A new strategy

If you have not come across this yet, it is about time I love (click) this method of teaching and desensitization.
I know you will love (click) it too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a48Ekorb2ho&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlA8lK1_lII&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q4xQ83FI2s&feature=related

TAG point teaching  TM

Play-Based Early Intervention Therapy, Toronto

Our play-based approach is really the cornerstone of our therapy programs; it's how we reach the littlest ones. We (my incredibly dedicated team and I) use play to target goals from all domains (that is, from fine motor to gross motor, from toileting to self care using the ABLLS-R to guide our assessment).  We are constantly looking at the whole picture to make sure meaningful change can happen that lasts overtime, and across environment...otherwise, what's the point?
 All of our learners are unique in their specific profiles, but many share similar needs including a large focus on the development of communication skills. Our team of therapists acknowledges that before meaningful two-way communication can occur, a child has to be willing to accept feedback from another person. This is important in how we relate to early-learners, who are still developing these essential learning to learn skills. 
In early-intervention we want to set the child up for success (that's why we use error-less teaching to inspire confidence), so we always add "demands" but let's call it, invitations to perform... in a very calculated and systematic way using the principle of shaping to gradually impact overall performance ability. It is so  important to remember that a 1:1 experience can be intense for a child that is most comfortable in isolation or with their parent/caregiver. It is important not to place demands quickly with an early-learner, or at all (with any learner) if it "seems like" a demand (this is true at any age).  I am not saying the child should never have to follow rules, there should be rules for safety and even conformity, BUT and this is the big BUT...I cannot stand when I go to a school a school, or class, and there is a rule for EVERYTHING. Here's my rule about rules...if you cannot remember all the rules off the top of your head, you have too many. You are not a drill Sargent, even if you are strict in your requirement for the top priority rules to be followed. Like, we are strict about no running in the halls, that is an safety issue. We are strict about not leaving the room without a teacher, it's a safety issue. We try to remember to put caps on markers, and we try to remember to listen when the teacher is talking. We are not perfect! We don't let kids run loose, but we also know rules won't do the teaching!
I tend to remind my team that if  an instruction or SD sounds like "do it or else" you are doing something wrong. Instead, I guide my  team to use play to entice the child into the world of whatever your subject matter is; to set the environment up so the child comes across poignant materials, and relevant stimuli. I recommend using gestures, issuing consistent and specific social praise, and maintaining a high level of energy. That's the difference between a good therapist, and a great therapist.
It's so important to be hands-on, but also to stand back long enough to follow your child's lead and to assess what he or she already knows about the subject matter/skill. Following the child's lead is one of the only ways we can truly ensure that our play-based approach remains child-centered and authentic. It's not to say that we don't have overriding goals, like eye-contact, increased speech, answering what questions, labeling various items, performing motor imitation and so on, but we are using novel stimuli.We strive to be very natural in delivery, so as not to come across as a someone who will tell you "how it is", but rather as someone with whom you can explore the world, and better yet, someone you can invite into your own play. We set up mini-discoveries all over the room, and explore the stimuli with the child, as a partner not a drill Sargent (I always go back to that word because of the bad rep. ABA has). 
 
Why exactly is what we do called Applied Behaviour Analysis and not just Autism Education?
We use principles of reinforcement to shape behaviour/skill development! We analyse behaviour by acknowledging that each behaviour, or habit, plays an important role in communicating something. We know that by analyzing its trends, we can figure out the function it serves and ensure that the child continues to have his or her needs met. This kind of analysis helps us gain a deeper understanding of the child, and when children are nonverbal, or even non conversational, this can be really meaningful. We use principles of verbal behaviour developed by B.F. Skinner, to elicit communication skills in children with language delays. 

Anxiety Intervention: That is What Summers are For!

It often amazes me how many kids I encounter with anxiety issues. On some level, anxiety is a natural part of life and helps us understand our own arousal levels, and ability for toleration. In other ways, anxiety can be all-consuming, and scary, meaning that it has essentially crossed the threshold from normal nerves to classical anxiety. I think that anxiety is a fairly normal, cue gasp, aspect of life that can be overcome and managed.

We use systematic teaching strategies.

I always hear the same story from parents, the academic year is full of anxiety; there is school, after-school programs, dance lessons, piano, Speech, ABA, OT and so on and so on until your child is just a ball of nerves ready to burst... Is it all a bit too much? Maybe. But what other option do we have, than to constantly push our kids to their maximum potential? We want gold for your kids, and so do you...that is why we give everything we have to making sure your kids meet milestones, develop self-awareness and become successful self-advocates. We want it all don't we? A happy, healthy and well adjusted kid that also does well in all arenas, from social to communication. We want the full package, we want every child to reach his or her potential, or better yet, surpass it.


So what it means, is that we as professionals, and you as parents, need to come together to understand your child's anxiety. Come together to understand how to combat and manage the anxiety, as well as using a behavioral approach to analyze the antecedents and consequences that come before and after the episode of anxiety, so that you can plan and manipulate variables as needed. By helping your child cope with anxiety, you shape the behavior needed to be able to deescalate one's own feelings of angst...what better gift is there?


Spending the time to address anxiety concerns, is crucially important for social, academic and inter-personal growth. Having the time to target anxiety in a hands-on way, is easy when you think about it....


Summer vacation is a time to recharge for students; it's a time to develop social and interpersonal skills, a time to develop hobbies and skills. Summer vacations can also be an incredible time to target the obstacles that prevent skill acquisition during the academic year, in a way that is intensive and hands-on.


Anxiety, for example, can be a difficult barrier to overcome without explicit intervention, and can hinder academic development among other skills. Overcoming anxiety will allow your child to be his or her authentic self; to experience self-love, and self-understanding, and most important self-confidence.


A successful intervention for social anxiety, would include a combination of 1:1 and group learning; it would involve a comprehensive program in which desensitization is targeted and reinforcement is used to pair social situations with reinforcement. Through a variety of presentations, students participate in both individual and group therapy, ensuring that all needs met throughout the day. Participating in a variety of activities, chosen for each unique learner's profile, kids can expect to overcome barriers, and become confidence and social learners. Most importantly, participants will return to school with strategies, and management techniques and abilities, which increase overall ability to perform independently.





P.S. Magnificent Minds offers a program like this. www.MagnificentMinds.ca for more details about our Summer Camp Program 2012


P.P.S. If you like the font used in the pic above, Google free fonts and get loads of amazing fonts for teaching purposes and making visuals :)

Autism Education Resources for You

Going through my list on online resources, refreshing my mind and seeing what new material is out there...it occurred to me that sharing these links was a great idea.

Here are some hand selected links, that I think are especially fantastic, educational gold you might even say.

www.MagnificentMinds.ca  
http://www.special-need-child-canada.com/special-needs-summer-camp-in-Toronto.html
http://www.thewatsoninstitute.org/resources.jsp?pageId=0690200091781087395692476
http://snrmag.com/
http://classroom.4teachers.org/
http://kendrik2.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/12-tips-to-setting-up-an-autism-classroom/
http://www.autismclassroom.com/
http://pecsforall.com/
http://www.cindysautisticsupport.com/
http://www.cindysautisticsupport.com/pictures.html
http://www.slatersoftware.com/Wonderful%20School%20Year.pdf
http://filefolderheaven.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=16_28
http://www.educateautism.com/behavioural-principles.html
http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/
http://www.visualaidsforlearning.com/preschool-pack-learning.htm
http://www.positivelyautism.com/free/

Any sites that you could not live with out...please comment below and share the love!

IPAD for behaviour therapy

A magician never reveals her secret, but lucky for you I am not a magician, I am a therapist...so here goes. For my birthday (mid Feb) I got an IPAD. I know all the ABA Therapists out there are gasping in excitement,, like I was upon discovery of the gift, so for this post I will sing my praises to Apple...here goes. 
It may be old news that Apple is producing IPAD APPS that support language and focus in our kids, but until I had used it first hand, I could not have fathomed the results. I work with mostly early-learners; that means that whether old or young most of my clients are developing the foundational learning skills, which need to be targeted to ensure successful overall skill development. To say these skills are critically important would be an understatement. Again, this may be old news to some of you but bear with me as I get the ball rolling....
So my clients are always seeking early-learner profile goals, like for-example joint-attention (the ability to focus on the same thing, or subject, as somebody else), eye-contact (self-explanatory), following simple directions (come, sit, wait, say hi),  prolonged focus and increased attention-span, and willingness to accept feedback. Many early-learners on the spectrum struggle to reach these skills in a natural way, so we need to design systematic ways to teach them. Enter IPAD.

ABA has a bad reputation for being the jellybean science for exactly this reason. In the past, therapists were forced to motivate behaviour with reinforcement like edibles (jellybeans, m and ms, skittles, popcorn, chips, gummies) in order to create a motivating learning environment; of course, the principle of reinforcement is bang on, but the delivery is a bit flawed because it is hard to fade systematically, short of simply increasing the mean length of an interval, and it is not natural and not likely to occur as a natural consequence in the real world. My client is not likely going to have a teacher or a boss in the future that is going to say Nice work Jimmy, here is a bag of jellybeans for your hard work. (Unless you work for me, that is.)
*Disclaimer* There is a time and place for edibles, I am not knocking them and I use them occasionally on an a case by case basis, but...not as the universal way to motivate learning and never without a plan to fade it and pair with social reinforcement. Also, I use edibles freely as reinforcement with my staff and I do not think there is anything wrong with that :)
Bottom line is, in order to get away from the unnatural schedules of reinforcement, or modes of delivery (i.e. popping a jellybean into the child's mouth) we have to write programs that are intrinsically motivating for our clients. Enter IPAD.
The IPAD is just one way I have discovered that a teacher or therapist can capture a room, even when the room is full of early-learners AND competing stimuli. I use my IPAD to run manding sessions, receptive language targets, tacting sessions, vocal imitation programs, direct-instruction, verbal behaviour, speech, phonics, numeracy and so much more; I use it in a group, in one to one, with my pinky, with my thumb..in a house..with a mouse...you get it. 
The number of educational programs available is vast, and many are available for limited use without purchase. The number of sensory apps has impressed me, and the prolonged interest in the IPAD as a result, and as a reinforcer, is far beyond anything else available to me in-centre. It is rare that a single-reinforcer will serve as the motivating for an entire sessions, switching reinforcement helps keep things fresh, but with one IPAD I can not only switch the stimuli and reinforcement, and save time, energy and resources creating materials. Did I mention that voice-output systems are obsolete with the number of free assistance communication programs available in the App Store. I mean, they really thought of everything here.


To be continued...............

"I do, You do, We do" Direct Instruction...Educational Gold.

Direct Instruction

ABA...The Game Changer. A brief history

I apologize for being MIA; things have been busy...valentines, our 100th day of school (see pic above, counting 100 jelly beans), my birthday, planning for summer camp, and all the regular stuff too. Hopefully (fingers crossed) we will have some exciting news to announce shortly about programs to come in the next few months...that is all I can say for now! 


Now where was I.....Right...I am always thinking of ways to simplify the behavioural jargon into read-able teacher and parent-friendly materials and then passing this along in attempts to infiltrate the teaching system...LOL What are Sunday's for right?! So,  I took these notes as I was watching the 2 videos provided by CARD and I thought I would post them for your viewing pleasure; find them here. Hope the notes are helpful for figuring a somewhat complicated history, and evolution of an incredible science. I think it goes without saying that I did not make any of this stuff up, it all came from a great video linked above and paraphrased below!


Happy reading!

The History of Behaviour Therapy/ABA

Thorndike introduces a revolutionary idea...consequence of behaviour matters (study conducted on cats); it is established that consequence increases or decreases behaviour. Thorndike calls it the Law of Effect. And it begin...


Watson-Pavlovian introduces...stimulus response. He says, no b.s. explanations about what we think; treat human behaviour like science. Make observations, take data, do math. Only study what we can measure.


Skinner introduces... digestive behaviour of rats; therefore, consequence matters...again, and still. Skinner came up with a lever-press system which released pellets of rat food to try and discover order in the world...But, the level jammed during the experiment..darn. He looked at the data (I assume electronically recorded somehow), and he sees a trend...when the lever was jammed the rats eventually stopped pressing the lever (he noted an extinction burst, and then gradual decrease). This applies to all species. 


Skinner goes on trying to explain the "Behaviour of Organisms" (written in the 30's) to extract the information and apply it to other things; he writes books, and becomes super famous for his work. He decides to use the theories, to "make the world a better place" (quoted from movie) which became the foundation of ABA, which we now call making "meaningful change in the world" quoted from every teacher I have ever had. 


ABA started, "application wise", on severe cases of individuals that society was "unable to impact"; demonstrated again, consequence impacts behavior so apply these principles to the behavior of the patients. First lesson,  nurses not to pay attention to the psychotic speech of the in-patients...what happened? The behaviour decreased. Again. 


In the 60's, it was confirmed again in application with kids with what we know call Autism Spectrum Disorder, that is--consequence still matters. This is revolutionary because it means the "problem" might be in the environment, not in the child's mind, emotional make up, or otherwise internal event. It was called the experimental analysis of behaviour back then. Lovaas came along and decided that kids were learning whenever they were awake; he then produced one of the only, and first, people to demonstrate an "overall" outcome for individuals with outcome. Game changer.


What we know now...
Problem behaviour is a learned behaviour that can be as easily unlearned, as learned.