Tag Archive for: Therapy

A Small Break from Therapy – What’s the Big Deal?

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Written by: Erilda Borici and Olivia Smith

Now that warm weather has finally arrived, many children and families are eagerly awaiting the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer break. Summer is the perfect time of the year to play outside with friends and to enjoy family time.  It’s also an excellent opportunity to add additional therapy sessions to maintain progress made during the school year or to meet goals. 

When your child is in need of counseling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA or physical therapy, an individualized treatment plan is created by your therapist. Therapists build a strong rapport and a trusting relationship with children through consistent time spent together.  A break in therapy disrupts their treatment plan and can delay progress.

There are multiple ways to maximize your child’s time in therapy during the summer months by participating in our multidisciplinary approach. If necessary, your child can receive various therapeutic services all under one roof. 

For children who have diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, or other developmental, cognitive, or mental health concerns, multiple therapeutic services are recommended to allow your child to reach their full potential. Apart from the convenience of having all  of your child’s services under one roof, therapists collaborate with each other to ensure consistency for your child. Coordination of care will allow your child to grow and gain skills as rapidly as possible.   

The summer months bring lots of opportunities for children to play at parks, learn to use/ride various gross motor toys such as bikes or scooters, or play at the beach. Therapy is play based so it’s fun! 

Many of our clinics have a sand table where children can learn how to build sand castles, or jungle gym equipment that they can learn to navigate safely. We teach bike riding!  Mastery of these skills during your child’s sessions provides confidence that they can participate in these activities safely and effectively outside of the clinic setting.  One of the most important goals in therapy is to have fun while skill building.

Here are some tips on maintaining consistency and getting the most out of treatment for your child.  

  • Since children are out of school, they have a lot more availability during the day to participate in therapy, and while camp and extracurricular activities are important, and great options for staying active, they cannot replace individualized therapy plans.   
  • Summer can be filled with unstructured time. For kiddos who struggle with ADHD, Autism, or Anxiety, this can be exacerbate some of their symptoms. Maintaining scheduled therapy hours provides children with consistency and routine to continue to work on their treatment goals.  
  • Rescheduling missed sessions is easier during the Summer months. (you might even be able to see a different therapist, depending on your child’s needs)  
  • Plan ahead and schedule additional sessions if you have an upcoming vacation or break, your therapist may have extra flexibility as well. 
  • Remember, school may be out, but kiddos who maintain their therapy schedules thrive when Autumn arrives! 

**Please keep in mind cancellations should be done at least 24 to 48 hours in advance, so other families also have the chance to reschedule.

NSPT offers services in Bucktown, Evanston, Deerfield, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Lake Bluff, Des Plaines and Mequon! 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!

 

What is a Tongue Thrust?

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A tongue thrust is the most commonly known type of Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder. According to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, this is when “the tongue moves forwardblog-tongue-thrust-main-landscape in an exaggerated way during speech and/or swallowing. The tongue may lie too far forward during rest or may protrude between the upper and lower teeth during speech and swallowing and at rest.”

A tongue thrust or an Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder may impact speech, chewing and swallowing as well as create changes in the dental pattern. An improper tongue resting pattern may develop as a result of enlarged tonsils or adenoids, allergies, extended thumb, finger, or pacifier sucking. It may also be related to restrictions in tongue movement, lip movement or the shape and size of the mouth.

Who Can Help With A Tongue Thrust?

This issue may be identified by a pediatric dentist or orthodontist due to the bite pattern seen in the child. An open bite (where the front teeth do not meet creating an open space) may indicate that there is a tongue thrust or an abnormal tongue resting position. A Speech-Language Pathologist trained in the area of orofacial myology or a Certified Orofacial Myologist (who may be a speech-language pathologist or a dental professional) are among the professionals who can diagnose an OMD.

To screen for the possibility of an OMD, it is beneficial to look at all the underlying factors including:

Habits – Thumb sucking, finger sucking, tongue sucking, extended bottle use and overuse of a “sippy cup.”

Airway – Open mouth breathing, enlarged adenoids and/or tonsils, allergies.

Lips – Do the lips rest apart or together habitually? Are there structural restrictions that don’t allow comfortable lip closure?

Tongue – Any difficulty moving the tongue to the roof of the mouth? Does the tongue appear to move forward during speech? Any structural restrictions impacting the movement? Sometimes the “lingual frenum” which is the attachment under the tongue is too short or tight and creates issues with tongue movement.

Teeth – What does the bite pattern look like? Is there an “anterior open bite” (the upper and lower incisors don’t meet when the teeth are together)? The “anterior open bite” is a very common pattern seen with tongue thrusts and other OMDs.

Speech – Speech may sound distorted especially the sounds “s,” “z,” “sh” and “j.”

Chewing and Swallowing – May show up as eating too quickly, too slowly, messy eater, as the swallow pattern is altered. This is sometimes referred to as a “reverse swallow.”

How is tongue thrust treated?

The approach to treatment involves first the proper diagnosis and designing a tailored approach to the particular OMD and how it is presenting in the individual patient. The therapist works closely with the rest of the OMD team, which may include the physician, ENT, gastroenterologist, oral surgeon, dentist and orthodontist. Any habits, structural issues, allergies or airway restrictions are addressed by the appropriate professionals.

Using tailored exercises, the treating therapist addresses forming correct placement of the lips, tongue and jaw at rest and the habituation of this over time. Addressing correct swallow patterns and the carryover into the ability to do this on an everyday basis with all foods is also addressed. Also addressed by the speech-language pathologist are any speech articulation issues with increased emphasis of the correct placement of the tongue and the appropriate tongue pattern.

Successful treatment involves ongoing treatment in weekly therapy, daily exercises done in the home and a collaborative approach with the family and the other professionals on the team.

Resources:

The American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s website information page: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/OMD/

International Association of Orofacial Myology information page: http://www.iaom.com/OMDisorders.html

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!

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Age Appropriate Toys for Motor Development

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It’s the holiday season! As we approach the end of December, plenty of parents have been inquiring about appropriate and educational toys and games that encourage speech and language growth, blog-motor development-main-landscapefine and gross motor development, and problem solving skills. Below are some of our favorite toys that we believe would make great additions to the family toy closet:

Baby toys (birth-24 months):

  • Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Rock-a-Stack
    • Why we love it for infants: brightly lit colors encourage basic skills such as eye tracking which helps facilitate gross motor skills like rolling and reaching across the body’s midline. These multi-sized rings are also the perfect size to encourage the baby to start using a gross grasp and release pattern, which is integral for fine motor development. The baby can learn basic discrimination skills related to sizing and colors which is necessary to develop basic problem solving skills. These rings allow the baby opportunity for oral exploration without hazard of choking, and the product boasts that the material is safe for teething.
  • Melissa & Doug Stack and Sort Board – Wooden Educational Toy With 15 Solid Wood Pieces
    • Why we love it: Facilitates tactile discrimination, encourages basic language skills by introducing names of basic shapes as well as different colors, facilitates fine motor development (particularly pincer , tripod, and lateral tripod grasp usage), and requires basic eye hand coordination to stack and unstack items on and off the centerpiece.
  • More suggestions: Caterpillar Play Gym, Fisher-Price Little People Lil’ Movers Airplane, Busy Poppin’ Pals, Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Count and Color Gumball

Toddler Toys (3-5 years):

  • Pop Up Pirate
    • Why we love it: This is a fan favorite for kids and therapists. We use it in OT, PT, and Speech, and the kids love it because of the uncertainty of who is going to make the pirate pop out of the barrel. Therapists enjoy using this toy to encourage direction following, visual motor integration skills, and fine motor coordination. When played in a small group, it provides a great opportunity to learn some basic impulse control and encourages turn taking. This is a great game for kids who may still have difficulty playing games with 2 or 3 step directions, as there are no rules other than waiting your turn to place the sword when directed.
  • Sneaky Snacky Squirrel 
    • Why we love it: Great game to address basic social skills and direction following. This game can be played with 2-4 individuals, and can help to encourage turn taking and fine motor control to manipulate a set of squirrel-shaped tweezers. This game also helps to build frustration tolerance, as children must learn how to react when losing their turn, or having a peer take away one of their acorns. It’s also easy to understand, and there is no reading required.
  • More suggestions: Wooden Shape Sorting Clock, Pop the Pig, Spot It, Zingo, Elefun, Hungry Hungry Hippos

Grade school toys and games (6-9 years):

  • Games for balance, coordination, and core strength: Zoomball, Twister, Labyrinth Balance Board
  • Games for fine motor development: Operation, Barrel of Monkeys, KerPlunk, Angry Birds, Jenga, Operation
  • Games for visual perceptual and problem solving skills: Rush Hour, Rush Hour Junior, S’Match, Marble Runs, Cartoon It
  • Games for Social skill and cooperative play: Race to the Treasure, Stone Soup, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Adolescent games (10-15):

  • Games for Executive Functioning : Logic Links, Qwirkle, Mastermind, Labyrinth
  • Games for Visual perceptual and problem solving skills: Knot so Fast, Blokus, Rush Hour
  • Games for Social development: Life, Scattergories, Scrabble, Apples to Apples

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!

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Why Your Child is Making Progress in Speech Therapy, But Not at Home

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An articulation disorder occurs when a child produces a distorted sound, such as a lisp (i.e., incorrect tongue placement during /s, z/ sounds) or an /r/ sound with a “flat” or vowelized quality blog-speech-main-landscape(“spiduh” for “spider”). It is worth noting that an “articulation disorder” has become a generalized label used to also describe patterns of errors in speech, for instance, “tat” for “cat” or “wion” for “lion,” which is a substitution rather than sound distortion. Many therapists will address substitution errors using a “sound-by-sound” approach if there are only a few errors. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that speech altogether is a learned movement pattern, just like walking, for example. A motor pathway of nerves in the brain is developed, established, and practiced, at a very early age.

The “give ‘em some time!” myth

Pediatricians and therapists often advise parents to “give it some time” before they seek out the help of a professional, leaving parents wondering why. Professionally, I am a supporter of the “wait and see” approach if the child demonstrates correct productions in some words, but not all, during their conversational speech. A child’s awareness of their speech increases as their gross and fine motor skills also develop and mature. As a result, common speech distortions may resolve with postural maturity, improved fine oral motor control, or exposure to same-aged peers which increases a child’s awareness. However, at the age of 4-years old, a child should be understood by familiar and unfamiliar listeners 90% of the time. Similarly, children who are typically developing demonstrate rapid growth of speech articulation skills in 6-month increments.

I advise parents to ask themselves the following:

  1. Has my child’s speech become easier to understand or made improvements at any time over a 6-month period?
  2. Can my child make the sound correctly at any time in spontaneous speech?
  3. Can my child make the sound correctly after I make the sound?
  4. Can acquaintances understand my child’s speech?

If any of the above answers are “no,” it may be time to consult with a speech-language pathologist regarding a full speech-language evaluation, especially if your child is approaching kindergarten. During the evaluation, the therapist will determine oral-structural abnormalities, evaluate for substitutions and omissions of sounds, and trial therapy techniques to determine the prognosis. The therapist may also hear the impact of reduced speech-articulation on language skills.  In my experience, children typically respond well to treatment unless structural differences (e.g., tongue tie, high palate, cleft palate) exist that impact their ability to produce the sound physically. In that case, a referral to an orthodontist, otolaryngologist, craniofacial specialist, may be warranted.

So, what does articulation therapy look like? Speech therapy for an articulation disorder is focused on creating a new movement pathway in the brain, “weakening,” or just simply not using the distortion pathway. Therefore, intervention should be repetitive and intensive in nature once the correct sound placement is achieved.

The process of articulation therapy includes producing the sound at specific levels of speech:

  • Establishing awareness of incorrect productions
  • Isolation
  • Syllables
  • Words
  • Phrases
  • Sentences
  • Reading
  • Story re-tell
  • Conversational speech

Many parents ask how long it takes to re-mediate an articulation disorder. Progress depends on consistency regarding the child’s attendance, treatment frequency and productivity/number of repetitions during speech sessions and completion of home practice assignments on a daily basis. I often set a goal to help the child achieve the sound hundreds of times per session. Once a child has established a sound by itself consistently, the therapist will challenge the child to produce it in words, phrases, sentences, etc. Many children will use their sound perfectly while practicing their articulation cards but become completely unaware of errors made as they speak spontaneously. Awareness and self-monitoring spontaneous speech is the most challenging part of articulation therapy. I explain this to kiddos I see to remind them that un-doing the speech distortion takes time! We ultimately want the child to use the new motor pathway without the need to actively self-monitor. Therefore, treatment is most effective when the child makes hundreds of productions per session and engages in daily home practice as directed by the SLP.

This is what you can do to work on speech:

  • Pick a daily routine to coincide with repetitive practice: before brushing teeth at night, during breakfast in the morning, on the way to school, etc.
  • Require your child to use correct speech while talking in the car, during dinner time, or while speaking on the phone.
  • Encourage your child to sing their favorite songs or nursery rhymes using their correct sound. For a challenge, make them start over if you catch an error!
  • Play games like “Guess Who?,” “Connect Four,” or “Sorry” and use a target word or phrase with their sound in it each time they take a turn.
  • Combine homework assignments and speech practice into one activity! Encourage your child to read the directions with correct speech, identify/practice vocabulary words that have the sound, or read stories aloud.

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!

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Executive Functioning Skills: How Can I Help My Child?

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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-changingblog-executive-functioning-main-landscape 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!

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Creating SMART Goals for Kids with Autism

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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? blog-smart-goals-main-landscapeRest 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!

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Keeping Fitness on Track at School

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Your elementary and middle school child spends the majority of his or her week in school– 7-7.5 hours per day, 5 days per week adding up to 35-37.5 hours per week. But don’t forget the average Blog-Fitness-Main-Landscapeof 3 hours per week of homework for kindergarten-8th graders. With long days in school sitting at desks, doing homework, increased time in front of televisions, on cell phones, or in front of computers, now, more than ever, it is important to make sure your child has ways to stay active. With so much time spent in school each week, what better avenue could there be to incorporate fitness in your child’s routine than in school? Physical education classes are a great start, but is there more they could be doing?

Here are Some Options You Can Present to Your PTA for Additional Fitness Programming:

  1. Apex Fun Run

Instead of using the old-school chocolate bar or wrapping paper sales, Apex is a company that utilizes fitness as a means of fund raising. Their goal is to encourage fitness and healthy lifestyles among elementary school-aged children while also helping schools raise money. Apex team members spend 2 weeks at a school teaching a curriculum about healthy lifestyle choices, ways to stay active, and assistance in getting the kids sponsors, culminating in the fun run!

https://www.apexfunrun.com/

  1. NFL Play 60 – School

Play 60 school is a program sponsored by the NFL to encourage 60 minutes of play every day. The NFL has partnered with the National Dairy Counsel, American Heart Association, and Brax Fundraising to create different programs for incorporating fitness in schools. This includes a focus on healthy food choices, implementing activity breaks during daily curriculums, and fundraising by selling various sports team SpiritCups.

http://www.nflrush.com/play60/school

  1. Presidential Fitness Testing

Most schools already implement Presidential Fitness Testing in their regular physical education curriculum. However, if your school does not or if you are interested in more information about the programming, take a look at the website. The Presidential Youth Fitness Programming allows students to individually track their fitness progress and achievements.

https://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/pyfp.shtml

Sources:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/02/27/students-spend-more-time-on-homework-but-teachers-say-its-worth-it

https://apexfunrun.com/Home/PlayfForApex

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!

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Sensory at Summer Camp | Facebook Live Video

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Kids are having fun at summer camp and it’s time to do everything we can to make sure they’re getting as much out of it as possible! Join one of our expert occupational therapists for Sensory at Summer Camp!

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!

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Administering Effective Healthcare in ASHA

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I attended a graduate school program that took great pride in a multi-disciplinary approach. They ASHAheavily emphasized the importance of working together to obtain the most accurate diagnosis within a medical model that was centered on patient wellness and experience. “It’s the wave of the future!” they said, “Funding in healthcare will be directly related to a patient outcome!”

When I started working at North Shore Pediatric Therapy, I couldn’t believe that the ‘wave of the future’ concept (simply translated to: increased and improved communication between patients and health care providers) was something that had been fundamental to this practice for so many years! They were so ahead of their time because they thought about how they wanted their family, friends, and children to be treated within a healthcare setting. It’s something that I find value in everyday and would like to share more information about in the upcoming paragraphs. *Of note, this blog post is in response to information derived from an article found in The ASHA (the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) Leader (a monthly publication sent to licensed speech-language pathologists) titled What Does the Patient Want? by Sarah W. Blackstone.

This blog post seeks to explain the ways in which the model of care NSPT has implemented for so many years is compliant with the recent changes in health care laws, policies, and regulations for patient-centered, communication-supportive care.

  • Why has the government recently realized this as a need in healthcare? Because, “Successful patient-provider communication correlates positively with patient safety, patient satisfaction, positive health outcomes, adherence to recommended treatment, self-management of disease and lower costs.”At NSPT, we have been working this way since day 1! We’re familiar with the positives of this model and know how to set up the challenges for success. We use these skills to impact our patients and improve our practice every day!
    • NSPT EXAMPLE: A colleague of mine had a client with a speech impediment and an upcoming school play. She reached out to the girl’s teacher (with the permission of her mother of course!) and they worked together to obtain a passage that had fewer of the sounds that were difficult for her. After the performance, all 3 parties rated the experience to review how the collaboration worked for everyone!
  • Participation in interprofessional rounds to generate relevant concerns and questions for our patients!
    • NSPT Example: I am a speech-language pathologist that works with physical therapists, occupational therapists, behavior therapists, social workers, and family child advocates. Some of our more involved kiddos see more than one therapist to address multiple areas of concern. This is where “rounding” is particularly helpful. It is the process of checking in and making sure that everyone is on the same page regarding the plan of care. Rounds are also a place to problem solve new challenges and talk about a client’s recent progress!

These are only a few of the ways that NSPT has already incorporated novel health care concepts into the foundation of what we do to convey our appreciation for the wonderful families we work with!

Resources:

Blackstone, S. W. (2016, March). What Does the Patient Want?. The ASHA Leader, 38-44.

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!

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Managing Time With ABA Therapy

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Research has shown that children with autism who receive 20-40 or more hours a week of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services make significantly more progress and have improved long-term outcomes. In short, the more ABA a child can receive, the better. To a parent whose child is newly diagnosed, this many hours can seem very overwhelming. Obviously parents want to do what is best for their child, so they want to get as many therapy hours as possible, but how do you balance a therapy schedule and typical daily activities? Below are some tips on how to make sure you have a balance between your child’s ABA therapy schedule and your daily routine.

Balancing the time commitment of ABA therapy:

  • If you child is seen in a clinic setting, use the time they are in therapy to yourTime Management and ABA Therapy advantage. Take this time to run errands, catch up on email, etc. Same with home sessions. If you child is receiving therapy in your home you can catch up on household chores.
  • Ask your child’s program supervisor for suggestions on how you can carry over certain skills at home. If your child is working on things like eye contact or requesting his wants and needs, these are things that you can do at home to help. The more your child can practice targeted skills, the quicker he will master these skills.
  • Find a parent support group so you can connect with families who are in a similar situation. It is important to have a good support network as they can provide support and give suggestions on dealing with the day-to-day challenges of having a child with autism.
  • Be sure to make time for fun activities/outings with your child during times they are not in therapy.
  • Utilize respite services for some kid-free time away from home. A respite worker can come and play with your child at home while you enjoy a date night or spend some time with friends.

It is important to remember, that while the more hours a child can get the better, it is also possible for children to still make progress with fewer hours. Sometimes 20 hours a week just isn’t possible, especially for a school-aged child. As long as your child is getting consistent ABA therapy you will still see gains. It is also possible to add hours during times when your child is not in school such as winter and summer breaks.

Click here to read more on the importance of parent involvement in ABA.

NSPT offers ABA Therapy services in Bucktown, Evanston, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Glenview and Des Plaines. 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 today!