as naturally to kids with autism or other developmental delays. Here, we discuss how to teach play and the best way to help learners develop these critical skills. We also discuss play teaching best practices, closed and open-ended play activities, and how to use play scripts.
BCBA Steve Ward has been working as a behavior analyst since the mid-1990’s. As the lead behavior analyst for a center school, Steve conducted more… Read More »Episode 097: Assessing and Teaching Good Learner Repertoires with Steve Ward
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… Read More »When is a Child Ready for a Social Skills Group?
We LOVE using visuals. Pictures make stories interesting and visual schedules give kids predictability and control. We also use these visuals in the form of… Read More »Can Conversation Be Scripted?
When you pick up Patty from school or daycare, you always find her alone spinning toys and humming to herself. The teachers say that she’s a joy to have in the class, but you’re frustrated. You’d prefer that Patty would participate with peers. You wish that she could make friends and have fun playing with them. In general, that’s hard for kiddos with autism. However, with coaching and teaching, Patty can become more comfy relating in social situations! Here’s how you can help your honey make friends.Read More »6 Ways To Help Your Child Make Friends
Playing dress up, tea party, soccer and Hide-and-Seek is as easy as breathing for neurotypical kids. They innately know what to do and nothing makes them happier than games with their friends. That’s not the case for children with autism. For them, playing, especially with pals, isn’t second nature; it’s actually kind of foreign. What’s a parent to do? Teach your child with autism to play! It’s a fun job and an important one, because play has a lot of developmental benefits. For example, it builds social skills, joint attention, communication, imitation, problem-solving and turn-taking. To get your honey sweet on the idea of interacting playfully with you – and, later on, other kids – follow the steps below.Read More »Play is a Child’s Work
