"How ABA can help a child
be successful in a classroom setting"
Guest post written by: How To ABA
Many children start out their ABA journey with an intensive individualized
ABA program. This means that they can be
receiving 20-40 hours a week of one-on-one ABA support with a skilled
Instructor Therapist and oversight by a Behavior Analyst.
I say this is a journey because it is not
always the end goal for a child to have this level of support – both
financially and educationally. However,
it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There
is a misconception that ABA is all about the one-on-one model but in reality,
ABA principles can do so much more to support a child in different settings and
environments so that they are successful.
When children transition from 1:1 ABA into a classroom
environment, the outcome can either be fantastic or disastrous. With the right amount of thought and
planning, using ABA principles can help a child transition to a classroom and
away from needing 1:1 support.
Here are
some tips and strategies to keep it on the more fantastic side in the classroom:
Visual Schedules
If I was sent into work one day without my calendar and
appointment book, I’d be lost! I can be
told what my meetings are and where I need to be but if it’s not written down,
I’m likely to forget. This is similar
for our students in the classroom.
Visual schedules make the words more meaningful and permanent. I’ve heard so many times from teachers, “But
he knows what to do!” and that may or may not be true. But why are we expecting more of our students
then we would want for ourselves? We can make it easier on our students by
having the visuals available for them and this also makes the prompting less
intrusive. Instead of needing to
verbally remind them, we can direct them back to their schedule and thus
removing the need for constant reminders.
Tip: A visual schedule
is something that can always be available to a student in an age appropriate
way. While a younger student can use
pictures, an older student can be following a text-based to-do list.
Classroom Setup
In ABA we’re all about the interactions between the
environment and behavior. So wouldn’t
it make sense to set up the environment for the behavior we want to see? In a classroom, this means using the physical
space to set your students up for success. You can use dividers to block off areas that
become distracting. You can create an
area in the classroom that is used for calming down and regulation. Strategic planning can be as simple as making
sure that your student’s materials are easily accessible to minimize traveling
around the room (which can result in unwanted behaviors). Is the student having difficulty transitioning
from circle time back to his desk? Put his desk as close as possible to where
circle time occurs. Does the student
need frequent breaks? Put his desk near the door so it can be less disruptive.
Reinforcement Systems:
Reinforcement is a proactive way to set our students up for
success. Instead of waiting for the
problem behavior to occur, we want to set up ways for the student to access
all the good stuff by showing the appropriate behaviors. Don’t wait!
The first thing to do is to make sure that the behavior expectations in
the classroom are clear. Review rules
like, “Keep your hands to yourself” and “Use an indoor voice” so that student
understands what they mean. Then,
reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. If you
want the rules to be followed, there has to be something in it for the student
to follow them! Reinforcement can be
immediate (e.g.: getting a favorite toy every time they show the desired
behavior) or delayed (e.g.: collecting points toward a treat at the end of the
day). If your student is new to the classroom environment, you can tweak the
system to be individualized for that student’s goals. If your student is working on “greetings”
then have a reinforcement system in the classroom that rewards appropriate
greetings with adults and peers. The
more we reinforce a skill, the more we’ll see it and then we can build on it in
the classroom.
Tip: Sometimes
reinforcement systems take some time and some tweaks to find what works. Don’t give up! Keep trying until you find the right
combination of time, effort, and reward for that student.
Peer Leaders:
Using other students as leaders is another great
strategy. If your student is going into
a classroom with peers who are at a higher level, you can choose one of those peers
to act as the peer model or leader. Give that peer jobs such as holding all the
crayons and waiting for your student to ask for one. If the teacher gives an instruction and your
student hasn’t followed it yet, have the peer go and get that student instead
of you. Pair up your student with an
appropriate peer model for structured lessons such as turn-taking or group
work.
Tip: Reinforcement can
be for everyone! Did the peer do a really great job waiting for your kiddo to
say hi? Offer a small sticker or reward to both!
Priming
Priming is another great ABA strategy that can be applied in
a classroom. If you know that your
student struggles with a certain subject, ask for the materials beforehand so
that you can pre-teach or prime some of the content. That way, when the teacher teaches the
content during class, it makes it easier for the student to pay attention and
follow the instructions in a group. You
can also use this strategy for a difficult time of day, like gym or
recess. Prime your student before going
into the gym with what the rules are in the gym. Remind your student about the behavior
expectations and what’s in it for him to follow the rules. Some role-play and modeling might also be
helpful in acting out the specific scenarios before they happen.
Is it Working?
How do you know if any of these systems are working?
DATA! Keep ongoing data on the
behaviors you want to increase and the behaviors you want to decrease. Is the child having LESS tantrums when
transitioning inside form recess? Is the
child becoming MORE independent with self-help skills? Is the child able to request for what she
wants MORE often? Watching for the
trends in these behaviors will let you know if what you’re doing is working or
if something needs to be changed. As the
child becomes more successful and more independent, slowly fade the amount of
support and prompting they are receiving in the classroom.
Guest Post Authors:
We’re Shira and Shayna and we started How to ABA as a way to
share and collaborate with other ABA professionals. We know how overwhelming and lonely it can be
in this field, especially when first starting out. We’ve taken our resources and materials that
we’ve collecting over many years of ABA practice and we’re sharing them all in
one place! How to ABA and The Bx Resource offers programs, downloads,
community, support, and CEU’s - so you
can help your clients and save more time!
With our combined strengths of teaching, program development, and
finding the practical application of ABA to real-life situations, we love
helping other professionals help their clients and feel supported along their
journey!
You can find us at www.howtoaba.com.
No comments