Navigating the world of Autism can present unique challenges, especially when it comes to addressing difficult behaviors. It’s natural for parents and caregivers to feel overwhelmed or isolated at times. However, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone in this journey.
Nearly all parents of children with Autism encounter challenging behaviors, whether they’re rooted in sensory issues, social difficulties, emotional regulation, verbal communication challenges, or physical needs.
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapy is a well-respected and highly effective approach to helping children with Autism. ABA Therapy helps to reduce challenging behaviors by analyzing the underlying cause and providing a variety of more appropriate responses.
Understanding Challenging Behaviors
There are a wide range of challenging behaviors associated with Autism, as it affects every child differently. For some children, sensory challenges drive behaviors such as screaming or engaging in repetitive motions. Others may exhibit low frustration tolerance, struggle with emotional regulation, or have rigid food, clothing, or routine preferences.
ABA therapists are really important in figuring out why kids behave the way they do. They’re trained to look closely at what happens before and after a behavior, which helps them understand what might be causing it. By analyzing antecedents and consequences, ABA therapists develop personalized interventions to address these behaviors effectively.
Identifying Triggers and Functions
A large part of ABA is based on something called the ABC’s:
- Antecedent – what happened right before the behavior
- Behavior – the child’s behavior
- Consequence – what happened after the behavior
A trigger is another way of describing an antecedent – the event or situation that occurred right before a challenging behavior. Functions refer to the reasons why the behavior occurs. Triggers can include things like loud noises, transitions, or changes in routine, while functions can include seeking attention, avoiding tasks, or gaining access to preferred items.
For example, if a child throws a tantrum every time they are asked to clean up their toys (trigger), the function of the behavior might be to avoid the task. Identifying both triggers and functions helps therapists understand why the behavior is happening and develop effective strategies for intervention.
Developing a Behavior Intervention Plan
A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a personalized strategy designed to address challenging behaviors. It outlines specific interventions, supports, and reinforcement techniques that will be used to encourage positive change.
At Westside, each ABA session is conducted one-on-one with a dedicated therapist. Before developing a BIP, our therapists will evaluate your child’s unique challenges and the underlying reasons for their behavior. It’s important to understand these underlying reasons. Addressing an unmet sensory need, for example, requires a different approach than teaching communication skills or emotional regulation.
Strategies for Behavior Management
In ABA therapy, the goal of behavior management is to reduce challenging behaviors and promote positive alternatives. Some common strategies include positive reinforcement, communication training, antecedent interventions, prompting, token systems, and visual supports.
Westside’s ABA operates under the “My Way” philosophy, which is a modern, child-centered approach that emphasizes:
- Leading with empathy
- Bringing joy to our learners
- Building positive & empowering relationships between child and therapist
- Play-based learning in the natural environment alongside peers
This means that our underlying philosophy behind all behavior management is respectful, positive, and play-based. We also believe that an important component in behavior management is enabling the child to learn self-management techniques. This allows them to monitor and regulate their own behavior, both in and outside of ABA.
Finally, we prioritize parent and caregiver involvement and education. We often hear from parents that they don’t know how to respond when their child has challenging behaviors, or that nothing they are doing seems to work. Behavior affects the entire family, and our goal is to support parents and caregivers with implementing behavior management strategies consistently at home.
Antecedent Interventions
Antecedent interventions in ABA therapy aim to change what happens before a behavior to stop it from happening. The goal here is to identify and manipulate antecedents (triggers) that may lead to challenging behaviors. By recognizing a child’s triggers, we can adjust them to influence the outcome.
Antecedent interventions can include providing visual schedules, clarifying expectations, offering choices to increase a sense of control, and simplifying tasks to reduce frustration.
Consequence-Based Interventions
Another type of intervention in ABA therapy is based on the consequence, or the “C” in the ABCs. When you hear the word “consequence”, you might think of a punishment or something negative. In reality, consequences can actually be positive!
Positive reinforcement is a type of consequence-based intervention. For example, if a child uses words to communicate rather than shouting, they might receive praise. The praise makes them feel good and encourages them to keep communicating with words in the future.
Other examples may include a child earning a token or small prize for a behavior, and earning access to a preferred activity, such as iPad time.
Promoting Positive Replacement Behaviors
All behavior serves a purpose. Replacement behaviors are taught to serve the same purpose as the problem behavior but in a better way. Communication is key, whether verbal or nonverbal. For instance, instead of throwing a cup when a child wants milk, they can say ‘milk’ or point to their cup.
Teaching relaxation strategies like deep breathing helps kids manage frustration or anxiety without resorting to harmful behaviors. Some children with Autism get overwhelmed easily. Teaching self-regulation skills helps them manage emotions and offers positive alternatives. For instance, they can learn deep breathing to stay calm or express feelings with words instead of tantrums.
Reinforcing Desired Behaviors
In ABA therapy, we use positive reinforcement to encourage desired behaviors. This means kids receive immediate rewards for demonstrating the behaviors their therapist is teaching. Token systems may also be used, where children earn points for desired behaviors that can be exchanged for rewards.
The aim is to create a strong link between desired behaviors and their outcomes, encouraging kids to keep up those behaviors. What’s rewarding about behavior management in ABA therapy is seeing kids proud of mastering new skills or handling their behavior positively. It also helps families spend more quality time together, with less stress over challenging behaviors. For parents, ABA therapy brings a sense of relief as they see their child’s behavior improving.
To learn more about ABA therapy or other Westside services, please click the link below or call us at (815) 469-1500 and our team will walk you through the process.
