Ahhhhhh, IEP Meetings. :-)


These meetings can be quite an experience. I have seen firsthand how emotional the implications of IEP Meetings can be to families. I have spoken with parents right after an IEP meeting who ran the emotional gamut from frustrated and angry, to scared and concerned, to depressed and tearful. I have met and worked cooperatively with some amazing educators who inspire and encourage me, and on the flip-side I've encountered and dealt with educators who were very unwilling to change, closed minded, or even combative.

Families often deal with a new teacher, or set of teachers, every academic year. This can be a tiring and exhausting process. Just when you adjust to your child's teacher, the school year ends and its time for a new teacher, new classroom, and new personality.  I'm sure most people would agree that a well- trained and passionate teacher can be the best thing to happen to any child, regardless if that child has a disability or not.

The Home-School Connection basically means keeping lines of communication open between the parents, home therapists, school, teachers, and other related therapists. The more everyone knows the child's goals, strengths, and weaknesses, the better for all involved. The home therapist needs to know how the child does at school, and the teacher needs to know what the child is working on at home. 

Research shows that when a family communicates regularly with the school and teachers about the home ABA program, and when that school includes the family in all aspects of the child's educational planning, the child does better with skill acquisition, skill generalization, and maintenance of learned skills (“The Home/School Collaborative Model.”  Children & Schools, Volume 30, Number 3, July 2008).

For all therapists, it is important to help the family you work for understand how to communicate with the school, and be sure to incorporate school skills and goals into your ABA sessions as much as you can to help the child generalize.
For all parents, it is important to view your child's teacher (or teachers) as an important member of your child's therapeutic team. I see so many families who have estranged or tense relationships with their child's school and/or teacher. It is unfortunate when that happens, but if you are a parent in that situation hopefully this information will be helpful to you.

 Below are some general tips for therapists or for parents, to keep the Home-School Connection strong, which will ultimately benefit what we all care the most about: the children.

*Think Positive, Speak Positive- If you can re-frame the way you think about your child's school and their teacher, it will impact the way you speak to educators and administrators at the school. Try and focus on what you do like about the school, the good things you see in the classroom, positive qualities in the teacher, etc. When you speak to people at the school, begin any conversation in a pleasant tone and manner. Many parents and teachers get stuck in negative/ defensive communication patterns. The teacher sees the parent walk into their room and becomes instantly stressed and on guard. The parent sees that the teacher sent a note home, and automatically feels fear and annoyance. Break that negative pattern. The current method of communication and problem solving is not effective, that is why arguments keep occurring. If something isn't effective, why keep doing it? Change your approach, change your thinking, and change your actions.

*Keep Lines of Communication Open- How does your child's teacher keep ongoing communication with you, and how do you communicate with them? Weekly conferences? Monthly meetings? Daily notes that are sent home? Or do you only hear about your child's progress (or lack of progress) via report cards, and planning/ IEP meetings a few times a year? That is simply not enough communication. These children can change so quickly in terms of motivation, attention, and focus from week to week that their school performance may have incredible variability. You need to consult with your child's teacher and decide together what your method of communication will be. Most families I work with use a notebook or binder in which the teacher writes brief daily notes about the child's behavior, attention, and school performance. This is a quick and simple way for the parents and home therapists to know how the child is doing at school. If the teacher declines your suggestion to incorporate daily notes, don't give up. Be persistent. Make other suggestions, offer to brainstorm with him/her, and stress the importance of this issue. Teachers have many duties, and larger and larger classrooms, and sometimes they don't have the time to write daily notes. Maybe weekly notes would be better. Or maybe a quick email sent after lunchtime. Help the teacher create a system of communication, and include the home therapists in the exchange of information as well.

*Reinforcement Isn't Just for Kids!- The principles of behavior management work on ANYONE. That means they will work on your child, your husband or wife, your boss, your child's teacher, etc.. Let the teacher know they are doing a good job. Comment on new items or objects placed in the classroom. If you know the teacher just returned from a vacation, inquire about their trip. When the teacher takes the time to speak to you before or after school, thank them for doing so. Everyone likes to hear feedback that they are performing their job well. Be mindful of how many times you contact the teacher with a complaint or negative statement, and how many times you complimented, or gave positive feedback to the teacher. Start any school conference or meeting by thanking the staff present for their hard work and dedication. Praise and compliments are free, so give them away.

*Be Aware that You are an Advocate- Maybe you are a parent who doesn't have a Behavior Analyst working with your child. Maybe the school doesn't have someone on staff who is adequately trained in Autism, or knowledgeable in ABA. What do you do in these situations?? You become your child's advocate first, and parent second. Offer to come into the classroom and show the teacher techniques or strategies. Give concrete examples of behavior techniques to them, and explain why they work. Approach the school and the teachers as the expert on your child (which you are). Educate, and help make the teacher aware of ABA strategies. Do not just assume that your child's teacher is adequately trained to incorporate ABA principles into the classroom.

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author

Parent participation in ABA Therapy is vital to a child’s success.  

If the parents are not involved in their child’s therapy program the likelihood of success is lower. When parents are involved in the development and implementation of interventions the intervention procedures are more likely to be generalized across contexts and people, and the child is likely to learn and use skills more quickly.

 ABA professionals often possess knowledge that parents do not have. This could be knowledge of behavior theory, learning strategies, or motivation and attention.

 It is part of my job to educate parents about every aspect of their child's programming as well as how to address behaviors, and how to make ABA a way of life in their home. This is my favorite part of my job.  I love parents who ask questions and provide me with new perspectives on problem solving.

Unfortunately, some professionals feel they don't have to provide parent education as part of their job. Maybe they are uncomfortable with it, lack the 'know-how', or think parents observing the therapy session is all that is needed. Intentionally planning for parent involvement and training from the start of the therapy process will help both sides (the parent and the provider) know what is expected and what will occur.


To the direct therapists:  use every opportunity you have to show the family how to implement ABA strategies. Parent education should be such an integral part of your job as an ABA Therapist, that if you called in sick the child's mother or father could run the session in your place.  For the most part parents genuinely WANT to learn strategies and techniques, and if someone would take the time to explain it to them they would be very grateful.

For the parents: you should feel encouraged by the ABA Therapists to ask questions about your child's therapy. The therapist(s) should never make you feel embarrassed or stupid for asking questions, and should explain programs to such a degree that you could teach the program yourself if necessary. I encourage you to view yourself as an important member of your child's therapeutic team.

 The speech therapist may have specialized knowledge about language and articulation, the occupational therapist may have specialized knowledge about coordination and movement, and the ABA therapist may have specialized knowledge about behavior. However, the parent is the expert when it comes to the child.


As an ABA provider, to do my job well I must collaborate with the expert on that child (YOU).
The magnitude of what I can accomplish as a professional is limited if the parents are not on board with treatment, and fully involved.

Parents are the most natural advocates for their children because they know the child best and because increased parental participation is correlated with increased child success. Additionally, parents are most effective at advocating for their child because they are emotionally invested in their child’s welfare and they are the most constant people in the child’s life.
When parents are involved and advocate for the rights and meaningful education of their child amazing things can happen.

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author

How do you know if the ABA Therapist working with your child is terrible, good, or great at their job?

There are many specific characteristics to look for. I have worked with many families who often fall into two categories when dealing with in-home therapists:

1. The family has a great and dedicated therapist, but isn't aware of it because they are expecting perfection. They go through therapist after therapist and find flaws in all of them.
2. The family has a mediocre, or even bad therapist, but they don't replace the therapist because either they don't know how bad the therapist is, or they are afraid they wont find anyone else.

It is important as a parent to know what signs to look for to judge the quality of the ABA provider. 
Therapists, this is important information to know so you can strive to match these characteristics. 

An effective and quality ABA program needs many things: a qualified and experienced supervisor overseeing and running the program, materials/teaching stimuli and supplies, consistency, and a GREAT team of therapists. The therapists are the glue of any ABA program, as they are the ones doing the day-to-day teaching.

After reading this list you might realize you have a GREAT therapist working for you. Appreciate and provide feedback to that therapist that they are doing a wonderful job! Everyone likes to receive heartfelt appreciation. :-)

Traits/Characteristics of a Great ABA Therapist:

• He/she is passionate about their work, enjoys talking about ABA strategies and principles with you, and sharing techniques with you.
• He/she seems to genuinely like, not just tolerate, being around children. You see or hear the therapist laughing and having fun with your child before or after sessions. They don't just finish the session, clean up, and head home.
• He/she talks about career goals within ABA or a related field. It isn't just a "job" to them; it is a career path they are interested in.
• He/she becomes invested in your child's progress. If you have been struggling for months with toilet training, and you call the therapist excited one morning that your child just peed in the potty the therapist will be excited with you.
• He/she asks for feedback and supervision from senior members of the team. 
• He/she is a team player, and open to communication with the child's teacher or related therapists.
• He/she responds appropriately to suggestions for improvement and constructive criticism. They do not respond by being defensive, making excuses, or becoming upset. They want to learn how to perform their job well.
• He/she is a consistent individual. They show up on time, work the full session (doesn't consistently leave early), attend required staff meetings, etc. It is apparent that they take their job seriously.
• This last one is very important: He/she is making progress, and improving. Sometimes families see areas of weakness in an ABA Therapist, and expect the person to fix those areas overnight. But change doesn't work that way. For most people, it is a process and doesn't occur in a single moment. 

A great ABA Therapist is a gem to any family, and has the potential to bring about huge changes in your child's learning. 

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author

Not all ABA Therapists work in center or school based settings, with a full-time schedule. Many work inside of client homes, in the community, or very part-time hours. Heading out to work for the day could mean seeing 2 clients for 2 hours each, and then being done with the work day. 

But regardless of how unconventional the work setting and work hours might be, being an ABA provider has very significant and impactful responsibilities and duties. I've seen new therapists start working with a family/client and then very quickly those therapists are no longer around. If you demonstrate that you are an ethical professional who takes your job seriously then you will likely work in this field for a long time. If you do not, you could have a very short career.

Here are some tips on what NOT to do as a new ABA therapist. This information will also be helpful for parents who want to know when its time to fire a current therapist.

Signs of a bad ABA Therapist: 

•  Consistently cancels therapy sessions, arrives late to sessions, or pulls a "no show"- This one is pretty straightforward. You were hired as an ABA Therapist and you and the family/agency set up a schedule together.  Be on time, arrive for work when you are supposed to, and if something comes up call the family and let them know. Simply not showing up or being consistently late sends a message that you are not reliable and that you don't take your job seriously. Especially if you are working with a family with multiple therapists or multiple children, they probably have a very busy schedule. If you miss a therapy session that throws their whole day off.

• Talks to friends or family about their clients, giving details and private information- As an ABA Therapist what you do for a living is far more interesting than what most people do every day. You may want to talk to your friends, spouse, or family members about the clients you work with. However, this is highly inappropriate and unethical behavior. Confidentiality is extremely important as a therapist-provider.  Even something as simple as speaking to the child's teacher about behavior issues at home can be a confidentiality breach unless the family has told you this is allowed.

• Gets too close to the family, crosses boundaries- It can be hard to maintain boundaries when you see so much of people's personal lives, but it's important to remember you are not there to socialize. Don't disclose any personal information about your life that will make it difficult or uncomfortable for you to do your job. Do NOT "like/friend" clients on social media, disclose details of your family or spouse, hang out together outside of therapy sessions, share pictures of your recent trip to Cancun, etc. 

• Has a distant or poor relationship with the family of their client- On the flip side of getting too close to a client's family is being too distant from a family. Sometimes therapists will forget to do simple things like greeting the family when they arrive to the home, or asking the parents how they are doing. You shouldn't just arrive at the home and go straight to work with the client. You are still a guest in someone's home and should take a few minutes to greet everyone with a sincere smile and a few words.

• Vague about salary expectations- Not all providers work for companies, some work directly for families. This can make salary talk difficult, especially if the family is new to hiring therapists. Salary conflicts can be prevented by being clear and upfront about what you expect to make before you are hired. Discuss salary raises, supplies/materials reimbursement, sick pay, holidays, etc. These are all questions you should get answered before you start work. If you stay late after a session, is that overtime? If you get ill and miss a session, are you expected to make that session up? If the family cancels a session at the last minute, do you still get paid for the session? Does the family offer mileage reimbursement at all? It should be clear what is paid time, and what is not paid time.

• Overly negative or critical- Yes, we all have bad days. We are people first. There will be days where you didn't get much sleep the night before, or maybe you had a terrible fight with your spouse. You are allowed to have bad moods, however upon starting a work shift you must leave all of that "at the door" when you arrive for work. Telling a parent "Wow, your daughter is so annoying today", or "I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I'm not in the mood for your son's tantrums" are wildly inappropriate and negative comments.  You can share with the family how the session went without being overly critical or emotional. Instead of "Your son just kept hitting me!" you can say "He had 7 instances of aggression today. Are you seeing that much aggression too?" The second example is more respectful, and also is seeking clarification about the  behavior.

• Messy or disorganized therapist - It is common courtesy to clean up the therapy room when the session is over and put things back the way you found them before you leave. The parents shouldn't have to clean up after you once you are done with a therapy session, and you shouldn't leave toys or materials strewn all over their home.

• Therapist brings children to work- Believe it or not, I have seen this happen! You can't run a session and watch your own child at the same time. When you arrive for a therapy session you are beginning a work shift. If you can't find a babysitter, then you need to cancel the therapy session for that day.

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author

Photo source: www.littleleaves.org

If you are not currently working as an ABA Therapist or the parent of a child who receives ABA Therapy you might be wondering :

"What is ABA??"

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science of changing socially significant behavior. 
ABA has its origins in the scientific work of B.F. Skinner. In its early days, ABA research was about studying how individuals and animals respond under certain conditions (Operant Conditioning), and had nothing to do with Autism, therapy, or special needs. It was simply a science of understanding how behaviors are established, and how they can be changed.

A 1987 Lovaas study is credited with pushing ABA forward, as a science that can be applied to real world issues/challenges.  This is when what we now think of as  formal ABA Therapy began to take shape. 

At that time in history, Autism was considered to be a mysterious and baffling condition that was met with despair and sadness, and parents were advised to institutionalize their Autistic child and move on with their life. 

The methods of this study reflect their time, and punishment heavy strategies were used to change behavior. It is important to note that by the 1990's, research was pretty consistent that punishment simply does not work long-term. All it does is give short term gains.

       

Advancements in technology and better ethical standards, as well as a better understanding of learning differences, have shaped ABA as a science. Aversives and punishment strategies should not be the go-to strategy of a quality ABA program today.

As times changed, years passed, and with more of us ABA practitioners listening to the voices and concerns of actually Autistic people (please read up on the ABA Reform movement), ABA remains a science that must always be improving, always changing, and always evolving, to make sure we are not seeking to "fix" our clients but to support them and help them overcome day-to-day barriers. 

Today, a diagnosis of Autism should not be met with sadness or despair. It should be met with with a commitment to understand more about neurological differences, and to help provide support at whatever level would be most appropriate, across the lifespan.

You have likely heard ABA & ABA Therapy used interchangeably, but from reading this post you now know that ABA is a scientific study of behavior. 

Now let's talk about ABA Therapy:

 ABA Therapy is an umbrella term that covers many styles of teaching/treatment, such as Verbal Behavior (VB), Natural Environment Teaching (NET),  and Discrete Trial Training (DTT). ABA professionals mainly work in the areas of behavior reduction or skill acquisition.

 ABA Therapy incorporates behavioral techniques such as reinforcement, prompting, consistent consequences, and extinction. Strengths are generalized and expanded upon, and deficits are remediated with functional skills in order to help the individual be more successful in their environment. Behavior reduction and skill acquisition are closely connected when it comes to ABA Therapy; typically being simultaneously targeted.

 ABA Therapy has decades of rigorous research to support its efficacy, and people all over the world use intensive ABA principles in order to teach new behaviors to children, adolescents, and adults.

Being a behavioral therapeutic method, ABA Therapy focuses on what is observable and measurable. Precise and frequent data collection drives the course of treatment.

 ABA Therapy can take place in the home setting, school setting, community setting(s), or at a center/clinic. ABA Therapy is usually provided by ABA therapists, and the therapists should be supervised by a Consultant (usually a Board Certified Behavior Analyst).

ABA Therapy focuses on understanding behavior by its function, combined with examining the environment in order to develop a comprehensive strategy for behavior reduction.

ABA therapy is not limited to a specific population/diagnosis, age, or setting. ABA can be effective with a wide range of behaviors, challenges ranging from low to high intensity, and for simple, rote skills (e.g. putting on a sock) all the way up to more complicated and multi-component skills (e.g. decreasing high rates of employee turnover/resignations).


Examples of ABA Therapy goals could include:

Increase attending behaviors
Improve fine motor skills

Help with study skills for a college student
Extinguish self-injurious behaviors (SIB's) that cause harm
Reduce tantrumming behavior
Increase interaction among sibling groups
Generalize learned skills across environments

Social skill training for all ages (making friends, maintaining close relationships, dating, etc.)

A weight-loss or smoking cessation program for an adult
Successful homework completion
Increasing compliance to adult directives
Provide parent education in the area of behavior management 

Strategies for optimizing employee work performance and productivity
Intensive, comprehensive treatment (often appropriate for early intervention learners presenting with broad skill deficits and intensive problem behavior)
Brief, focused treatment (often appropriate for advanced learners presenting with a few areas of skill deficit, or moderate problem behavior)



If you would like more information about ABA or ABA Therapy, please see any of the links below:

http://autism.about.com/od/alllaboutaba/a/abaoverview.htm
http://www.abainternational.org/ba.asp
http://www.autism.com/index_b.asp
http://www.asatonline.org/treatment/treatments/applied.htm
 http://www.christinaburkaba.com/History.htm

www.bacb.com

'The Verbal Behavior Approach' by Dr. Mary Barbera

www.abavisualized.com 


 *The Cooper book  (often called the "White Book")  is a more technical guide that I recommend for those wanting to dive into the concepts of terminology of ABA: 
Applied Behavior Analysis by Cooper, Heron, & Heward

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author

Welcome to my Blog!

I'm a Behavior Specialist located in Atlanta, Georgia, and have been working as an ABA practitioner since early 2002. 

I started this blog as a way to freely share tips, strategies, and resources with fellow ABA professionals, but anyone is welcome to visit my blog and learn about ABA as a science, and as a therapy. 

When I first started working in this field I didn't know many ABA professionals (being a homebased therapist can be highly isolated work), and it's hard to do this type of work with minimal professional support. I hope this blog will be a source of support for other ABA professionals.

I  recognize that some people are very much against ABA therapy. It's not my goal here to try and convince or "sell people" on  ABA therapy, but rather to honestly talk about what ABA IS and is NOT and let people make up their own minds.

 I am so passionate about ABA because I have seen-- over and over again-- how it can improve lives in practical, everyday ways. Such as helping individuals to communicate, indepdently toilet, reverse school refusal/school failure, and increase social interaction ability (forming and maintaining close friendships) as well as remove barriers to participating in group sports, clubs, or hobbies.



Regardless of how you found this blog, WELCOME.

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Tameika Meadows, BCBA, Blog Author