Tag Archive for: aba
How to Choose the Best ABA Provider for Your Child
Beginning ABA therapy services can be overwhelming and confusing. Below are a few things to consider when choosing an ABA provider to ensure you are finding the best fit for you and your child! 
Scope of Practice
- This is a term that simply means that healthcare professionals should ethically only treat populations and use procedures/processes in which they have specific education and training.
- For example, if a BCBA has only worked with the pediatric population, it would be outside their scope of practice to treat adults.
- Especially for children with intense behaviors, children who are older in age, larger in stature, etc., it is important to ask if the ABA therapy practice has BCBAs who have experience treating in these areas to ensure safety and maximum progress.
Location of Services
- Some ABA therapy companies only offer in-home or in-clinic services exclusively. Other places, like NSPT, offer ABA services in homes, clinics, schools, etc.
- It is important to consider where your child might need support and choose an ABA company that is able to offer services where therapy will be most appropriate, beneficial, and consistent.
Insurance Coverage
- ABA therapy is recommended 10-40 hours per week, based on BCBA recommendations. This range of hours is what has been proven to be most effective for progress.
- Because of the large number of hours, therapy can be very costly if paid for out of pocket.
- When calling ABA therapy providers, be sure to let them know which insurance you have (at NSPT we will check benefits and provide a summary explanation as a courtesy to all of our families). Families are then able to determine if it is going to be financially feasible to begin services with the provider.
ABA therapy requires consistent communication and collaboration between provider and family, so above all, it is vital you find a provider who you are comfortable talking, sharing, and brainstorming with!
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, and Hinsdale! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140!
The Difference Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement
Trying to figure out different ways to approach behavior can be overwhelming and frustrating. One thing to always remember is to try and focus on reinforcing the behavior you want to see more
than punishing the behavior you are wanting to decrease. Using positive and negative reinforcement can both help achieve the same goal of increasing the behavior you would like to see more of.
The difference between positive and negative reinforcement is simple. The use of positive reinforcement is adding something (typically something that is liked) to the environment after a behavior occurs that will increase the future instance of that behavior. The use of negative reinforcement is taking away something (typically something that is not liked) from the environment after a behavior occurs that will increase future instances of that behavior.
Examples of positive reinforcement include:
- Giving a praise after a specific appropriate behavior occurs and then that behavior continues to increase.
- Earning a special treat after a specific appropriate behavior occurs and then that behavior continues to increase.
- Getting a 5 minute 1:1 time with parent after a specific appropriate behavior occurs and then that behavior continues to increase.
Examples of negative reinforcement include:
- Removing a chore from the chore list from the schedule after a specific appropriate behavior occurs and then that behavior continues to increase.
- Taking away a specific school related task after appropriate behavior occurs and then that behavior continues to increase.
The key to making sure either type of reinforcement is working is to measure and track the behavior and see if that behavior is increasing over time!
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Mequon! If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140.
Help! My Child is Wetting the Bed
Wetting the bed is a very common issue that occurs with many children. Below are some preventative and reactive strategies to help decrease bed wetting from occurring. 
Preventative Strategies for Wetting the Bed
Liquid Intake
It is important for children to drink liquid throughout the day to stay hydrated, but it is best to stop drinking liquids before bed time. This may prevent the bladder from having to be emptied while the child is asleep.
Bathroom Schedule
Scheduled bathroom breaks help empty the bladder when it may need to be emptied. Many times when children are engaged in a preferred activity they choose to not use the bathroom when it is needed. Bathroom breaks/schedules throughout the day can prevent other issues like infection or wetting pants during other parts of the day. Using the bathroom multiple times or at least one time right before bed may help the child from needing to empty the bladder while he or she is sleeping. Parents can also wake their children up when they are getting ready for bed and have them use the restroom one more time.
Reactive Strategies for Wetting the Bed
Waterproof bedding
When a child does wet the bed, use waterproof bedding, blankets, and padding to prevent any damage to mattress. Clean up will also be easier.
Alarms
Sometimes children are in such a deep sleep that the signal of wetting the bed does not wake them up. There are alarms that can be bought to help signal/wake the child when he or she needs to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Open Communication
It is important to not embarrass your children or make them feel bad when they wet the bed. This can be a sensitive topic and it is important for open communication and to make you child feel comfortable when it happens.
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140.
Help for Defiance
Life can already be busy enough making sure your child gets through all of the tasks he or she needs each day. The last thing you need is your child refusing to follow directions. Here are some proactive and reactive strategies for when you need help with defiance. 
Preventative Strategies for Defiance
Clear Directions/Expectations
When asking your child to complete a task, make sure you are crystal clear with the directions. For example, if you ask your child to clean their room, your child may go pick up their clothes off of the floor and then say they are all done. When you go to check the room you say, “Your room is not clean.” This may cause an argument/conflict. To your child, a clean room means there are no clothes on the ground. To you, a clean room is a made bed, clothes folded and put away, and a clean desk. Clearly state your expectations to leave no room for confusion and make success more achievable for your child.
Offer Choices
Sometimes, your child may get overwhelmed and become defiant if they have numerous tasks to complete. Giving them the option to choose what tasks they need to complete each day may make them more compliant and successful. For example, give your child the option of making the bed or cleaning the clothes off the ground. Another example is giving your child the option of which homework assignment they would like to complete first.
Shortening Tasks
I know many teachers who use this tip when working with students who refuse to do their work. For example, they might give a student a math worksheet of 20 problems and ask them to complete 15. Another way to use this tip is asking them to work on one problem or one part of the task and then increasing the number of problems/parts of the task over time. Following strategies like this may feel like you are giving in to them, but in the end they are still completing part of the task, as opposed to refusing to address it at all.
Offer Rewards
Many children are motivated by rewards. When stating your expectations, ask them what they would like to earn after they complete the task or give them options of what they can earn. You want to make sure you do this while stating the expectations. If you do not, and your child engages in defiant behavior and you then offer the reward, it becomes a bribe. Bribes are dangerous for growth because they teach children that if they refuse to do something at first, they will eventually get something extra. We want them to learn that they get a reward by complying with the task. For example, “What do you want to earn when you complete your chores? You can get 15 minutes on the iPad or a candy bar.” Make sure the rewards are activities or items that your child enjoys and will motivate them. If earning a reward is not enough, you can also present the consequences of what will happen if they refuse to do the task.
Reactive Strategies for Defiance
Reassess Motivation
After the child decides what they want to earn, they still may not complete the task. Their behavior shows that the reward may not be motivating enough for them. You can offer new choices or remind them what they are earning if they complete the task.
Stay Calm
When your child is engaging in defiant behaviors you want to stay calm. Use a neutral tone when you speak to them and make sure your facial expressions stay neutral, too.
Stay Consistent and Follow Through on Expectations
If you offer your child a reward after they complete a task, make sure you give it to them immediately. If you do not, your child may not be motivated by rewards because they will become skeptical. Additionally, you can’t give them the reward at a later time if they do not complete the task.
Deliver Verbal Praise for Appropriate Behaviors
When your child is being compliant instead of showing defiance, please deliver verbal praise!
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140.
Executive Functioning Skills: How Can I Help My Child?
Executive Functions are a set of higher order mental processes that allow an individual, or in this case, children; the ability to control their thoughts, actions, and attention in their ever-changing
environment. Often, children can present with executive functioning issues as a result of many different factors such as Autism and ADHD.
Below are some executive functioning skills and how they present in both individuals with normal and poor executive functioning, and some tools/strategies for parents:
| Skill | Example | Tools |
| Organization | Your child has trouble being organized or often loses, or misplaces items. | Create a “home space” for your child’s items. This can include simply labeling areas of the home where items should be stored, so your child knows where to place items and lowers the risk of loss. Make checklists or use planners to help your child create a schedule. |
| Working Memory | Your child easily forgets what they just heard, or what they were asked to do. | Make connections in every lesson. Have you ever heard of ROY G. BIV? – this is how most people remember the colors of the rainbow. When teaching new content such as tying a shoe use cute, age appropriate analogies such as the bunny rabbit in the hole. Also, helping your child visualize information by writing it down, drawing pictures, and even becoming the teacher are great tools as well. |
| Self-monitoring | Your child may not seem aware of themselves such as when they are doing well. | Behavior charts are a great tool to help your child self-manage their own behavior. Choose an important behavior for your child to manage and how often you would like for your child to “check in” on this behavior. |
| Task Initiation/Planning and Prioritizing | Your child takes forever to get started on a particular task or has trouble planning activities. | Break whole tasks down into smaller achievable steps. If the desired result is for your child to complete an entire homework sheet, maybe setting a goal to do the first 2 problems together can be a happy medium. Also allowing your child to take breaks or receive rewards between tasks are a good strategy as well. |
| Flexibility | Your child often has trouble with new ideas, transitions and spontaneity. | Visual schedules and first/then language are your biggest friend. For a child who has trouble being flexible, try to alert your child to changes in routine as far in advance as you can. To help combat rigidity such as not wanting to try a new food, try to approach slow and steady first. This can include tasting a small amount of a new food instead of a large portion. |
| Impulse/Emotional Control | Your child often has trouble controlling their emotions and impulses when they are sad, happy, or angry. | Speak and repeat. When providing directions to a child, if applicable, state the directions remembering to adhere to your child’s learner and listener styles, and then have your child repeat back to you. Use social stories and modeling: For example, if your child often gets upset when they lose a game, a social story can help teach tools on how to act in this situation. |
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!
Creating SMART Goals for Kids with Autism
When it comes to creating goals for kids with autism, it can be overwhelming where to start. What goal do you pick? When should they meet their goal? How can everyone work on it together? 
Rest assured, creating effective goals is as simple as making sure it is a SMART goal: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Following these simple guidelines will help your child achieve the goals you set in place.
Specific
It is easy to have a general goal in mind for kids with autism, such as increasing their language or self-help skills. However, general goals are hard to work on since they do not have specific behaviors that you are looking to increase. Being as specific as possible with your goal is the most effective way to ensure your child will meet their goal.
Measurable
When we create a goal, we have to make sure we can measure a child’s success. If our goal isn’t measurable, we cannot accurately determine if the goal was met. The two most common ways to make goals measurable are frequency (e.g. 3 times per day, etc.) and accuracy (e.g. with 80% success, in 4 out of 5 opportunities, etc.).
Attainable
Before we start working on a goal, we have to make sure it is something the child can attain (i.e. a goal they can achieve). We need to look at prerequisite skills (i.e. skills the child needs in order to achieve the current goal). We also need to look at how realistic our goal is. We cannot expect a child to get dressed by themselves each morning if their underwear drawer is too high for them to reach.
Relevant
Relevant goals are goals that will make a difference in the child’s life. If the goal isn’t relevant to the child, the child will not be motivated to achieve it. If a goal is determined to not be relevant to the child or the one helping teach the goal, it will need to be adjusted to become relevant.
Time-bound
If all goals had an eternity to be achieved, there would not be a desire to teach and attain the goal in the near future. Making goals time-bound ensure that the goal is mastered in a realistic time-frame. Determining the time-frame of your goal should be dependent on the goal. The more challenging the goal, the longer the time-frame should be.
Example of a SMART Goal
Your goal is to work on your child asking you for help when you are in another room. At this time, your child does not ask you for help when you are in the same room consistently. Let’s go through each criterion to make our SMART goal.
Specific: Child will say “help me” while handing the object they need help with to the adult
Measurable: 4 out of 5 opportunities
Attainable: We will first work on when an adult is in the same room
Relevant: Your child frequently needs help when playing with new toys or opening and sealing food
Time-bound: 2 weeks
Now that you know how to write SMART goals, start making some and see your child blossom!
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!
How Multidisciplinary Treatment Helps Children with Autism
There are many benefits to providing children with Autism a collaboration of different therapies in addition to Applied Behavior Analysis services. 
- Occupational therapy (OT) provides children with skills to help regulate themselves. These skills may help decrease inappropriate stims and help provide children with more socially acceptable skills for regulation.
- OT can provide children with strategies to help with motor skills.
- OT can have a different perspective on activities of daily living and as such can provide different and alternative interventions to increase independence on self-care activities.
- OT improves children independent living skills, such as self-care.
- Speech therapy can help children with functional communication skills. Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) can provide additional support to the children to develop communication skills.
- SLPs may also provide education and the introduction of alternatives to vocal communication in the form of augmentative devices or picture exchange communication system (PECS).
- Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) develops personal one-on-one interventions for children to develop functional skills.
- ABA focuses on helping children with social, academic, and behavioral concerns.
- ABA will also focus on providing children with skills for functional communication.
- Physical therapy (PT) can help provide children with additional motor function and can help with children who have low muscle town or balance issues.
- PT can also help with coordination for children.
- Collaboration of all therapies can help ensure that the most effective treatment is provided to the child in all settings.
Fusion of all therapies will provide children exposure to different strategies and interventions in different settings to help with day-to-day life.
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee! If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!
7 Tips for Helping Children with Autism Handle Breaks from School
Breaks during the school year can end up being stressful for parents. The key to success would be to prepare as much as possible beforehand. 
Try these 7 tips to help your child with Autism handle breaks from school:
- Give your child a heads up that there is going to be a break in the routine. Mark down the days on a calendar, and consistently review it with them starting a couple weeks before leading up to the break.
- Work with outside therapy providers to create visual schedules or prompts that can make the break run more smoothly—this is especially true for kids who follow schedules at school regularly.
- Keep your routine as consistent as possible during the break—keep bedtime, chores and meal times as close as you can to what kids would typically do.
- Provide as much structure as possible during the break, the less down time you have, the better! This can be a good time to plan outings to places you can’t typically go, such at the zoo, aquarium, museums, and parks.
- Check in with teachers about possible activities and academics that could be practiced over break. Frequently, teachers will assign extra work during this time.
- Use the break to keep your child caught up in school—review their homework and give them a head start for what’s coming up at school after the break!
- Breaks are also a great time to add more hours of therapy!
For additional information, check out our other Autism and school blogs.
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!
Jennifer Bartell is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and educator with over a decade of experience working with learners diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, double majoring in psychology and music performance, and earning a place on the Dean’s List. Following a move to New York City, Jennifer received her Master of Special Education degree from the City University of New York—Hunter College, wherein she specialized in Behavior Disorders and became dual certified to teach both the general and special education populations. While in New York, Jennifer was a part of the opening of the innovative NYC Autism Charter School—the first of its kind on the east coast—and had the opportunity to work in classrooms with reduced and one-to-one ratios and a curriculum created using the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Here she worked extensively with learners between the ages of 3 and 18, and presenting with an array of challenges, skill deficits, and abilities. Jennifer has vast experience in creating programming for community-based instruction, adaptive daily living skills, and self-care, yet also employs her education background to provide high quality academic and cognitive services as well. A well-respected member of the home- and school-based organizations for whom she has provided services, Jennifer is frequently called upon to provide professional development and training for her colleagues and those she is supervising. Jennifer has presented at a number of professional Applied Behavior Analysis and education conferences for fellow educators, behavior analysts, and parents around the New York area.
Collaboration Between Teachers and Related Service Providers
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary to collaborate means “to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something.” When we work with children we are constantly 
collaborating in order to provide children with the best possible education. Within a school there is a lot of collaboration that is evident between teachers, teachers and paraprofessionals, teachers and administrators, as well as between teachers and parents/families. Within special education there is a lot of collaboration that occurs as well in the school setting. But what about outside the school setting?
Many of the students who receive special education services within the school also receive services outside of the school setting. It is essential that the lines of communication are open not only within schools but with these other related service providers that are involved in a specific student’s daily life. Every individual or company that is involved in the well-being and education of the child should be communicating their role and how that can be facilitated throughout the child’s day to day life. This collaboration is key to ensuring that the child is receiving the best services and education. So how do we go about collaborating with other service providers?
There are many ways to collaborate. The key to collaboration is communication! The parent is the mediator since they have direct contact with teachers and the other service providers.
Below are some important ways that we can open up the flow of communication:
What parents can do:
- Provide each teacher and/or provider with a contact information document.
- This should include the names and contact information of teachers and other providers who work with your child.
- Check–in with the various adults that work with your child to ensure that they have gotten in touch.
- Provide updates yourself to teachers or other service providers about your child’s goals and progress.
What teachers can do:
- Ask parents for contact information of other service providers that the student might be seeing (if the parent doesn’t provide you with this information).
- Reach out to other service providers.
- Update other service providers throughout the school year in regards to the student’s performance and goals.
What service providers can do:
- Ask parents for contact information of other services providers that the student might be seeing (if the parent doesn’t provide you with this information).
- Reach out to other service providers
- Update other service providers and teachers throughout the year in regards to the student’s performance and goals.
The points made above are essential to ensuring that the lines of communication have been opened and everyone can begin to collaborate!
Collaborating is more than just emailing and making phone calls with updates. It should also involve meeting in person as a group and individually to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Once introductions have been completed a meeting should be arranged with all professionals and the family. This provides everyone with the opportunity to meet! In addition, it gives everyone the time to sit down and discuss the child so that everyone can ensure that they are all working together allowing fluidity between the variety of settings that the child will be in.
One meeting is not enough! Make sure at the end of the meeting that a date and time is set for another meeting a few months down the line. This meeting would be more about progress, new goals, successes or challenges that any of the professionals or family are having with the child.
Collaboration is all about teamwork! Working as a team is essential for the success of the children that we work with. We need to ensure that we continue to keep the lines of communication open and work with each other and the family. It is important to loop all professionals the family into decision making processes and program planning. It is also important to share a child’s success and progress so that the same high standard and expectations are held for the child no matter the setting. Collaboration is a truly important component in ensuring that our children are provided with the best services and education.
For additional information, check out our other Autism and school blogs.
NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines, Hinsdale and Milwaukee. If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (877) 486-4140 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!