• To begin teaching this skill use a preferred item or activity and a timer with an auditory signal.
•  Allow your child access to the preferred item for a small increment of time, then stop access to the item or activity. Do this by using a key phrase that you would naturally use in his or her environment such as “wait” , “just a minute”, etc.
• Set the timer for a very short increment of time (2-5 seconds).
• Once the timer goes off immediately praise the child for waiting and allow him/her access to the reinforcing item or activity.

Typically, parents can expect their child to protest when he or she is denied access to the reinforcing item or activity. As the child continues to come into contact with contingencies of the timer going off and receiving access to the reinfocing item or activity the child’s protests should de-escalte in intensity.  As the child’s response to the denial of the reinfocing activity observably decrease, parents should systematically increase the duration of “wait” time.  Parents should heavily reinforce compliancies with waiting and eventually begin to use these key phrases and times in the child’s natural environment (eventually removing the timer).

Teaching your child to tolerate delayed access to reinforcers can assist in increasing his or her compliancy and decreasing problematic behaviors .

Decreasing Problematic Behavior Webinar (click here to view)

For parents looking to begin a home program finding an effective consultant is essential.  Find a consultant who speaks of and uses data to make decisions on your child’s programming. Data-based decision-making is a must!

Develop an understanding of the insurance laws in your state regarding coverage. Begin the process of getting your provider set up and approved at least 30-60 days before you begin services to your child.

Decide upon who will be delivering the daily therapy to  you child. For some families parents or other family members can serve as line therapists, for others hiring outside staff to deliver daily services is more effective. In many cases both consultation and line therapy services can be covered by insurance.

For more information insurance coverage or how to start home program. Visit our Q & A forum http://blog.skillsprout.com/ask-a-question/

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Constantly being exposed to problematic behaviors is frustrating! Don’t forget to take a time out for yourself. If the moment is too much, walk away until you are calm enough to try again. Try wearing ear plugs to decrease noise or protective pads if your child kicks/hits. Schedule in weekly, daily, and/or hourly breaks for yourself. You are worth it!

 Developing the child’s ability to self-monitor targeted behaviors can also serve as a last phase of development toward generalization of new skill. Once a child has developed an ability to engage in a targeted behavior, try using self-monitoring procedures to assist in pushing the skill out into the natural environment. 

The first phase of self-monitoring procedures should work on developing the child’s ability to accurately “track” whether he or she engaged in a targeted behavior. For example, can your child accurately reflect on his or her ability to monitor engagement in perseverative topics of conversations? Or can your child accurately reflect on if he or she remained on-task during a 15-20 minute timeframe?

When teaching this first phase be sure to provide immediate feedback to your child after his or her reflection of their own behavior. Agree or disagree with their reflection and discuss the differences in your perspectives. Work with your child on developing an ability to accurately reflect on his or her behaviors.

Once your child has demonstrated an abily to accurately reflect on whether they have engaged in the behavior or not, work on goal-setting with your child. The ability to set goals and accomplish goals is a life skill. Work on developing this ability with your child related to targeted behaviors. If for example you are working with your child on developing his or her ability to regulate emotions, self-monitoring procedures could be used to set goals related to using de-escalation strategies when he or she  begins to emotionally escalate. 

The ability to self-monitor one’s own behavior is an important phase of skill development.

Using a token board can help reduce problem behaviors. When used consistently it communicates to the learner how long the task is and what they get in return for the work.

How can I figure out what my child is willing to work for during a task?

1. Ask them

2. Watch what they play with or eat often

3. Hand them a toy and see if they like it

4. Feed them some food and see if they like it

5. Try the same items the next day to see if you get a similar reaction

6. Try using the items during a task vs. free time

Types of reinforcers

1. Edible-food and liquid

2. Social-praise, someone’s attention

3. Sensory-feels good, looks good, smells good, tastes good, sounds good

TIP: To help maintain behavior in different environments, train family members, caregivers, staff, and those who interact with the person. Don’t expect the person to just “apply” a skill learned in one place. Teaching has to occur in different environments and with different people. Generalization, for the most part, has to be systematically planned for and taught-not hoped for.