By giving your child Applied Behavior Analysis reinforcement at home, you can boost their belief in their own ability. This means that you can give them ABA-based challenges to help them develop a sense of self-efficacy and autonomy. With ABA reinforcement, you can provide the opportunity for your child to feel secure and independent.
What Are Ways I Can Provide ABA Reinforcement At Home To Benefit My Child?
- Be Consistent
- Create A Special ABA Therapy Area
- Be Fully Prepared With Materials Before Beginning
- Make ABA Therapy A Routine Part Of Your Day
Be Consistent
It can be difficult to find the motivation for at-home therapy support, but consistency is key to ABA success. As a part of introducing the basics of behavior analysis, we emphasize this concept. The responses that are established through ABA need to be consistently applied at home, so that your child recognizes that X will always lead to Y. Regular reinforcement like this can decrease the attraction of problem behaviors, as children won’t persist in activities that don’t lead to desirable results.
Create A Special ABA Therapy Area
The environment has a greater impact on learning than one might think. If you have ever tried to do ABA exercises with your child while the television was on in the background, then you know this firsthand. Adults might be able to tune out smaller disruptions, but children with autism might have a harder time filtering out noise and other sensory distractions.
For this reason, it is important to select a tranquil location with minimal interruptions for ABA. Having a dedicated space will provide a sense of focus to the lessons and make it easier for both of you to relax when not engaging in ABA processes.
Be Fully Prepared With Materials Before Beginning
It is beneficial to have therapy-specific materials, such as charts and learning tools, available in your ABA room/space. This way, you can avoid having to pause and restart the lesson in order to locate the necessary materials. Doing so can be disruptive and time-consuming, thus hindering the learning process.
Make ABA Therapy A Routine Part Of Your Day
Incorporating ABA therapy into your daily routine is key for optimizing your child’s progress. This way, you won’t need to ask yourself when you and your child can fit an ABA therapy session into your day. Having a consistent daily practice will help your child to develop more effectively. By dedicating yourself to regular work, you will be able to see the greatest improvement in the long run.
Having a consistent daily practice is key when it comes to achieving the best results with ABA sessions. Setting a time to work each day will help to train your child’s brain to expect learning at the same time. This concept is also true for aspiring artists. Professional creatives often advise their students to practice regularly, as routine can allow for more creative progress. By having a consistent start time each day, the artist is more likely to feel inspired and less likely to be met with resistance.
This same principle of adhering to a routine is key to your child’s ABA reinforcement. This will help reduce resistance, encourage the unconscious to take over and lead to progress. Understandably, plans can sometimes change and you may need to reschedule your in-home sessions. Nevertheless, it is essential to establish a regular pattern for the best results.
Solstice Behavioral Health & Consulting is a team of Master and Doctoral-level experts who specialize in treating children with autism and their families. With over 20 years of experience in the field of autism, we engage our families within a caring and compassionate environment that allows for the development of a therapeutic relationship. Call us at 203-900-4720 to get started with an individualized treatment plan for your child and benefit from evidence-based teaching methods and a state-of-the-art facility.
