Applied Behavioral Analysis (ava)_1. How to teach a child to cooperate? Step One Robert Schramm

From Bryansk to Vladivostok, in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Georgia, parents and professionals helping children with autism received free copies of the first ABA book in Russian from the Coming Out Foundation.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the “gold standard” for helping people with autism in many countries, is still an unknown curiosity in Russia. One of the reasons is not only the lack of systematic training for behavioral therapists, but the almost complete absence of books and other materials on modern ABA principles and methods.

In an attempt to change the current situation, the Vykhod Foundation, together with the Steps charitable foundation, took part in the publication of the first Russian-language manual on ABA, and donated part of the circulation to specialized non-profit and government organizations, as well as to parents and individual specialists.

Robert Schramm's book Childhood Autism and ABA. Applied Behavior Analysis Based Therapy” published by Rama Publishing (Yekaterinburg). The uniqueness of this publication is that the author sets out the basic principles of applied behavioral analysis in a very simple language, accessible to the general reader.

The Russian-language edition was intended to be a kind of "introduction" to ABA for Russian professionals and parents who are not familiar with this area and approach to learning. Robert Schramm, a behavioral therapist with many years of experience, speaks primarily to parents raising a child with autism. He offers them simple and effective tools for the development of speech and communication of the child, which are based on the reinforcement of his verbal behavior.

Here is what parents of children with autism write who have already received and read the book (from reviews on the forum "Special Childhood of Irkutsk"):

“I already received it last week, Zhenya is reading now. Yesterday he asked me to write something small on a tablet, in response - a small chocolate pea. Flying works. Small even wrote “Dad give me chocolate.”

“Now I can also refer to the source, thanks to those who published the book. I’ve been saying for a long time, not a single person has heard me yet: all the extraneous surrounding people, by their actions towards me and my child, give the child reinforcement of incorrect behavior.

In order to make the book as accessible as possible to those who need it most, the Vykhod Foundation purchased a part of the print run for free distribution in Russian regions and CIS countries. Free copies could be ordered by parents of children with autism, as well as regional parent associations, government organizations and rehabilitation centers. The copies of the book were distributed by the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "Center for Autism Problems", one of the Foundation's partners.

Robert Schramm's book turned out to be in great demand, first of all, among regional associations of parents of children with autism and centers for the rehabilitation of children. The places where the allowance was sent are Yekaterinburg and Tula, Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, St. Petersburg and Vladikavkaz, Kostroma and Tomsk, Kemerovo and Irkutsk, Bryansk and Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Krasnodar, Volgograd and Tyumen. No less interest in the publication was shown by representatives of organizations from the CIS countries - part of the circulation was sent to Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Georgia.

At the moment, more than 500 books have been sent to 56 Russian and foreign organizations. Separately, it is worth noting another 300 copies of the book, which the Vykhod Foundation donated to five state organizations in Voronezh involved in the rehabilitation and education of children with special needs. The distribution of the benefit in Voronezh took place within the framework of the joint program of the Vykhod Foundation and the administration of the Voronezh Region – “Autism is curable”. In addition, 4 families of children with autism and 3 professionals working with children with ASD received free books.

Perhaps the resulting publications will change the perceptions of parents and professionals for the better, and - in the long term - will improve the quality of life of people with autism in these regions. In any case, the feedback received allows us to hope so.

“The book is very relevant and important, since, in any case, I have not seen anything like it in ABA! For other parents, it was the first book on autism! It was very important for me to understand what is important in our children to maintain an interest in learning! Once again, I want to say a huge thank you to the translator and everyone, everyone, everyone who gave us - parents - this opportunity to get information on the principle of "one window". It’s a pity that I ordered few copies - 5 pieces,” Zalina Dudueva, Chairman of the MIR Association of Parents of Disabled Children, mother of a child with autism (Vladikavkaz).

“We received 72 books to Krasnoyarsk on February 20th. Liked the book. Written in very accessible language. The parents to whom I gave books, and with whom I had the opportunity to contact, are very satisfied. We reconsidered the attitude to many behaviors of the child,” Inna Sukhorukova, psychologist, mother of a child with autism (NGO “Light of Hope”, Krasnoyarsk).

The Coming Out Foundation team hopes that through the publication, hundreds of other parents will discover the basic principles of applied behavior analysis, and will be able to better understand their children and improve their relationships with them. Taking this opportunity, we express our gratitude to everyone who was able to make this a reality, including the translator, Zuhra Kamar, as well as the ANO Center for Autism Problems, especially the coordinator Yana Zolotovitskaya, for the work done to distribute free books among parents and government organizations.

Special thanks to Marina Kuzmitskaya, who collected and processed applications from organizations and sent books by mail. Many parents and professionals were able to quickly obtain copies of the book thanks to her gratuitous efforts.

The Vykhod Foundation, meanwhile, will continue its publishing program. Other ABA manuals are now being prepared for publication - more focused on specialists and their professional training. It is also planned to publish separate manuals for parents, teachers of public schools and specialists from other areas.

All about sports. Directory

Childhood autism and the ABA. ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis). Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy Robert Schramm

If the behavior continues or happens more frequently after a week or two, you should stop, rethink possible goals, and move on to a different tactic. It was established by a UN resolution and has been held since 2008 to draw attention to the need to help people who suffer. The child directly or indirectly speaks about the desire to die or kill himself or about the municipal state educational institution Troitsk lecture for parents do we make mistakes in raising our children the teacher of the extended day group inna Ivanovna Burakova 2015-2016 Chapter 1. For many years, aba as a scientific discipline has been known in the autism world either as behavior modification or as the lovaas method.

For example, in a situation where a child throws a plate on the floor immediately after the father answers the phone, you can understand that the purpose of this behavior is to try to get the attention of the father. In other words, it is a condition that makes the consequence more or less valuable to your child for a time than it would otherwise be. If such an experience (reinforcement) is positive each time the child uses a certain skill, he will be motivated to use it again in the process of overcoming that sandy wall.

Childhood Autism and aba - Charitable Foundation I'm Special Robert Schramm Childhood Autism and aba. Aba (applied behavior anlisis) therapy based on the methods of applied behavior analysis. Robert Schramm childhood autism and aba. Autism is a disorder that manifests itself in the abnormal behavior of a child. Childhood autism and the ABA. ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis). Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy Robert SchrammChildren's Autism and Ava aba applied behavior analisis therapy Buy the book Childhood Autism and Ava. Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy by robert schramm and other works in the book section of the ozon online store. Digital, print and audiobooks available.

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Autism Books Supported by the Exit Foundation

One of the big difficulties in solving the problems of autism in Russia is the acute shortage of books and other printed materials on autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which, on the one hand, would correspond to the latest scientific research in this area and the information in which would not be outdated, and , on the other hand, would consider those methods of correction and intervention in autism, whose effectiveness has been scientifically proven. This makes it difficult both to train and develop professionals working with children and adults with autism, and to inform parents about how their children can be helped.

Robert Schramm Childhood Autism and ABA. Applied Behavior Analysis Based Therapy”

A total of 1,000 copies of the book were distributed free of charge to more than 50 Russian organizations. At the moment distribution of gratuitous copies is stopped. You can buy the book using the links below:

Mary Lynch Barbera Childhood Autism and the Verbal Behavioral Approach

A total of 3,000 copies of the book were distributed free of charge among Russian state and public organizations. At the moment distribution of gratuitous copies is stopped. You can buy the book using the links below:

Tara Delaney "Developing Basic Skills in Children with Autism"

A total of 1000 copies of the book were distributed free of charge by the Vykhod Foundation among Russian state and public organizations with the support of the Steps Foundation. At the moment distribution of gratuitous copies is stopped. You can buy the book using the links below:

Fred Volkmar and Lisa Weisner, Autism. A Practical Guide for Parents, Family Members and Teachers

A total of 700 copies of the book were distributed free of charge by the Exit Foundation among the participants of the international scientific and practical conference “Autism. Route selection. An additional edition of the book is currently being prepared for free distribution. The book is not available for sale. The release of new copies of the book will be announced later.

SMART BOOKS for a parent, a speech therapist, a teacher

5 entries to all entries

Robert Schramm: Childhood Autism and ABA. ABA: Applied Behavior Analysis Based Therapy

Evidence-based methods have been successfully used around the world to help children with autism for more than half a century. ABA methods(Applied Behavior Analisis), Show in full… or Applied Behavior Analysis. This publication is the first in Russia that systematically talks about applied behavior analysis and allows readers to get acquainted with one of its most effective areas - the analysis of verbal behavior.
Robert Schramm, a certified ABA professional, provides parents with methods and techniques to help correct any unwanted child behavior, regardless of the severity of the disorder, to understand how to control the process of teaching a child new skills and how to enable him to become more successful in life.
The publication is addressed to parents and interested professionals.

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - St. Petersburg: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907.

See what "Schramm" is in other dictionaries:

Schramm- Schramm is a German surname. Known carriers: Schramm, Andrei Andreevich (1792 1867) lieutenant general, commandant of the Sveaborg fortress. Schramm, Claudia (b. 1975) German bobsledder, World Championship bronze medalist. Schramm, Leo Paul (1892 ... ... Wikipedia

Schramm- (Schramm) Konrad (August 21, 1822, Krefeld, January 15, 1858, St. Helier, Jersey, UK), leader of the German and international labor movement. During the Revolution of 1848 49 in Germany, he participated in the publication of democratic newspapers. In May 1849 ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Schramm Conrad- Schramm (Schramm) Konrad (21.8.1822, Krefeld, ‒ 15.1.1858, St. Helier, Jersey, UK), leader of the German and international labor movement. During the Revolution of 1848–49 in Germany, he participated in the publication of democratic newspapers. In May 1849 ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Schramm, Leo Paul- Leo Paul Schramm (German Leo Paul Schramm; September 22, 1892, Vienna November 30, 1953, Brisbane) Austrian-Australian pianist and composer. From the age of 10 he studied with Theodor Leshetitsky. At the age of 15 he went to Berlin, where his soloist career ... ... Wikipedia

Schramm, Leo

Schramm Leo Paul- Leo Paul Schramm (German Leo Paul Schramm; September 22, 1892, Vienna November 30, 1953, Brisbane) Austrian-Australian pianist and composer. From the age of 10 he studied with Theodor Leshetitsky. At the age of 15 he went to Berlin, where his career as a soloist and ... ... Wikipedia

Schramm, Andrei Andreevich- Andrey Andreevich Shramm Date of birth January 15, 1792 (1792 01 15) Date of death June 10, 1867 (1867 06 10) (75 years) Place of death G ... Wikipedia

Schramm, Norbert- Sports awards Figure skating World Championships silver Copenhagen 1982 Men's single skating silver Helsinki 1983 Men's single skating ... Wikipedia

Schramm, Claudia- Claudia Schramm Citizenship ... Wikipedia

Schramm, Fedor Andreevich- Fedor Andreevich Schramm ... Wikipedia

In this article, we will talk about a problem that is becoming more and more urgent every year all over the world, but for some reason is stubbornly hushed up and ignored in the countries of the former CIS. We are talking about autism in childhood. We will tell you in detail why it can occur, how it manifests itself, and what parents of sick children should do.

In 2007, the United Nations decided that every year April 2 would be Autism Awareness Day. It is worth noting that this decision was not made by the World Health Organization, but by the UN. This suggests that autism is a worldwide problem.

For most people, the meaning of the word autism is unclear. Autism is called mental disorder child, in which all developmental processes in his body are disrupted. The kid cannot understand what is happening around him, the world around him is alien, he does not want to make contact with other people.

Doctors can't explain exactly why children face early childhood autism. However, there are several main factors that can provoke the disease. These include:

• poorly developed instincts and affective sphere
• disorder of perception of the surrounding world
• hearing loss
• violations of the work of different parts of the brain responsible for the intellectual development of the child
• child's genetic predisposition
• intrauterine complication of fetal development
• birth injury
• damage to the central nervous system
• hormonal disruptions
• infectious and viral infections
• mercury poisoning
• vaccination against measles, rubella
• taking antibiotics

Signs of childhood autism

Autism can appear in a child at any age. Doctors distinguish three main age periods when parents can first detect in their child symptoms of childhood autism:

1. early childhood autism appears in children under two years of age. It is very important to detect it in time in order to start effective treatment and correction of childhood autism. What in the behavior of your child should alert you:

• the child does not have any reaction to the appearance of strangers
• baby does not respond when called by name
• when you talk to him, he looks away
• prefers to play alone
• does not interact with peers

1. Features of childhood autism in children from two years are as follows:

• child refuses to communicate
• he doesn't start the conversation first
• the kid likes to do math, drawing, he likes music
• the child can repeat the same sound for a long period of time
• if the baby finds himself in an unusual environment, he is enveloped in a feeling of panic and fear
• baby is hard to learn

1. Teenage autism manifests itself in children aged 11 to 18 years. Such children are very aggressive and are in constant depression. It is unbearably difficult for them to survive a transitional age, so they often throw tantrums and get nervous.

Classification of childhood autism

All of the above symptoms of childhood autism are classified into 3 syndromes:

1. Kanner syndrome, with him a child:

• can't get along with people
• he abstracts from the outside world
• not talking
• does not look into the eyes of the interlocutor
• plays with objects that are not customary to play with

All these characteristics of children with early childhood autism make themselves known from the birth of a child. The task of parents is to report the problem to the pediatrician at the first sign.

1. Asperger's Syndrome shares a lot of symptoms with child autism syndrome by Kanner. But with him many children:

• think outside the box
• they have very well developed logical thinking
• attention is quite unstable
• they have beautiful faces, similar to puppets, but the gaze of autistic people is directed “inward”, the face does not express any emotions
• such children are very attached to the house in which they live, but they are not drawn to their parents

1. Rett syndrome - doctors characterize this type of childhood autism, as the most difficult, in which the child not only lags behind in mental development, he also loses the ability to walk with age, his muscle tone decreases, he cannot do anything with his hands.

Diagnosis of childhood autism

You need to show your child to a neuropsychologist when you notice at least 6 of the above symptoms in him. The doctor will then conduct a diagnostic examination by interviewing the parents about the behavior of their child in his usual life.

Unfortunately, today children with autism are not hospitalized to observe their development. This practice is common only in Western countries.

Treatment of childhood autism

You can treat children's autism yourself at home, as well as with medication. Ideally, both methods of therapy should be used in combination. We will describe for you in detail both methods of treating autism in a child, so that you can know what to do and when to urgently contact a qualified specialist.

1. What you can do on your own without medical intervention:

• Repeat the same actions often to instill in a child a skill or ability. For example, even if the baby has learned to brush his teeth, still go with him to do this procedure so that he does not forget about it.
• Make a strict daily routine for your child and follow it clearly. If at least once you go astray from the regime, it will be more difficult for the baby to rebuild.
• In no case do not allow the child to abruptly change the environment to which he is accustomed. This can scare him a lot.
• Spend as much time with your baby as possible, communicate with him, even if he simply remains silent in response. The baby needs to be able to talk. This recommendation is detailed in Mary Barbery's book Childhood Autism and the Verbal Behavioral Approach».
• You can not scold and punish a child with autism. In his presence, it is better to talk in a quiet, calm voice.

• Take your baby in your arms more often, hug him, kiss him. It is very important for him to feel the love of loved ones. You can read more about this in O. Nikolskaya's books on early childhood autism. The author has published a lot of works devoted to this problem.
• If it is very difficult for the baby to talk, then try to establish communication with him using picture cards. The importance of the play approach in the development of children with autism is written in Robert Schramm's book Childhood Autism and ABA. ABA. Therapy based on the methods of applied behavior analysis.
• An autistic kid should not overwork, so between classes, be sure to take a break in which the baby can fully relax.
• Do exercise with your little one every day. They may be elementary. This load is very useful for development of a child with early childhood autism.
• If your baby shows initiative in something, you can’t stop it. It is advisable to pay attention to the child and fulfill his proposal. This topic is devoted to a whole section in the book by K. Lebedinskaya "Early Childhood Autism".

1. Drug treatment of autism is required if the baby has any disorders in the child’s mental system or the internal organs do not work properly:

• The doctor may prescribe probiotics if the baby has developed dysbacteriosis due to autism.
• Be sure to prescribe the intake of multivitamin complexes to strengthen the child's immune system. Special attention should be paid to the regular intake of Omega-3.
• Hormone therapy may be prescribed. The child will be injected with secretin, which improves the functioning of the pancreas.
• Neurological drugs may be prescribed to improve psycho-speech development.

In conclusion, I would like to note that autistic children are not a sentence. Parents need to treat this disease with understanding. You just need to accept it and do everything possible so that the baby can live a full life. Some mothers, having learned about such a diagnosis, withdraw into themselves, despair. You can't do this. Surround your baby with care, love, attention. It is motherly hugs that are sometimes the most effective medicine.

Video: "How to recognize an autistic child?"

child with autism- it's a mystery. No wonder the symbol autism around the world is an image of a jigsaw puzzle. And all of us, teachers and parents, are trying to piece together this puzzle and build a beautiful picture. But, sometimes, our "puzzle" does not want to "get together". Sometimes we do not even suspect that the child has any abilities, because he does not want to cooperate with us and show us what he knows.
Moreover, the child does not allow us to teach him - to show, tell, explain ... He wants to do only what he is interested in, and screams to be left behind and left alone. Therefore, in order to put the pieces of the puzzle together, we need a strong glue - control over the behavior of the child or "Guiding control" ( instructional control).

Many of the problems that prevent parents and those around the child from establishing relationships with him and teaching him are superimposed precisely on the Guiding Control platform:

· How to make sure that the child does not run out on the road?

· How to make sure that the child sits during class?

· How to make sure that the child answers the questions addressed to him?

· How to make a child pee in the toilet and not in his pants?

All of these problems are symptoms of a lack of "Guidance Control". And if, with the help of behavioral methods or other types of treatment, one of the symptoms is removed, then some new problematic behavior will appear in its place.

Therefore, achieving "Guidance Control" is the most important part of teaching an autistic child. Without it, we are powerless and cannot help the child in any way. Until we are able to help the child overcome himself and his own desires and begin to cooperate, we are unable to bring his development to significant progress.

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APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS (ABA)_1

Robert Shram Childhood autism and ABA

Autism is a disorder that manifests itself in the abnormal behavior of a child. But it is the child's behavior that is the only language, a system of complex codes, through which others can understand his intentions, desires, experiences. By carefully observing a child's behavior, carefully identifying reinforcers in the environment, adults can not only learn to understand it, but also respond to it using the language of ABA or applied behavior analysis. ABA methods will help a child with autism adapt to reality, increase self-control and acquire new skills - from everyday to academic.

The book of Robert Schramm, a recognized expert in behavioral analysis, is a great opportunity to learn about unique strength ABA, with which parents can overcome the communication and learning problems of children with autism and other behavioral difficulties. Robert Schramm, a certified ABA specialist, provides parents with methods and techniques to help correct any unwanted behavior in a child, regardless of the severity of the disorder, to understand how to control the process of teaching a child new skills and how to enable him to become more successful in life.

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3. ABA - the language of autism
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7 Learning tools part two >>>
  
• Chapter 8. Types of verbal behavior
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Conclusion
• ABA Adapted Dictionary of Concepts

Preface to the Russian edition

How to teach children? How to teach them to dress, use a spoon and fork, say thank you? What needs to be done so that the child behaves well at a party, store, kindergarten? These questions arise for all parents, and especially for those who are raising a child with atypical development, such as autism.

This question is also of interest to psychologists, who put it somewhat broader: how does a person learn in general. There is no single answer to this question so far. Different psychological schools answer it differently, based on the theoretical premises on which they are based. One of the areas of psychology in which the theory of learning has been created is called behaviorism.

Behavioral scientists have formulated basic principles that describe the functional relationship between behavior and other factors. Knowing how behavior works has allowed researchers to develop tactics to change behavior. This, in turn, led to the emergence of a direction called Applied Behavir Analisis (ABA), or applied behavior analysis, a science-based approach to studying environmental factors that affect socially significant behavior and creating technologies that allow behavior to change.

Behavior in this case refers to any interaction of an organism with its environment. Reading, walking, speaking, baby babbling are all examples of behaviors to which ABA techniques can be applied. Applied behavioral analysis is currently very widely used when working with children with atypical development. It has proven to be effective in teaching such children a wide variety of skills: self-care, academic skills, speech, etc. In Russia, this approach is little known and almost never used. Moreover, experience shows that often both parents and professionals have prejudices against ABA. As a rule, this is due to two points.

The first is the opinion that the learning process is likened to training. In fact, this statement is unfair. If we recall, for example, the fives and deuces at school, the smiles of parents when the child cleaned the room well, or their discontent after the fight of the children, it becomes obvious that people almost constantly use rewards or punishments in order to regulate the behavior of others. Another thing is that rewards or punishments do not always work as we would like. ABA scientists, having studied the laws of behavior, have created techniques that allow you to change behavior, avoiding failure.

The second point is related to the application of punishments. This is indeed a very important question from many points of view. I must say that at present a large number of teaching methods have been developed that make it possible to do without the use of punishments. Moreover, the ethical principles of the ABA do not allow the use of punishment until it has been proven that the use of other methods is ineffective. It's never about physical punishment. If punishment in a particular case is considered necessary, then it is always safe and does not infringe on the dignity of the child. These and other doubts will be removed after a closer acquaintance with ABA.

Robert Schramm's book is practically the first guide to applied behavior analysis in Russian. Designed for parents, it is written in simple and understandable language to help you master the basics of ABA. This book doesn't just offer techniques to teach new skills or get rid of unwanted behaviors. The book teaches to understand the child - after all, only by understanding, you can help

Address to readers

This book is about how therapists and parents can teach children with autism using behavioral theories. In this book, I deliberately simplify the definitions of complex concepts and avoid long theoretical discussions. At the same time, when explaining the reasons for using teaching techniques, I use terms such as “willingness”, “desire”, “trying”, “awareness” and “control”. Although some of these terms have nothing to do with "behavioral" terminology, I hope they will help make scientific text understandable to any reader.

Parents and teachers, when faced with the specific definitions that ABA professionals use to analyze behavior and create programs for children, are often confused and do not accept our science. Indeed, our parents and teachers lack practical guide in which scientific principles would be adapted to their daily lives. Without such guidance, we as professionals are unable to effectively educate those who need our help, and this in turn hinders the education of many children who need it. And if we want our science to help parents become teachers of their own children, we must, first of all, become good teachers for parents in teaching the basics of behaviorism.

Chapter 1

Life is a journey that encourages us to constantly search for better ways. We are looking for good schools for our children, we strive to find true and reliable friends, reliable ways to earn money, in general, we learn to keep our hectic life under control. Having achieved success, we become more persistent in repeating the type of behavior that will lead us to the desired result again. Conversely, we try to avoid those types of behavior that have proven ineffective in achieving our goals. This is the basic concept of behaviorism.

Once a child is diagnosed with autism, it's like you're on a journey. This journey is, in fact, a search for new ways to help the child acquire the skills necessary for a fulfilling life. True, for those who live far from big cities and do not have the opportunity to communicate with parents who have the same problems, this is a lonely journey along a deserted road in the steppe with a couple of signs on the side of the road. For those who live in the center of large cities, the road, on the contrary, is overloaded with signs and signs in all directions. In both situations, it is difficult for parents to raise their children without feelings of loss, fear and guilt. In other words, no matter how you solve your child's problems, you will always feel like you haven't done everything you could have done. This is fine. Just remember that parents cannot control the causes that lead to autism, and there is no reputable source that claims otherwise.

In the late nineties, as a specialist in inclusive education, I worked in California with children with different kinds disorders. For six years I studied the most modern teaching methods and became a master in the education of children with special needs. At the same time, I felt that all my experience and all my knowledge was not enough for me to confidently help children with a diagnosis of autism become more successful. I knew that there was something incredibly special - something that was meant just for these children. Time went by but I couldn't find those really effective ways that would really help these kids become more successful. My vain attempts to become a saving beacon that would instill hope in my parents hurt me. I wanted to help children grow, learn and succeed in life. I tried to find better ways, and all I could think of was, "I just don't know what else I can do."

During my time in California, I was greatly influenced by one amazing child. Aaron was an unusually intelligent but troubled seven-year-old boy with autism. I was assigned to help Aaron adjust to a regular first grade class. Like many other parents of children with autism, Aaron's parents wanted their child to complete a general secondary education. They couldn't bear to see him suffer in a support class or school. Aaron's parents believed that he needed to study in a place where the learning process would not be facilitated, where high demands would be placed on the boy, and where classmates would become a model for their son. Parents understood that these were the key conditions for the successful development of their son in spite of his social skills and behavioral characteristics.

When Aaron was passionate about what he found interesting, he was sweet and smart like any other kid. The problem arose at school when he was asked to do something he didn't want to do. Under pressure from the outside, this little boy turned into a Tasmanian devil. He could easily destroy any program we developed if he was not interested in it. To help him, I used every trick and technique I could ever come across, including advice from experts of every stripe I could find. I read every behavior manual I could get my hands on. Unfortunately, new knowledge only confirmed my impotence in this situation again and again. Any plan designed to help the boy learn something, Aaron was able to destroy if he did not feel like following it. Finally, I came to the same conclusions that other specialists had drawn: Aaron could not study in the general education system and should be transferred to a special class.

It was a crushing blow to my self-confidence. What kind of specialist in inclusive education could I call myself after I had to tell parents that their child could not study in the general education system?

To improve my skills, I began attending classes and trainings designed to help educate children with autism. I studied the PECS-Picter Exchange Communication System and tried it with some success with my students. I studied the program "Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children" (TEACCH: Tgeatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children) and also more or less successfully began to use it in my work with my wards. I studied a play therapy developed by Sidney I. Greenspan (MD) called Floor Games (Floortime, www.floortime.org) and also started using it with some success with my clients. However, the occasional positive results I was able to get led me to believe that I was just learning how to use tools to learn how to build walls or make doors. I knew that this would not be enough for me or for the children I wanted to help. If I really want to become a master at the craft I have chosen, I must find someone to teach me how to build a complete house. To do something for these children, I have to become a "carpenter".

Finally, my searches led me to applied behavior analysis (Applied Behavir Analisis, ABA) and then to the method of analyzing verbal behavior (Verbal Behavior Analisis, VB) as a component of ABA. For many years, ABA as a scientific direction was known in the world of autism either under the name "behavior modification" or "The Lavaas method" However, it is more accurate to say that Dr. Lovaas and others were among the first to use ABA methods to help people diagnosed with autism.

The principles upon which Dr. Lovaas built his program were developed by B. F. Skinner and published in his book The Behavior of Organisms (The Behavior of Organisms, 1938). Although Dr. Lovaas has done much to introduce others to applied behavior analysis as a method of teaching children with autism, compared to today, the application of behavioral principles in the early development of ABA was often crude and inappropriate. Time and scientific advances have brought significant changes to the way these early methods and procedures are applied. And despite the fact that many behavior modification specialists in the seventies and eighties used unacceptable procedures and left a negative imprint on everything related to the world of ABA, this scientific direction has steadily developed over the past decades.

With the revision and improvement of old learning techniques and strategies, our understanding of how autism affects children's development and how we can influence autism has changed significantly. As ABA developed, so did the efficiency of its use. Today, this scientific direction only slightly resembles the ABA of past years. General education has been replaced by individual and direct training, the use of uncomfortable techniques by positive reinforcing procedures. Instead of isolated classrooms, we are now recommending more natural learning environments. However, regardless of any technical improvements, Skinner's principles have remained unchanged and are the theoretical basis for applied behavior analysis.

Parents who were accustomed to early ABA methods were often reluctant to opt for new methods. While all the evidence for the effectiveness of new methods of teaching children socially acceptable behavior and learning habits was available, parents preferred to deal with procedures that aroused resistance and looked unsightly. Many families who used ABA methods found them to be effective, while there were families who felt that the results were not worth the effort.

In recent decades there have been significant changes in ABA, and today we can say with confidence that applied behavior analysis is the right choice for almost all children with autism and autism-like disorders. First of all, we are talking about the development of a method for analyzing verbal behavior as a component of ABA.

The Verbal Behavior Analysis Method is both an ABA philosophy and a series of teaching techniques based on ABA principles for acquiring language skills in children. In addition, the potential of ABA programs has been greatly enhanced by HC specialists Dr. Jack Michael and others, including Dr. James Partington and Dr. Mark Sandberg, who have developed a series of new techniques for children with speech delays based on Skinner's book Verbal behavior" 1958).

For quite short period From the late 1990s to the 2000s, Verbal Behavior Analysis as a method became widely used in the treatment of autism in the United States. Thanks to ABA in general and the advantages of the method of verbal behavior analysis in particular, there has been a significant leap in working with children. One of the main reasons for this success is the involvement of parents as the main teachers of their children. For too long, parents have been waiting behind the scenes, watching the distance between their children and society widen, while they have thousands of opportunities every day to interact with their children in order to teach them acceptable social and communication skills and ultimately help them to achieve significant success. If your child's therapist or teacher does not use ABA principles in their work, they are likely not familiar with advances in the field. If he uses ABA but doesn't include verbal behavior analysis with your child, then he doesn't know the latest research to support it.

Dealing with autism is not easy. You and other smart and caring people will experience both success and failure. No matter where you and your child are now, never forget that life is a road, and on this road no one knows the answers to all questions. I hope that this book will help you in your difficult work and, perhaps, become a good guide in the constant search for a better path.

Chapter 2

In this chapter, I will try to explain how and why a child is diagnosed with autism. I will not discuss the causes of autism and other well-known diagnoses. I am deliberately avoiding this topic as it is only misleading and detracts from the main goal: educating children. Knowing that there are two possible factors Origins of Autism: Genetic disorders and environmental influences will not help you better prepare your child for the future.

Autism has been considered a mysterious phenomenon since ancient times, when it did not even have a name. The more our society studies autism, the more effective we become in defining the criteria that are called autistic. And while more people are being diagnosed with autism each year, the criteria for autism remain the same. What has really changed is the interpretation of the criteria and/or the number of people who meet them.

A child is diagnosed with autism when at least six specific behaviors can be observed in three areas: social interaction, communication and behavior (the child has repetitive and stereotypical behaviors and limited specific interests).

When determining the diagnosis, pay attention to the following deficiencies:

Signs of autism are also considered to be a lag in the development of speech or its complete absence, the presence of stereotypy (repetitive actions) in behavior, the use of repetitions in speech, passion for stereotypical activities or interests, obsessive movements. Even if your child exhibits at least a list of specific behaviors, he is more likely to be diagnosed with autism. I also note that the listed signs of developmental delay should be noticed before the age of three and not be associated with Rett syndrome1.

If a child exhibits some of these behaviors but is able to speak at an early age, they are more likely to be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.

There is currently no blood or genetic test that can determine if a child has autism. Autism is diagnosed when a child has specific behaviors. But can you tell if a child has autism without using a physical test? How can you tell if a child is cured? The answers to these questions are simple: if the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is made as a result of the check marks in the list of behaviors presented, then it is clear that if a child no longer exhibits a particular behavior, he is no longer considered a child with autism. "Is it that the child is cured? Or that he is not sick? Or maybe he never had autism at all? These questions are often asked about children who have reduced their signs of autism and who have become more socially adjusted.

For me, these questions are not important - it's a waste of time and energy. What is important is that we started working with a child who was diagnosed with autism and who until that moment could not directly communicate with others, play and show those simple behaviors that have helped all of us become more or less successful and prosperous. . And when this child, after a while, does not confirm the diagnosis made by medical luminaries, and begins to possess, if not all, then most of the necessary skills, I will be convinced that this is the result that should be taken into account.

When you think of a child with autism, imagine him on a beach surrounded by a giant wall of sand. This wall is uneven in height, has many cracks, and is high enough in many places - so much so that the child cannot see the outside world beyond. For most adults with autism (those who can express their feelings in books or lectures on the subject), the world inside the wall is like a refuge from the confusing and unpredictable outside world. And the wall itself is a kind of barrier between the child and the rest of the world.

Now let's try to imagine that individual sections of the wall are different skills that your child must master. To successfully interact with the world around him, he must have the skills that will allow him to rise above the top of this wall. The lower part of the wall represents the skills that the child has acquired with little or no help. These, depending on how autism affects the child, include, for example, the ability to pull you by the hand to something that he wants to receive, or the ability to cry, throw tantrums, lose his temper, hit himself in order to achieve your attention or make you leave it alone. A highly motivated child with a reasonable level of development in some abilities will sometimes climb the middle part of the wall, demonstrating skills such as pointing or using one or more words. Finally, some parts of this sand wall will be so high for your child that he will not be able to overcome them on his own, without your help.

The essence of this metaphor is that it shows the need for the synchronous operation of the ABA program and the verbal behavior analysis (BC) method necessary to help the child consistently overcome all the difficult sections of the wall and find himself in the outside world. To understand the methods of applied behavior analysis is to understand how to systematically and consistently use reinforcement (Kermomeret, 8K) or, in other words, how to create the necessary motivation.

To overcome more difficult sections of the wall, the child needs to really desire this, that is, be sufficiently motivated. Proper motivation can be created with the help of a stimulating condition (Esablzype Orega Pop, EO) - words or actions that temporarily change the value of the consequences of each act (behavior). In other words, it is a condition that makes the consequence more or less valuable to your child for a time than it would otherwise be.

For example, water is generally more valuable to us on a hot, sunny day than on a cool, windy day. At the same time, the water itself does not change - your attitude to water becomes different, which was influenced by the conditions: it became too warm around, or even, perhaps, there was a threat of dehydration. Motivation is an important factor in the education of children with autism, and the better you learn to manage the environment to create motivation, the better you will be able to show your pedagogical abilities.

Fighting autism is like a tug-of-war: to beat the disease, you must hold on to your end of the rope by involving an important ally in the process - your child's environment. Most likely, the environment is currently a significant partner of autism - it is filled with things that distract you from the main goal. However, you can make the environment your ally. After all, only by rethinking its meaning, you can understand the child and properly motivate him. And then the child will be in the tug of war on your side, and not on the side of autism. Only by consciously managing the environment can you be sure that the child will constantly help you in your attempts to teach him. (See Chapters 5 and 6 for more on how to better understand your child's world and make it your learning partner.)

The goal of any good ABA/HC program is to identify the child's natural desires and use them in the learning process. To do this, a list of motivating conditions is compiled - favorite and desired activities, objects, toys and treats for the child. By adding new, more acceptable subjects and activities to the already known, we can make them more desirable for the child, and move the less acceptable to the bottom of the list as the least important for him.

If we recall our analogies, then motivation can be compared to water. Having filled inner world child with water so that he can rise and get as close as possible to the top of the sandy wall surrounding him, we will help him get over it. In other words, motivation will be the force that allows the desires and abilities that the child needs to acquire the skills you teach him to manifest.

We consider the verbal behavior analysis method as a tool that helps motivate the child at the initial stage of acquiring new skills, and ABA methods in general as a stimulating system that encourages the child to use these new skills again and again. As a discipline, Applied Behavior Analysis aims to study and apply ABA/CB methods to help people achieve success in the broadest sense of these words.

One of the key concepts of applied analysis is reinforcement - the most important principle of ABA, which has been used successfully for a long time. Reinforcement is what happens after a behavior has been exhibited and increases the likelihood of that behavior being repeated in the future. Everything we do is part of our behavior, including learning new skills. In the image with the wall, the behavior will be the child's attempt to leave his own world and overcome the wall, and the reinforcement will be the experience he gains when he succeeds. If such an experience (reinforcement) is positive each time the child uses a certain skill, he will be motivated to use it again in the process of overcoming that sandy wall. That is, reinforcing a certain behavior creates a motivation for the child to try and show the skill again when the right situation arises.

It is motivation that becomes the driving force that encourages the child to demonstrate the skill again and again. And reinforcement over and over again creates the conditions for internal motivation to become stronger than external. The balance of motivation and reinforcement leads to an increasing desire of the child to perform the skill in relation to which they were consistently applied.

I note that the wall that surrounds your child is not made of hard rock - it is loose, which is both a problem and a blessing when teaching a child. The problem may be that through the cracks in the wall, the child can get to the reinforcements without making the effort to use the skills you are teaching. If the cracks are left unfilled, there will be a "leak of motivation" and the child will not have enough incentive to strive for success. Fortunately, the sand fills up the cracks, making them invisible, and allows the motivated child to "jump" over the wall to the expected reinforcements, destroying the top of the wall along the way. The wall becomes lower and easier to overcome, and the next time it will be a little easier to demonstrate the displayed skill.

ABA/HC programs use the principles of motivation and reinforcement to encourage your child to perform new and increasingly difficult skills in order to increase the desire to repeat the skill in the future and make it less difficult. Each time the child overcomes some part of the wall, it becomes easier for him to jump over it in the future. The sand, crumbling from above, fills the cracks in the lower part of the wall - and this is another plus of using reinforcements: motivation does not flow away, and it is easier to motivate the child to master new skills.

Perhaps all of the above gives you the impression that we are talking only about children with autism. In fact, I have described how each of us learns. From birth, we are surrounded by walls-barriers of different heights - limitations that we must overcome by betraying through the development of more and more complex skills. Only in this way can we become full members of society. And only in this way will we be able to destroy the walls, no matter how high they turn out to be. Someone will be able to do it better and faster, also because their walls are lower. Someone will have a wall so high that there will be no chance to get over it. However, most often the walls surrounding us are uneven: somewhere above, and somewhere below. A child with autism is no different from other children. He just needs to be helped to overcome the more difficult sections of the wall with the skills that society considers mandatory. The inability to independently overcome the wall is directly related to the insufficient level of development of skills in the areas listed at the beginning of the chapter: social interaction, communication and behavior (the child has repetitive and stereotypical behavior patterns and limited specific interests).

It is the lack or insufficient development of skills in these areas of life that are signs of autism.

Autism is a broad spectrum disorder that is affecting a growing number of people. Autism affects a child's ability to communicate and interact in different life situations, including educational situations. If children are not taught, they will remain at the mercy of autism until they completely lose contact with others. If parents and teachers are not educated, they will unwittingly motivate and reinforce the child's increasingly problematic behavior. However, if you learn to understand your child's motives and master the principles and techniques of ABA/HC, you will help him reduce unwanted behaviors and achieve greater success in life.

Chapter 3. ABA - the language of autism

Individually developed ABA or applied behavior analysis programs can be viewed as a specific plan. The fact is that certain types of behavior correspond to certain consequences, and if your reactions to the behavior of the child (consequences) are predictable and consistent, then they are understandable to the child. Accordingly, the child begins to understand you better. Your presence begins to have a calming effect on the child, he is less likely to get upset and becomes more open to interaction.

Most children and adults with autism love computers for their understandable “language”. ABA can be compared to a computer in terms of the degree of orderliness of actions and reactions. To successfully work or play on the computer, the child needs to select the desired command. By pressing a certain button, he gets a predictable result, whether it will be listening to music or just the desire to turn the computer on or off. The main thing here is consistency, ease of use and lack of uncertainty. Using a computer mouse gives the child a sense of control over the situation. The computer will not start playing music if it does not receive a special command, will not tell the child when he should turn off the computer. He does not command, he answers commands, and he does it with enviable constancy.

If you want to be understood by your child, your language must be extremely clear, concise and consistent in both words and actions. Yes, the same as the language of the computer. And if you offer your child certain behaviors with specific and understandable consequences for each option, your behavior will be understandable to your child. And if you can give your child clear and specific instructions on what to do and how to do it, with clear, specific and permanent consequences for his actions, the child will have a sense of order and control over the situation when interacting with you. As a result, the child will be less likely to seek control of the situation in other, less desirable ways. It should be noted that a parent who is able to quickly analyze the situation and give the child the instructions necessary to obtain the desired response may have a greater influence on the child's behavior than a programmed machine.

As a parent of a child with special needs, if you learn ABA/HC principles and strategies, you will feel empowered to teach. You can start by making small changes in your child's life that will help him make meaningful choices about more diverse behaviors. However, without a clear understanding of the principles of ABA, your interaction with the child will not be systematic enough, which will cause misunderstanding of your requirements on the part of the child. If your behavior is confusing and inconsistent, your child will most likely prefer to spend time not with you, but in his invented world, finding in it the order and control that he needs so much. As a consequence, he will plunge deeper into the world of autism.

As you and your family learn the principles of ABA, your child will find that you understand and will be open to talking to you. The child will be able to feel comfortable in the circle of relatives, whose behavior was previously so annoying. Now he will begin to strive for communication, and the more he tries, the easier it will be for him to find himself in society. So, communication with a child, based on the principles of ABA or, otherwise, taking place in the language of autism, is comfortable for the child, because he understands you - your language of interaction with him and your behavior. This means that he will not look for ways to avoid you. Life will be amazing and joyful.

I have never met a child with autism who was not able to use the principles of behavior in the most unexpected and difficult situations to achieve his goals. But I know quite a few parents who behaved in unexpected ways, obeying the ABA language that manifested in their child's behavior.

For example, one mother of a child with autism had a bedtime ritual that went on every night for half an hour. The procedure was always the same and looked something like this: the mother carried the child to the bedroom on her own shoulders. He agreed to sleep in only one pajama: blue pants and a bright orange T-shirt. Then she straightened the blanket and sang a lullaby. Before the end of the song, the child asked his mother to bring water, and she brought a glass of water from the bathroom. It was always the same glass filled to the brim; the child, having drunk exactly half, asked his mother to fill it again. Then she had to put the glass on the bedside table and read the last chapter of the book "The Little Engine That Could...". The child helped his mother hold the book and turn the pages. When the last page was turned, mom had to say: “Ko-o-o-o-o!” Then she kissed him, wished him good night, left the room, closed the door and waited, standing outside the door, for the child to call her. Then she opened the door, looked into the bedroom, and the child wished her good night. And only then did he fall asleep.

And what is wrong here? Why do parents fall under such control? Many will say that they have no choice. They believed that there was no other way. Whether or not this example strikes you as odd, this is a very typical situation where parents, not understanding the ABA language, are influenced by the child. If you are familiar with such a situation firsthand, then your child definitely subordinated you to himself. Do you allow your son or daughter to choose their own clothes, even if they wear the same T-shirt three days in a row? Does a child in your family decide whether he will sleep between his parents every night, even if he is already twelve years old? Have you really been trained so that you know exactly when and how you are allowed to feed your baby? Does your child know how to have you follow him around and pick up anything he drops on the floor? Did your son convince you that there is only one way home from school or only one right way to the park? Have you made sure that you can only talk on the phone and work at the computer when it is asleep?

Each of these examples shows that the child is applying ABA principles to you using his innate, natural abilities. ABA is an understanding of how causes and consequences can influence behavior. So, dressing a child in the “wrong” pajamas, you will face the consequences of this act. If a child screams and hits himself on the head, it means that you have just been made clear: you made the “wrong” choice. If you ignore this message and continue to wear the "wrong" pajamas on him, you can get another consequence - the child will bang his head against the wall. Naturally, you do not want your child to suffer, and so in order to protect him from himself, you can change your behavior and put on those old blue pajamas. Your behavior will be rewarded: the child will again be calm, smiling and obedient. Once this procedure is repeated several times, you will suddenly notice that each time you choose the “right” pajamas for the child.

Have you noticed how the child was able to change your behavior using the principles of ABA? If you cannot respond in the same language that he understands, you will have a good chance to develop your own ritual, reminiscent of the situation with a mother putting her son to bed. Conversely, if you understand and accept the principles of ABA, you will be able to answer the child in the same language, and then (if, of course, you are consistent and predictable), he will understand what you are talking about. The conciseness, clarity and consistency of your instructions will allow the child to predict your actions. He will be comfortable, because he will be able to control his environment. This means that he will not need to try to gain comfort and control in ways that are undesirable for you.

Your child understands and applies ABA principles. When you answer him in ABA, both of you will be much more comfortable communicating with each other. And comfort will increase as the child feels more and more confident in the society around him. Children who grow up in a calm and predictable environment that they can control are happier and more willing to interact with others. Only when the child wants to constantly communicate with you, you can begin a full-fledged training.

This chapter is not intended to endorse the scientifically proven principles of ABA/HC. There are hundreds of different studies proving the effectiveness of the ABA technique. These studies can be found in scientific journals, links to which you will find at the end of the book. It is not the purpose of this chapter to prove the effectiveness of ABA principles. This is a description of my own experience of why ABA is such a powerful tool for helping a child with autism. Do the examples above resonate with what you already know about your child? Have you noticed how your child is using ABA principles to manipulate you and others in his environment? Have you noticed how autism controls you? If so, keep reading and I'll show you how you can use ABA/UV to turn your child's behavior to your advantage.

Chapter 4

I often ask parents who are new to ABA/HC theory what they find most difficult in teaching their child new skills. First on the list is the problematic behavior. No matter what impact autism has on a child's life, there will always be a type of behavior that a parent, teacher, or therapist sees fit to change. It is important for parents to understand what has a positive effect on the child's choice of a particular type of behavior before they make any attempt at teaching. I think most of you will agree that each of the basic learning skills is a set of specific actions. If you don't know how to positively influence your child's choice of a particular activity, you won't be able to positively influence the entire skill acquisition process. To better understand how to help your child avoid ineffective or problematic behavior, you need to understand the goals behind each type of behavior.

The only way to positively influence your child's behavioral choices is to identify the purpose behind those choices. If you can't do this, you won't know how to influence behavior. Many parents say that their children often do things for no apparent reason. But after careful study, behind every action of the child, you can find the intention. If you do not understand what this intention is, then you do not have the necessary skills. Experts distinguish four possible goals of behavior: to get something from someone (socially mediated positive behavior), to avoid what is initiated by someone else - for example, occupation or communication (socially mediated negative behavior), to get something desired (automatic positive behavior), remove something unwanted / avoid something unwanted (automatic negative behavior). The last two goals were not linked to the participation of other people.

To understand what the intention (goal) is, you need to quickly answer three questions:

1. What exactly did I not like about this behavior?

2. What happened prior to the behavior?

3. What happened immediately after the behavior began?

The first question is designed so that you focus on the behavior/action you would like to change and not on the child. It is difficult to notice a change in the behavior of a "bad" child, besides "creating problems", "not trying to try", "autistic". I deliberately enclosed in quotation marks all these general phrases that do not reflect the real act. It is much easier to work on a specific action, such as "ran away from mom", "does not respond to his own name", or "throws a plate on the floor during dinner."

The second question is designed in such a way that you can see if there is an antecedent stimulus (Anneceaen1), that is, something that precedes the manifestation of a behavior / act, which can be considered as its cause. For example, every time you put a certain sweater on a child, he bites himself. By understanding the previous stimulus (a sweater was put on the child), you can easily change the manifestation of behavior (biting yourself).

In addition, answering this question, you can easily guess the purpose of such behavior. For example, in a situation where a child throws a plate on the floor immediately after the father answers the phone, you can understand that the purpose of this behavior is to try to get the attention of the father. Or if the child constantly claps his hands, refusing to respond to the sound of his name, this may mean that the purpose of the behavior is self-stimulation. The situation when a child leaves the room as soon as mom takes his toothbrush may lead you to believe that the behavior was used in order to avoid an unpleasant brushing procedure.

The third question is the most difficult, but also the most important, and therefore requires the correct answer. What is the consequence that reinforces the behavior in question? Once you determine what has changed in the child's environment after the behavior (act), you can calculate the reinforcing factor that increases the chance of such behavior in the future.

Here are some examples of what you could do to change a child's problem behavior, given the knowledge of the underlying goals of the behavior.

Attention (first goal). If a plate thrown on the floor was used to get the father's attention, the father should not show attention the next time the plate falls on the floor. However, he should give the child maximum attention when he behaves properly during meals.

Evasion (second target). If the plate was thrown on the floor in order to avoid following the instruction (for example, "Say 'bread'"), then the purpose of the behavior is to avoid. In this case, the father should not reinforce the behavior by continuing to insist on the same or similar instructions. If the child followed the instructions, the father can reinforce obedience by reducing the demands for a certain amount of time.

Self-stimulation (third goal). Self-stimulation is a behavior whose purpose is self-excitation. Self-stimulation does not depend on whether the child is in the room alone or in the company of others. It is not easy to influence such behavior, since it is reinforced by natural arousal and you cannot stimulate it artificially.

If the reason for throwing the plate on the floor is because the child likes the sound it makes, you need to find a way to reduce the sound effect, which is an automatic (without the intervention of another person) reinforcement of the behavior. Here are some actions you can take: buy a rug or rug, replace your plate with a plastic or paper one. Discuss any possible options that will help you reduce the sound effect that reinforces the cymbal tossing on the floor. Also, by allowing the child to experiment with specific or similar sounds at appropriate times, the child's desire to do so at the dinner table can be greatly reduced.

So, when you ask yourself these three questions and determine the purpose of the child's behavior, you will understand what can be done to make positive changes in behavior. However, the only way to know for sure that your plan is sound is to put it into practice and record your observations. Only in this way it will be possible to understand how much the manifestations of undesirable behavior have decreased over time. Don't expect your child to change his behavior right away. However, even if his behavior changes for the better, this is not yet a real positive result and does not mean that the plan will be successful in the end. Temporary improvements in behavior are great, but don't take them as an indication that the unwanted behavior is a thing of the past and that you won't encounter it in the future.

So, the only way to determine whether the occurrence of problem behavior has really decreased is to conduct constant observations and record their results. After a period of observation, you will be able, based on objectively collected data, to conclude whether the frequency of manifestation of undesirable behavior has decreased or not. Only then will you be able to figure out whether your intervention is having the desired effect. Usually one to two weeks is enough to determine if the plan is working. If the behavior continues or happens more frequently after a week or two, you should stop, rethink possible goals, and move on to a different tactic.

Attention! If you observe certain unacceptable behavior that you have no control over, or if you have to deal with aggressive behavior that endangers the life and health of a child or others, you should immediately seek professional help. Your best bet is to find a certified ABA practitioner who can make a complete and detailed functional analysis of the behavior, experimentally determine its purpose, and develop a safe and effective correction plan.

Chapter 5

An obligatory part of standard testing is the observation of the child's behavior. The examiner may ask him to perform an action, such as jumping, or clapping his hands, or repeating a sound.

As a rule, even those children with autism who have not previously been involved in the AVAL program possess these skills and show them spontaneously, on their own initiative. More often than not, however, untrained children do not understand requests or are unwilling to follow instructions. If the child does not fulfill the requirements of an adult and does not demonstrate skills during the testing process, the examiner puts a minus sign in front of the corresponding item, which means that the task was not completed. As a result, the child is not only diagnosed with autism, but also diagnosed with developmental delay or mental retardation.

Most children with autism do not lose mental abilities and do not lose personal qualities (kindness, intelligence, etc.), but these qualities and abilities do not seem to fit together. Children do not show these qualities all the time and in situations where they are expected to do so. On the other hand, if a child does not jump when asked to jump, this does not mean at all that he cannot jump at all. Or that he can't learn to jump when asked to. Similarly, a child may make sounds when he is alone in his room, but refuses to do so at the request of an adult. This does not mean that he is unable to learn to speak, but rather that he does not have the incentive to follow your instructions or that he is uncomfortable with the pressure that is inevitable in a situation where you have to develop these skills.

Research in the field of behavior analysis1 has shown that the reasons that motivate a child to work on acquiring skills can be both external (reinforcement of the desired behavior) and internal (the presence of appropriate motivation). The ability of a teacher, therapist or parent to manage a child's behavior through conscious and purposeful reinforcement of the desired behavior and the formation of motivation is commonly called learning control. The presence of learning control increases the likelihood that your instructions will encourage the child to give the correct answer; if you do not have learning control, you are likely to characterize your child's behavior as "stubborn and uncontrollable."

To obtain learning control, you must, first, evoke in the child a stable association with some pleasant things and activities (which can serve as a reinforcement of the desired behavior of the child) and, secondly, develop such an experience of interaction with the child in which he will follow your instructions with appropriate reinforcements.

If you want the effectiveness of the learning process to be sustainable, you (teacher, teacher) should always control the relationship process, and not the child (student, student). Mastering the technique of educational control means, among other things, obtaining the consent of the child to allow you to make decisions about the conditions on which you will communicate with him. Such consent will become possible when, thanks to your efforts, the child will be motivated to participate in the activity in which you have a leading role. The best way to motivate a child is to let him know that he can get what he wants quickly and easily if he follows instructions using speech and behavioral skills.

Achieving this goal is your first step in motivating your child and the most important aspect of the teacher-student relationship and indeed any therapeutic intervention. Only when this goal is achieved can we say that you have mastered educational control and the management of the child's learning is completely in your hands. Until this happens, the child, ignoring your leadership of the learning process, acquires skills based on their own interests and is in complete control of the situation. If he cannot overcome his self-centeredness and does not participate in the learning activities of your choice, you will not be able to fully help the child.

Verbal Behavior Analysis (VB) methods are used in conjunction with the traditional ABA program for a reason. The fact is that the purpose of applying the technique of analyzing verbal behavior is to increase the value of learning through the use of reinforcement. The higher the value of learning, the less often the child makes attempts to avoid completing tasks. It is important to note that due to the inconsistency in the use of learning controls, even # qualified and experienced counselors cannot always achieve consistent compliance with instructions and a complete cessation of avoidance attempts. When working with the most difficult children, counselors often come to the conclusion that if you do not consistently adhere to the principles of HC, you end up wasting a lot of time getting and keeping the child's attention in the learning process. Although it is acceptable to use the EC method of the Avoidance Extinguishing Procedure (Essare Expedition) in these situations, it should only be used as a last resort and gradually applied less and less frequently.

I know that if I really want to help a child, I must make sure that he wants to study with me and see me as a teacher. In order for this to happen, I must stop trying to teach if the child wants to stop the activity (i.e., avoid fulfilling the requirements). However, the value of the consequences of leaving the session must be significantly lower than the value of the reinforcing consequences of the training I planned. Motivation for learning should be maintained at such a level that in the future the child wants to study at his own request. When this becomes possible, learning control will not be felt by the child as coercion. It is this motivation of the child to participate in the learning process that I must earn and deserve.

The result of my research and experience working with children with autism has been the development of a series of comprehensive interventions that could enable parents to gain learning control without resorting to avoidance extinction procedures. This system, which includes seven stages (stages, bridges), is based on methods for analyzing verbal behavior. These seven steps will allow you to manage your child's environment and help you quickly and easily build learning control. Whether you call it learning control, compliance training, teacher-student relationships, or mutual respect, these seven steps will allow you to make your environment your ally in your fight against autism. When you begin to systematically apply the knowledge of the seven steps, you will not have to actively supervise the child using the avoidance dampening procedure.

As a result of your mastery and application of the seven steps, the child will have a desire (motivation) to spend time in your company, follow your instructions, and share the responsibility for establishing and maintaining relationships between you. He will become actively involved in the implementation of increasingly complex tasks, because you have earned his desire to support the process of communication with you. And only when this happens and the child, on his own initiative, decides to support the process of communication, you can begin to teach him what he initially did not want to learn.

If you want to successfully teach and build relationships with your child, mastering the seven steps must be gradual. Failure to master even a single step will lead to total failure, and your child will constantly look for ways to avoid learning. In addition, using the seven steps in your daily life will allow you to maintain a child's positive attitude towards learning. The more parents, teachers, and therapists follow these seven steps, the more often their children will begin to choose the desired behavior.

Understanding and applying ABA/UV methods is like the work of a builder building a unique building. The process of mastering learning control is akin to a good and solid foundation for future relationships with a child. The quality of everything you build in the future will depend on the strength of this foundation. Some parents say: "The child does not recognize my authority." The best way to gain credibility in the eyes of your child is to master learning control, the seven steps of which will form the foundation of an effective learning process.

Seven steps of formation of educational control

Step 1 your child needs to know that you have complete control over all the items they want to have or play with, and you decide when and for how long they will have them.

Anything that your child likes to play with "can serve as a potential reinforcer for the child to engage in the desired behavior. Your control over these items is important early in the development of learning control. This does not mean that the child will be completely deprived of these attractive objects. On the contrary, he should be able to get them if he follows simple instructions and behaves well.

You are the one who creates the environment for your child. You choose what to buy, what to wear, what to sleep on and what to eat. As a parent, you are responsible for deciding to purchase something when he needs it and remove what he doesn't need. This happens regardless of whether you use this circumstance when teaching a child.

The first step in the formation of educational control is deciding which of the surrounding objects your child can use and what he must do in order for you to provide him with this opportunity or deprive him of this opportunity. To limit access to reinforcements (things or toys), put objects that are attractive to the child in a place where they will be visible to him, but at the same time will not be available to him. Make sure the child knows where these items are now. For small children, you can use a transparent container, for older children, a locker or drawer with a lock is suitable. Try not to remove the item when the child is playing with it, even if that means you have to wait until the child is asleep or has left the room.

Control over reinforcements is very important at the very beginning of work with a child. As soon as you see that the child is losing interest in reinforcement, you should immediately remove it. If you notice a child trying to get, playing with, holding, or looking at something that you did not find attractive to the child and did not plan to restrict access to, write it down and, as soon as he finishes playing , remove the object in a place inaccessible to the child. In this case, you can use this item later as a possible reinforcement.

If your child has favorite activities, think about how you could control them. Trampolines can be hung on the wall, curtains can be drawn, swings can be hung and are not accessible when not in use. Once you have full control over your child's access to favorite items and activities, you can begin to use those items as you see fit, basing your decision on the instructions in the next steps.

Step 2 Show your child that you are interested. Each episode of communication should bring a new experience into the life of the child and be joyful for him, so that in the future the child follows your instructions at will and wants to spend as much time with you as possible.

"The best ABA/HC programs give the process of identifying/associating the educator with enjoyment and reinforcement approximately 75% of the time allocated to the child. This process should be based on the child's motivation and include non-verbal language and narrative language.

Narrative speech tells your child about your thoughts and feelings without requiring any reaction from him. Name the objects with which the child plays, his actions, your own and his feelings: “This is a ball. It is big and red. We play ball. I like to play with you!" You need to teach your child narrative speech, modeling it in the process of your communication. You must be able to share thoughts, ideas, using funny situations, without fear of being stupid and without demanding anything in return.

To form a connection in your child's mind between you and the reinforcer, follow your child's interests and let him play with any object, toy, for as long as you can be with him. Make re-Zenk's playtime attractive to him because you are a part of it. If a child wants to listen to music, you should be the one to let them listen to it. In the process of listening, you can hold him in your arms, jump and dance with him. If the child wants to leave, starts playing with another toy, or stops listening, you can turn off the music. But as soon as he returns to the room or stops acting up, immediately turn the music back on.

Remember, at the initial stage of learning and establishing learning control, it is important to demonstrate to the child that you will turn on the music as soon as he returns to the room or stops misbehaving. Another great opportunity for reinforcement identification is when a child is swinging. You can make this activity more interesting by playing with your baby, trying to catch or tickle him while rocking. Try swinging it harder or spinning it on a swing. Pretend to dodge the swing at the last second. Watch what makes him smile and it will help you make a simple activity in your company more attractive than without you.

Associate your presence with the strongest reinforcements. Write down all the subjects and activities your child is interested in and think about ways to make them more engaging. Try to make him get more and more pleasure from playing with you - such pleasure that he could not get by playing alone. Try not to get bored with these activities. This is sometimes much more difficult than it seems. If you do not know how to play with a child, you must learn to do so. It is simply necessary to become a good teacher.

Step 3. Show your child that you can be trusted. Always say what you think and mean what you say. If you give a child an instruction to do something, do not give him reinforcement until he does it. This step allows you to help your child succeed if needed.

When communicating with a child, you should use command language only for 25% of the time of communication and only when you are not involved in the process of exciting activities with the child. Command language is a form of addressing the child when you expect some kind of reaction from him (words, gestures, actions). Before you demand anything, you must understand what exactly you want to hear in response, what exactly you expect from the child.

Encourage only acceptable, from your point of view, response to your instructions. During the learning process, do not reinforce your child for trying to evade learning. When you present a command or instruction (I call them also discriminatory stimuli), you should expect the child to comply with these orders or instructions. A discriminatory (definite) stimulus is a signal that a reinforcement is available. When you use reinforcement for educational purposes, your instructions are signs that signal to the child that certain behaviors will work and others will not. You should not provide your child with reinforcement until he responds to your signal correctly. If you don't encourage your child to ignore your instructions, sooner or later he will choose to learn (follow instructions) because you are reinforcing that choice. And the more consistent you are, the more often the child will choose learning.

The child should hear the requirements expressed in the command language from you throughout the day in different situations. Sometimes you can teach the child at the moment when he wants to watch TV - in this case, you will turn on the TV only if the child follows the instruction, and after a while discreetly turn it off to give the next instruction. And when he wants to jump on the trampoline, you can teach him on the floor, using access to the trampoline as reinforcement. If the child wants to eat chips, you can teach him something in the kitchen, reinforcing his good behavior with his favorite chips. The place where the training will take place does not matter. In fact, you should deliberately strive to teach your child in any situation and at different times of the day. The most important thing is that he participates in the learning process on his own and that you have many opportunities to teach him different skills throughout the day.

The type of reinforcement you use to work on a skill should depend on the child's current motivation - what he wants to get or what he would like to do at the moment. Remember, giving reinforcement doesn't just mean giving something your child loves after they follow your direction. Rather, it is the creation of circumstances that will increase the child's likelihood of choosing similar behavior in the future. By carefully monitoring your child's environment (Step 1) and creating a pleasant play environment, you will be the strongest permanent reinforcer (Step 2) for your child. In doing so, you will continue to use other favorite items as reinforcements, opening access to them only when the job is well done.

Keep in mind: the items and activities that affect your child's current behavior will often not be the ones you planned to use. Reinforcement works only when it directly affects the likelihood of repeating the behavior in the future. Don't focus on suggested examples or foods to reinforce your child's behavior in specific learning situations.

Reinforcement selection should be made based on observation of what your child prefers at the moment. Try not to treat reinforcements as a specific item. Imagine it as free streams of attractive objects and positive experiences moving towards each other between you and the child.

To say what you mean and mean what you say, you must choose your words very carefully. If you ask a child a question, he should be able to answer it. Remember, you must respect the child's decision, even if it goes against the ideas of your teaching. This means that you need to think of possible answers before you ask a question. For example, you asked a child whether he would like to work with you or not, and received a negative answer. The child's answer is not wrong. In fact, you gave him a choice: to work or not to work. He chose not to work. You must understand that it was your decision to pose the question in this way instead of giving clear instructions, and that this is what created the problem. You can avoid unnecessary confusion by using more precise instructions.

Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you want your child to do exactly what you ask, use direct instructions. When you say "Sit down", "Come to me" or "Do this", you should always wait for the appropriate response from your child. If you have a ball in your hands that your child wants to play with and you give him the specific instruction "Sit down", you should not give him the ball until he has followed the instruction. If he does not sit down, hold the ball and other forms of reinforcement until he follows the instruction. Conversely, if you ask if the child wants to come and sit, you must respect his decision not to come, and then the ball and other reinforcers should remain available to him.

Remember that the first stage requires a comprehensive reinforcement limitation. If you have a ball in your hands that your child wants to play with and there is nothing else nearby that he would like to have, he will eventually decide to sit down on his own just to gain access to the ball.

Try to find ways to offer more reinforcement when the child shows a skill without your help, and less when you help him get the correct answer. For example, in a situation where you have asked your child to sit down and it takes him some time to come up to you and follow instructions with your help, you can ask him to do something else quickly before you give him the ball. However, if he immediately comes up to you and sits down without your help, you can pick him up, tickle him, play with him and, of course, give him the ball.

The need for prompting or repeating instructions may indicate either that the value of communication with you is not great enough, or that you are somehow provoking him to try to evade the task. It is also possible that the child has never been interested in such reinforcement (for example, in a ball). It may happen that the reason the child ignored your words was the fact that you quickly repeated the instructions. To avoid the need for over-prompting, you should try to identify and reinforce the child's motivation (his desire to do something) before giving instructions. If you get a negative answer, you will have to reconsider your words and actions. We will discuss this topic in Chapter 6.

Step 4 Show your child that only by following your instructions, he will be able to get what he wants. Give your child easy tasks as often as possible, and encourage him to participate in them as a positive experience.

Once you have established control over the items or events that reinforce the behavior, you can begin to use them in the process of learning and maintaining acceptable behavior. The Premack principle will help to follow this effectively. In our case, this principle means that the child must follow the instructions or behave well before you allow him to get what he wants. Premack's principle is also known as "Grandma's rule": "Before you get dessert, you must eat your dinner."

In order for the child to learn to follow this rule, you must instruct the child each time before you give him something that he really wants from you. Your directives should be: "First throw it in the trash" or "Sit down and I'll get it for you." The more opportunities you use to reinforce the child's behavior with something he likes, and in the case that he followed your instructions or demonstrated good behavior, the faster he will learn to understand that following the rules is the best way to get what he wants.

Resist the temptation to ask your child what they want before you explain the requirements for completing the task. Even if you find it acceptable to ask your child to do something before complying with his requests, try to avoid the "if...then..." pattern. This technique is a quick way to get what you want from your child, but it can lead to problems and limitations later on.

It's always better to surprise your child by giving him an object or an activity that you think he would like to have after he chooses the acceptable behavior over the undesirable one. Using an "if...then..." statement does not help the child make the right choice. On the contrary, it provokes him to start arguing with you. He may decide to engage in communication with you only after he evaluates whether the reward is worth following your instructions. If...then statements loosen your control over the communication process and pass it on to the child.

The last thing you want is for your child to begin to evaluate how much effort he must put in in order to receive the reward you promised. In practice, the difference may seem subtle, but it is extremely important. You want your child to choose acceptable behaviors because they are always in his own best interest. This applies to all people and works when the reinforcement of the displayed behavior is varied and unpredictable.

To quickly get through the early stages of learning control, give your child hundreds of opportunities throughout the day to choose acceptable behaviors based on your instructions, immediately reinforcing each correct behavior choice. Once you have control over your child's reinforcers, it will be easier for you to let him follow your instructions. Since you have control over his favorite subjects and activities, the child must come to you in order to get what he wants. And when he comes, you will only have to ask him to do something first. It can be as simple as asking him to return the toy he just played with, touch his own nose, turn off the TV, or repeat the request using more appropriate words.

Start with simple tasks. Be careful giving directions you don't have a clue to follow. In a non-verbal way, such as motor imitation (reproduction with gestures), instructions can be followed that require a verbal response. Use prompts based on your child's skill level and willingness to engage with you. If your child refuses to participate or cannot speak, you cannot help him want to do so. You just have to wait or give in.

Let me remind you that the implementation of instructions should be a joy to the child. In order to achieve this, the instruction of educational control should end with a game and communication: you can tickle the child, praise, "hit on the hands." Ways to reinforce behavior, including praise, are described in Chapter 7.

Step 5 Use the reinforcement method. In the early stages of mastering learning control, use reinforcement every time you get a positive response to your instructions. Gradually move to an increasing variable ratio of reinforcement.

Constant reinforcement to reinforce behavior is important because your child needs to understand that as a result of a certain behavior, he will get what he wants. Human behavior is predictable when it comes to rewards. In other words, we all choose those behaviors that will eventually lead us to the opportunity to get the desired under. fastening. Even if it's just a feeling of pride, reward for our achievements, such reward will be at the heart of what we do.

Understanding that the right choice of behavior leads to a good reward will appear only if each correct choice ends in a positive result. Since most of these decisions are based on following the instructions you give the child, he will see that following the instructions is a necessary condition for receiving a reward. The connection between clear instruction and the right choice of behavior leading to effective rewards will not go unnoticed by a child who knows how to get what he wants.

The child learns to understand that it is in his interests to listen to your orders and correctly respond to them, and therefore he will try to do what you want from him. Eventually he will start coming to you for opportunities to learn, because he knows this is the first step towards his favorite things.

Awareness of the importance of the presence of other people is the first step to get out of the framework of autism. But such awareness will come only if you constantly do everything so that your child, following your instructions, can quickly receive a reward. This means that you should try not to leave a single instance of your child's more or less good response unreinforced. You can always somehow encourage the child: tickle, twist in the air or just hug tightly. By reinforcing the desired behavior each time, you are saying that in similar situations you want to see that behavior again. Once your child understands this, he will also realize that the lack of reinforcement means that you do not want to see this behavior again.

If you have mastered the learning control, you can slowly begin the process of reducing the number of reinforcements for a certain number of correct answers. The response-reinforcement ratio is the number of acceptable responses the child needs to receive one reinforcement.

To increase the response-reinforcement ratio (i.e., create a less frequent reinforcement regimen), you need to go from reinforcing every single response (1:1) to reinforcing every second, third, and even fourth response (2:1, 3:1, 4: 1) in situations where the child follows instructions. Ultimately, you may be waiting longer. When the child shows a desire to participate in the learning process, go from a one-to-one ratio (one reinforcer for each response) to a variable ratio (vanabe Kapo, VK) - two to one or three to one. This means that on average you will reward two or three positive responses from the child with some material object. Then you can move on to reinforce the average of every five positive responses. And finally, move on to a ratio of ten to one or more.

The reason we use a variable reinforcement ratio is because scientific studies show that using a variable (unpredictable) reinforcement ratio is more effective at inducing consistent and correct responses than using a constant and predictable reinforcement schedule.

Step 6 Show that you know your child's priorities as well as your own.

Identify and write down each item or activity that can be used as a reinforcer for your child. Then observe what exactly he prefers in different situations. These preferences can change all the time, so you should try to notice what he really* would like to have the most when you are with him. Make a list of your favorite reinforcers and share it with all the adults who interact with your child in one way or another. Select from this list primary (food), secondary material (inedible) and secondary social (communication and activities) reinforcements. Do your best to find as many different reinforcements as possible and complete this list. Your child should be able to work for a wide range of reinforcements. Every day you should try to find and add one or two new reinforcements.

The best way to find a new reinforcer (object or activity) for a child is to find out what is currently working as a reinforcer, and to figure out which features of these reinforcers attract your child the most. Find out what new items or activities with similar qualities will add to your child's list of reinforcements. Habits, rituals, and self-stimulating behaviors are good breeding grounds for expanding the range of reinforcers. For example, a child who loves to spin might enjoy swinging on a parent-pushed swing, spinning in a work chair, bouncing on a large gym ball, or sitting on a blanket that you drag him around the room on. Children who love to open and close doors or line up objects can simply play with toys that enable these actions. Kids who love street lights can play with lanterns and flashing toys, flashlights and mirrors.

There is no one right way to find reinforcements for your child. The best approach is to constantly try new toys, objects, activities until the right ways of reinforcement are found.

Rotate the use of certain rewards to prevent losing interest in any of them. It is very good if you leave the most attractive subjects and activities for use in working on more difficult or important skills, such as developing speech or toilet training. Try to use social reinforcements along with material ones. Understanding how to manage what your child wants is one of the most important ingredients for developing a child's ability to make independent decisions. Differential reinforcement is the process of using different amounts of reinforcers for different types and levels of behavior.

By knowing what your child prefers, you will be able to decide what to give him for a satisfactory response, what kind of reinforcement to use as a reward for a good response, and what type of reinforcement he deserves for a great response. Using a variety of reinforcers for different types of response from your child will help you shape the type of response you want from him in the future.

You must not forget about your priorities. What do you want to teach your child? Usually, when working with a child, you have to keep several goals in mind at once. And then, perhaps, a one-time display of behavior or choice of behavior will be appropriate in one case, but unacceptable in another. You will have to prioritize. If your goal is to play with your child, you may respond differently to their behavior than if you plan to work on acquiring a skill. Therefore, it is important to know what goal you are pursuing at a given time and make the right choice of reinforcement based on these priorities.

Mastering learning control when working with your child is a very important task. This is what will help you switch his attention from the inner world to the outside world.

This chapter has introduced you to six of the seven important steps needed to establish and maintain learning control (without using the behavior dampening procedure). These six steps will allow you to begin shaping your child's desire to choose behaviors that are acceptable to you. The next chapter deals with the seventh step of learning control - reducing the manifestation of problem behavior.

Chapter 6

Chapter 5 outlined the first six steps in learning control. These steps together form a series of principles that explain in detail how to interact with your child so that he begins to make progress in learning. However, for many parents, the child's desire to cooperate and his positive attitude towards the process of learning is only half the battle. There is something else that is important to know. The seventh and final step in acquiring learning control explains how best to respond when your child decides not to cooperate with you.

Empty threats quickly become meaningless. Your words only make sense if they are supported by actions that match the intended meaning of the words. The word "no" does not affect the child if the child can still do what he wants, one way or another having fun. The ability inherent in each child to take part in activities (games) and follow instructions will eventually manifest itself in only 1 case if the instructions have consequences that are significant for him. The difference in consequences should be so noticeable that the child understands that it is in his interests to make the choice you suggested, and choosing unacceptable behavior will not bring any pleasure. As soon as the child understands this, he will begin to make more choices in favor of positive decisions, while the frequency of choosing undesirable behavior will decrease.

Gaining attention, avoidance, self-stimulation - all these are the results of behavior that the child perceives as reinforcing. If in order to achieve these results, the child will have to break the rules or ignore the instruction, he will certainly do it. Adults tend to become more demanding when the child ignores their requests. As a result, the more demanding the adult becomes, the more resolutely the child refuses to obey. The circle is closed.

To break this circle, you need to do two things. First, give the child such instructions that he wants to follow. To do this, it is necessary to comprehensively use educational control from the first to the sixth stage (see Chapter 5). Second, you need to make sure that the child does not get any benefit from ignoring or refusing to follow your rules or instructions. How to achieve this, explains the seventh stage of the system of educational control.

Step 7 Show your child that ignoring your instructions or choosing inappropriate behavior will not lead to reinforcement.

You can become the main source of reinforcement if the child identifies with your favorite objects and activities for 75% of the time of interaction with him. Limiting your access to reinforcers entirely, on the one hand, and identifying yourself with reinforcers, on the other, will allow you to keep your child's performance at a high level for 25% of the time you devote to the learning process. Do not give your child reinforcement when he intentionally chooses not to follow direct instructions or knowingly behaves in an undesirable way.

Unwanted (unacceptable) behavior is behavior that you would not like to see repeated under similar circumstances. Behaviors such as squealing, snatching toys, trying to pull parents by the arms, kicking, showing frustration, including hitting yourself, pushing others away, and ignoring parental requests are all examples of unacceptable behavior. You must recognize when your child is leading themselves in an undesirable way, and deliberately not to positively reinforce the behavior by simply not reinforcing the behavior.

Any type of behavior your child is currently using has been reinforced in the past in some way. If it is not, then there is no reason for the child to use it this time.

At one time, our team worked very hard with a boy named Anthony to establish educational control over his behavior. Whenever Anthony was unhappy, he would start yelling "Oh, oh, oh!" Because Anthony's vocabulary was small, his parents would ask, "When he says 'Oh!', is he in emotional pain?" Theories have been put forward that he is frightened, confused, has sensory problems, feels internally uncomfortable, and that he simply doesn't know what exactly "Ow!" that Anthony used this type of behavior as a way to get the attention of other people or to avoid situations in which he would not want to participate.

Anthony probably heard others say “Ow!” when they were injured. In addition, he found that when he hits and says "Oh!", everyone immediately leaves their business and rushes to his aid. Not only did he get attention, but he also had a great opportunity to evade demands. As time went on, Anthony began to say “Oh!” when he was unhappy with his position and wanted to change it. The more this behavior was reinforced (that is, he got what he wanted), the more he used it. In the end, he shouted "Oh!" even when he needed a pencil of a different color than the one he was given.

The best way to influence the boy's inappropriate use of the interjection "oh" was to stop further reinforcing it. Our team solved this problem by applying an effect called quenching. Extinguishing (Extinction) is the cessation of reinforcing a behavior that was reinforced in the past. Whenever you are dealing with a behavior that has a long history of reinforcement, you can use the extinction technique without reinforcing the unwanted behavior in the future. When using this method, any behavior will be reduced for some time.

Anthony was reinforced when he said “Ouch!” because this was often followed by attention, an opportunity to evade demands, and an opportunity to increase control over the environment. To dampen this behavior, we had to remove the reinforcements that were previously following him. Preventing Anthony from getting reinforcements when he says "Ow!" (except when Anthony was really hurt), we reduced the value of this sound combination for him. Without reinforcements "Oh!" began to disappear. In a very short time, Anthony abandoned the inappropriate use of "Ouch!", which hindered his further learning. In essence, we encouraged him to use the "Ouch!" sound when it was appropriate, but stopped attempts to use it at the wrong time. This use case for suppression can be applied to an unlimited number of less desirable or problematic behaviors.

Depending on the child and the situation, extinguishing may look different. There are two main extinguishing methods.

The first blanking method is used when your child wants something from you. For example, you are on the phone and your child is demanding your attention. If a child has received your attention in the past by crying, he is more likely to cry every time he wants you to hang up. Using a blanking technique will help reduce this behavior. Refuse to hang up the phone when the baby is crying. But do it differently when your baby stops crying, even for a short time. Someone might be able to tell him how to get what he wants in a more appropriate way: maybe call your name, or touch your shoulder, or just help him find something interesting to do while you're on the phone.

Once your child exhibits one of these competing behaviors, you can quickly hang up and give him attention by reinforcing the new, more acceptable behavior. The situation when you are talking on the phone can be created many times during the day. This will allow you to get the desired result faster, even if you have to pretend that you are answering the phone.

Often the child behaves unacceptably even when he fully owns your attention. For example, your child wants something from you that he cannot get, either because the parents decided so, or because he refused to follow your instructions. The behavior of the child is expressed in his unwillingness to ask you properly for something or to wait until you provide him with an object of your choice. If in a situation where the child has captured your attention, he behaves worse than you expect, you should use the blanking technique. The way to apply blanking in this case is to immediately clearly demonstrate that the choice of the child is unacceptable to you. For example, you can cut yourself off in mid-sentence and turn away from the child. If a child loses the attention of his parents at a time when he wants to get something from them, this is perceived by him as that he has embarked on the wrong path.

This is what the cancellation procedure looked like with a 16-year-old boy named Max, who could use single words to ask for things, but preferred to do without words. Instead, he pointed to an object or pulled mother to the desired object, that is, he wanted to receive both the object and mother's help. Our goal was to teach Max how to use words to ask for what he wanted.

When developing the training control, we showed Max that he can always get what he wants if he follows our instructions. In addition, we also had to reduce the value of trying to pull mom to subjects of interest to him. Using the seventh stage of learning control in this case meant not giving Max what he wants when he tries to pull his mother by the hand. Every time he tried to take his mother by the hand, she had to fold her hands so that he could not grab them. She was also instructed to say the name of the item that Max wanted to receive, and wait for him to repeat it. When the son tried to pull her by the hand, and not repeat the name of the object, the mother had to turn away from him. As soon as he stopped trying to drag her by the hand, mother had to turn to him and repeat the name of the object.

This procedure was repeated as often as necessary. When Max repeated the name of an object properly, or at least said a word that sounded close, Mom had to take his hand and go with him to give him what he asked for. If she didn't know what he wanted, she had to ask him to repeat, "Let's go..." As soon as he repeated, Mom walked with Max until he showed her what he wanted to get. Then, when she could make sure he was motivated, she would say the name of the subject, waiting for it to be repeated. Once Max realized that the use of words would be encouraged (reinforced) but hand-grabbing would not, he began to use words and no longer tried to pull on Mom's hand.

This procedure also works for "non-speaking" children. However, instead of asking them to repeat the words "come here," we asked these children to make the appropriate gesture for the expression "come here," and then the gesture for the item they were interested in.

The technique of extinguishing the unwanted behavior is relatively easy when your child uses the inappropriate behavior to get something.

You are in control of what your child wants, and you are the one who decides when to satisfy the child's desire. Reminding yourself of who is in control of the situation should help you stay calm and respond appropriately to any manifestations of your child's behavior.

One of the easiest methods you can use when a child wants something from you and is ignoring instructions or trying to use unwanted behavior to get it is to turn away from him. Before he receives anything, he will try to get your attention and enlist your voluntary participation. By turning away from him, you are definitely declaring that his behavior led to the loss of your attention. As soon as he behaves properly, you can turn to him and say the instruction again. You should be ready to repeat this procedure until the child stops choosing the type of behavior that is unacceptable from your point of view.

Once you have mastered learning control to a sufficient degree, you can begin to evaluate how acceptable the child's behavior is after you have given the instruction. Was his answer loud enough? Was it pretty clear? Did the child try to ask without whining? Did you look into your eyes? You should not ask these questions at the initial stages of learning control, as you are still just learning and gaining experience. However, as you master learning control, you may begin to focus on other important points, such as response volume, clarity, and eye contact. Such tasks are correlated with the sixth stage of educational control, that is, they will depend on your current learning priorities. For example, you will have to choose what is your current high priority: cooperation without coercion or the quality of the child's response.

Even if your child is following directions, you should still be able to reinforce behaviors in the order you feel is right. If, after following the instructions, the child wants to grab the reinforcement before you can provide it, stop and ask him to demonstrate competitive behavior. Competing behavior (Competing behavior) is any behavior that cannot occur simultaneously with the considered (in this case, undesirable) behavior. For example, you can ask the child to wait or put their hands on their knees (instead of grabbing reinforcements). And that's when you can provide reinforcements, because that's exactly what you want.

Sometimes a child will want something from you that you don't think they should have. If he doesn't take no for an answer and continues to beg, complain, or behave in undesirable ways, you should consider this situation as requiring a cancellation procedure. Complaints or unacceptable attempts to convince you to change your mind can be stopped in the same way as described above. The main difference will be that after you have turned your back on your child, you must wait until he stops trying to change your mind. As soon as he is quiet, you can approach him with an offer to play with another object or do something else. If he starts asking for the unwanted object again or behaving inappropriately, you should immediately turn away or leave. Repeat this process until the child accepts your answer. As soon as he does this, back up the positive decision of the child with something important for him. At the very beginning of using this procedure, you can expect only a few seconds of silence from the child before you try to involve him in another activity. However, as the child's understanding of this procedure becomes more and more, his time will be calm - #| behavior must increase before you pay attention to it again.

The second blanking method is used when you want the child to do something at your request, but he refuses or tries to evade your request. For example, you want your child to dress appropriately before going to school, but he refuses to wear shoes. Following the seventh step in this situation is more difficult, because you cannot control your child's given desire, that is, use this desire as motivation or reinforcement. In this case, you're left with what we call the Avoidance Extinguishing Procedure (Essare Excelsop). This is a process in which the child cannot evade the learning task or situation and is forced to comply with the requirements.

When using the avoidance behavior procedure, you cannot turn away or walk away from your child after making a demand and receiving an unacceptable response. You need to do the exact opposite. If you demanded something from your child and he did not comply with this requirement, you need to continue to repeat this requirement until he fulfills it.

The procedure for extinguishing avoidance behavior involves repeating your instruction while blocking the child's attempt to evade the request. This is extremely difficult to do without forcing the child to submit physically. In addition, it can lead to the destruction of those friendships that you have worked so hard for. Also, using the avoidance behavior routine will prevent your child from avoiding and thus deprive them of the opportunity to make a conscious choice to stop. However, it is important to note that if you show weakness and your instructions are not followed in such a situation, you will, in fact, reinforce the child’s unwanted behavior and, as a result, he will not follow your instructions in the future. Therefore, try to avoid the occurrence of situations in which you need to apply the procedure of extinguishing avoidance behavior.

Using all seven steps of learning control tends to render the avoidance suppression technique unnecessary. However, if you ever decide to use it, try to complete the procedure, that is, until the child fulfills your request. The best way to make sure your child is following your directions properly is to help them arrive at the correct answer in a timely manner.

If you need to use an avoidance dampening procedure, you must first analyze why the child is not following your instructions. Was your instruction clear enough? Have you reinforced this type of activity enough in the past? Have you tried to correct this situation before with strong motivation and weak reinforcement? Could the child follow your instructions? Maybe you are not using differential reinforcement properly?

Using differential reinforcement in this case means that you can start to reinforce the child in different ways depending on how the task is done. Give him less substantial reinforcement if you are helping him complete the task, more substantial reinforcement if he does the task on his own, and the best reinforcement if he does it quickly and without prompting. This is the best reinforcement that will encourage your child to do a similar task in the future. the best way. It is the repetition of situations in which the best response will be associated in the child's mind with the best reinforcement that will motivate him to continue choosing an acceptable type of behavior outside the training room.

In most cases, you can avoid difficult and unwanted situations if you understand how to control the process of interacting with your child, and give yourself enough time to think about your actions. You should be aware that as soon as command language appears in communication, harmony is broken, while interactions using narrative language are always more or less harmonious. As long as the expression of demand is not perceived as threatening, neither party expects a catch in the communication process. It is this interaction that contributes to the development of social skills.

In the ABA program, we strongly recommend that communication between you and your child be 75% narrative sentences and thus contribute to the development of the child's social skills. In other words, for every minute of time spent with your child, only 15 seconds should include expressing demands and instructions, and the remaining 45 seconds should be spent communicating and using reinforcements.

Every time someone makes a demand in an imperative tone to another person, he Voluntarily transfers control of the situation to that person. The person to whom the request is addressed gains control of the situation, because he can choose whether he wants to answer or not.

The reason the extinction process is so powerful is because the child wants something from you. He is used to being rewarded for certain behaviors, and now you are blocking the desired item until he selects a different type of behavior. When a child wants something from you, you are in control. You decide when, for how long and to what extent he can have what he wants. Conversely, trying to get a child to do something when you have no control over his motivation gives him an advantage. This means that he now decides when, for how long and to what extent you can have what you ask for.

Without a deep understanding of ABA, most parents, teachers, and therapists often give children instructions that fail to ensure obedience because adults have no control over the child's motivation. This allows the child to have constant control over the situation when interacting with adults. Regardless of what you expect your child to do, your best bet when using learning control is to wait for him to ask you for something before you ask him for anything. If he refuses to comply with your request, then you are dealing with a blanking situation that you can control.

Here is a good example of how to turn an almost out of control situation into a favorable learning situation. For example, if you want a child to wear shoes, you can ask him to obey, then it makes sense to wait and see if you have done enough for him to comply with your request in the hope of getting reinforcements. If he does not respond to your request, you will have to use the avoidance behavior technique by repeating your requests or using physical force in case he does not agree to obey. There is another option - to give in. Of course, this is not the best solution. Again, the best way out in this situation is to wait until the child asks for something he really wants to play with, or until he expresses a desire to snack.

With your complete control over rewards, the child will be asking you regularly, and once he has demonstrated motivation for something that is under your control, it is in your power to use that motivation to get the child to follow your instructions. In a situation where the child is already playing with encouragement, you can temporarily stop access to him and ask, for example, to wear shoes. If the child obeys and complies with the request, you can reward him with a toy, cookie or any other material reinforcement from your list, or come up with something new. By adding social reinforcement - praise ("well done", "thank you", "great job"), you will encourage the child to identify it with material reinforcement and increase the positive reinforcement of the desired behavior. Include as many social reinforcements as possible on your list and use them in the future. YES (not if the child does not respond to your request. boo, you have an advantage because you let him know that he will not receive the reinforcement he is interested in until he chooses the best type of behavior. The procedure for extinguishing avoidance behavior is necessary for reducing the number of inappropriate behaviors, however, it is important to note that there are problems that go along with this process. Avoidance extinction is the process of "not allowing" a child to avoid a class or a requirement. To give an example: Mom didn't stop Barry when he tried avoid her demands She let him go but made his choice unsatisfying In other words, avoid giving your child reinforcement in the form of attention or manipulating you when he engages in avoidance behavior.

Do not physically stop the child if he leaves or refuses to comply with your demands. Instead, pretend that his departure does not make much of an impression on you. This can be achieved by saying, for example: "I see we're done playing" or "Well, bye" or "Ok, I see you don't want to watch the video". A wordless response can also be effective. Gather your training material and reinforcements and go to another room. Do not look at the child or turn away from him. Continue to manipulate objects by yourself or with other children. See that the child does not have access to reinforcements until he returns to finish the job he left behind. This encourages the child to make a conscious decision to follow your instructions and return to and participate in the learning process.

Letting your child go and waiting for him to come himself is much more effective than trying to force him to continue with you against his will. Every action has a reaction. Forcing a child to do work will only increase their resistance and motivation to avoid work. If you want your learning to be as productive as possible, your child must decide for himself that it is in his interest to study with you. Don't insist on this decision. Instead, organize your child's environment using the seven steps of learning control so that learning with you becomes your child's most preferred pastime. Then let him realize it. Do not use the blanking technique unless absolutely necessary: ​​children who decide to return to the learning process are more likely to not leave and are likely to show more diligence.

Although the unwanted behavior suppression technique is significantly less time consuming than the techniques of the previous six steps, it should be used as infrequently as possible. And certainly any talk about the use of force when it comes to 0 money is unacceptable. There is no point in holding a position of power when interacting with a child. Children with autism are very intelligent and generally have an intuitive understanding of the principles of behavior. In this book, you have talked about different ways to use AED to change a child's behavior in everyday life. The main thing to remember is that by handing over control of the situation to a child, you allow his problem behavior to become fixed, and this will continue until, finally, you can no longer take care of him or help him become a happy and independent young man.

The strategy of using extinction is often difficult to put into practice, and yet it is one of the most useful strategies that can help a child reduce the use of inappropriate behavior and agree with the principles of educational control. The first six steps are designed to help increase the frequency and quality of positive behaviors. Systematic application of all seven steps will greatly facilitate your life and the life of your child. So, if the child follows the instructions and participates in communication with you, you, in turn, play with him and give him all his favorite toys - this is the part of educational control that allows you to spend as much time with the child as possible, filled with joy and with fur. On the contrary, the effect of using the extinguishing technique is not quick. Results will appear only after some time. Let me remind you that the seventh stage of formation of educational control should be used when your child chooses types of behavior that you would not like to see in the future.

Types of undesirable behavior that are accompanied by reinforcement will appear more often. This is due to the fact that something in the child's environment constantly reinforces aspects of his problem behavior. The quenching technique reverses this process by removing access to reinforcement. If the extinction technique is used consistently, by blocking access to reinforcement, the problematic behavior becomes irrelevant, and thus you can avoid using the punishment procedure. But most likely, instead of problematic behavior, you will get an explosive reaction, or a tantrum.

An explosive reaction is the period of time from the moment when the behavior to be eradicated becomes more intense until the moment when it subsides. The explosion reaction, or explosive reaction, is much more powerful than the behavior you want to change. The periods of explosive reactions are often long and difficult to overcome. Be that as it may, the child needs your help to overcome this difficult stage.

Each explosive reaction requires attention and detail, and this is the only way you can take full control of the situation and continue to develop an established relationship with your child. As soon as you ask the child to do something that he does not want to do (that is, refuse to cooperate), start using the procedure for extinguishing this behavior and try to wait out the child's tantrum, no matter how strong it is. If a child puts himself in danger during a tantrum, you must protect him. If he threatens you, you can leave the room. However, if you decide to use the extinguishing method, you should in no case give the child the right to choose tactics of behavior. If you give the child what he wants, you will show him that he can use this behavior whenever he does not want to do what you ask him to.

Our team at ABA has extensive experience working with children with autism who experience behavioral problems. Not so long ago, our new consultant turned to me for advice over the phone. She had been working for three hours with a little boy who was determined to wait out her desire not to give him reinforcements. I asked her to describe the situation and the procedures that were used. Finding that the process had been done correctly, I advised her to focus on parental reinforcement. This was their first experience, and therefore it was very important that they go through the explosive reaction of the child and see a positive result in the end. I knew that if they didn't want to wait out the tantrum and did reinforce the child after three hours, they would let themselves down and continue to get three hours of tantrums every time they refused to go along with their child's demands.

I asked our counselors to remind the family that the extinction technique is not an experiment, but a way to reduce problem behavior that is scientifically based and widely used.

My work experience has convinced me that if I am consistent in my application of the blanking technique, I will eventually get a positive result. Energized by my unshakable confidence, our counselors and parents returned to the seventh level of educational control. As a result, the procedure from start to finish took 5 hours and 15 minutes (a new record for ABA). When this was done, the child realized that the mother, father, and counselors were not going to just give up. He had no other choice but to overcome his desires and change the tactics of behavior. He was stunned when the whole team showered him with congratulations, games and sweets. The boy has returned to the positive flow of life, and now it takes him no more than an hour to choose the desired type of behavior.

When using the blanking technique, it is important to be careful not to inadvertently reward unacceptable behavior. In the process of using extinction, many parents say "no" or make attempts to explain to the child why he should not do this or that. However, words are not actions, and they do not always have the same meaning for a child as they do for adults. You can say “no” to a child, but at the same time, by addressing him, you are giving him the attention that he just wants to receive! If you use the word "no" or any other word during an explosive reaction, you run the risk of significantly increasing the number of similar behaviors in the future - the behavior that you are trying to stop.

Remember that explosive reactions can provoke new behaviors that the child has not used before: he may throw himself on the floor or threaten to break something. A non-speaking child may hit or bite himself. The speaker may say that they hate you or that you are angry or insane. This new behavior simply reflects the higher level of demands he uses to get what he wants. And if you don't show in any way that this new behavior can be successful, your child will have no reason to use it again.

No matter how intense the first bursts of explosive behavior are, the principle behind the extinction technique is that if you can endure them, the problem behavior will subside. More importantly, if the blanking technique is used consistently and consistently, the unwanted behavior will disappear from your child's repertoire forever.

The explosive reaction will become less prolonged and intense when your child realizes that there is no benefit to him or her as a result of the unacceptable behavior. That is why ABA/UV offers a blanking technique. Getting past difficult milestones in a short amount of time using blanking out is much better than using a punishment technique that involves intentionally using consequences that you think should lead to less behavior in the future. Often these effects are unpleasant and lead to hostility towards the person using them. The extinction technique is better because it does not contain a negative connotation and is manifested only by the refusal to give the child an undeserved reward.

Feel this difference in order to be able to build your relationship with your child without destroying his trust or desire to be with you. Using the blanking technique to reduce the intensity of problem behaviors can be a powerful tool, but if used inconsistently, it can be devastating. Applied correctly, the extinction technique will produce positive results in just a few days or weeks and markedly reduce the number of problem behaviors. However, if you are not prepared enough to wait out all the manifestations of an explosive reaction, you will only increase its frequency and power.

The quenching technique is a powerful weapon for reducing unacceptable behavior, but it only works when you master learning control and use all seven steps consistently. The blanking technique is almost impossible to use without restricting access to reinforcements (without restricting reinforcements), and its use without a trusting relationship between you and the child is very tiring. If this technique is used by parents who don't mean what they say and say what they don't mean, it becomes inconsistent. If parents don't know what can reinforce their child, they won't be able to offer an alternative to an explosive response. Extinguishing without using all the steps of training control almost always turns out to be useless.

Many children with autism enjoy watching videos. If this is true for your child, teaching with video reinforcement is one of the best ways to start mastering learning control.

Start with one of your favorite video programs. Make sure you have a remote control so you can decide when and why the video is played or stopped (step 1).

Play the video and rock your child in your lap or massage his back while watching so that he enjoys watching with you more than when he is alone (Step 2).

Pause the video and give your child a simple instruction such as “Clap your hands” (Step 4).

If the child follows the instructions, play the video again immediately (step 5).

If the child decides not to follow the instructions, immediately turn off the video or stand in front of the TV to show that you mean what you say (Step 3).

If the child tries to get up from the chair, starts crying, hits himself or you, or exhibits other inappropriate behavior, you should not play the video again (Step 7).

However, once the child is quiet and following the instructions with or without your help (step 4), you can turn the video back on (step 4).

5). Then start rocking and stroking his toe 2). Etc.

If your child is not talking, teach him to ask to turn on the TV using sign language - this will be a great learning control skill. If he is talking, then before turning on the TV, you can ask him to repeat simple actions after you (perform motor imitation). For example, say “Do this” by touching your head, stomping your feet, or clapping your hands.

Through the use of the seven steps of learning control, you will gain experience with your child that you can use on a daily basis.

Applied correctly, the quenching technique can quickly reduce even the most problematic behavior. The seventh stage of learning control is used to reduce the manifestation of those types of behavior that you would not want to see in the future under the circumstances. However, this technique alone will not help learning new skills and cannot be used when the child is unable to demonstrate the skill you are teaching.

Reread the first six steps of educational control, paying attention to those places where the hint method is mentioned. Proper use of the hint is very important in ABA and will be discussed in more detail in other chapters. It is recommended that you use hints when you need to help your child follow your instructions. For example, using physical support to complete a task will help the child complete it without error. The use of prompting in the learning process helps the child to demonstrate a new acceptable type of behavior without error. However, if the child refuses to let you help him, he is showing reluctance to hand over control to you and chooses the "non-cooperative" option. When this becomes a problem, you must use the blanking technique, otherwise you will not be able to get the child to participate voluntarily in the learning process.

The blanking procedure reduces the likelihood of problem behavior, but some children respond to your use of this technique with tantrums (explosive reactions) that parents cannot control. And while it is easy for a child to be taught before the age of seven or eight to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior using only the blanking technique, older children sometimes have enough power to ruin things or hurt themselves or others during the application of this procedure.

It's very difficult to avoid reinforcing a child's behavior during the extinguishing technique when you know he might break a window, overturn furniture, or hit a sibling hard. In the case of children who have a severe explosive reaction to the extinguishing procedure, you can use some types of punishment. There is nothing unethical about using the punishment procedure.

In situations where a child puts himself or others in danger, punishment may be the only possible and ethical solution. The seventh stage of educational control does not prevent the use of punishment procedures. She states, "Show your child that by ignoring your instructions and choosing to do the unwanted behavior, he can't get reinforcement." Although quenching is the primary technique for reducing unwanted behaviors, punishment as a method also meets the criteria for the seventh step.

The use of punishment involves intentionally bringing in or removing something from your child's environment after the behavior has occurred, which reduces the occurrence of that behavior in the future. If you feel that a punishment procedure is necessary, I highly recommend seeking professional help. It is difficult to find a substitute for an “outside the door” when it comes to a comprehensive understanding of behavior. If you decide to use the seven steps of learning control or any of the other procedures recommended in this book, first try to find a certified behavior analysis and modification specialist who can analyze and coordinate your program.

Annotation for the book "Childhood autism and ABA. ABA. Therapy based on methods of applied behavior analysis"