Now more than ever, parents are struggling to provide educational learning for their children as the burden for this has fallen mostly, entirely upon parents. While respite care and some options of in –person therapy still remain open, this is the time for parents to take matters in their own hands and get down to work.

Applied Behavior Analysis and behavior therapy have been around for more than 40 years and offer a wide array of interventions and techniques that are effective in mitigating challenges just like the ones mentioned above.  Positive Reinforcement systems such as Token Economy, Differential Reinforcement techniques; Priming, Chaining, Task Analysis, Shaping, Extinction, Functional Communication Training are just a few or tip of the iceberg so to say. However, ABA is not for every parent as it may depart too much from their understanding of typical child development and normal parenting practices.

Yet, ABA can help you in your desire to create an intensive home-based program which is personalized to your needs but you must begin only when you are committed to giving the approach an opportunity to succeed. Finally, home based, parent led training is largely about hope.

Hope that the child will acquire social and language skills similar to those of peers and in final analysis, live a normal and productive life. Committing to any program requires dedication, sacrifice and consistency on the part of the adult; you, the parents and we commend you for your efforts and time. Having said this, there is no way to predict accurately which children will achieve the most significant outcome.

While no child is born with a manual that parents can simply read and follow in the upbringing of the child, parents of children with autism and special needs have a particularly daunting task ahead of them. Many realize that not only do they have to take on the role of an educator but also that of an advocate for their child with autism.

‘We aim to empower parents by learning to apply the most effective instructional methods for teaching their young children with autism as well as by acquiring the skills to manage behavior problems’ ( Anderson, 1989)

Structuring the Learning Session

The physical environment needs to be properly designed to maximize learning, in other words, it helps to be prepared. You may expect your child to resist engaging in tasks that are not liked or non- preferred. This may take the form of leaving the area, crying, and throwing a tantrum, or they may exhibit aggression or self injury.

Being prepared would include taking care of these key considerations. Incorporate some fun in the work! This may mean remaining animated, providing nearly constant praise to your child for remaining seated and blending difficult tasks with easier tasks or task demands with play activities. If a 30- minute homework session is too much for your child, break it into two segments of 15-minute each. By providing a break after the first 15-minute work segment you maintained control of the flow, rather than have the work get disrupted by behaviors.

Choose a quiet area of the house/room for instruction that is free of distractions, it is ideal to provide two child-size chairs and a table for the instruction materials. Only bring the necessary materials to this area.

Getting started- Have a timer close by. Start by providing praise your child for coming to the table and remaining seated. Begin instruction with a task your child knows well or can do easily. Start the timer for 15 minutes and tell your child, a break is coming when the timer rings. Provide ample praise-high-five, thumbs up, clap etc for doing this and transition to the homework/schoolwork. Continue to praise for all attempts to be on task, encourage your child to use his/her words to ask for help when needed. Parents can take a few deep breaths to serve as reminder to their child to take a deep breath. When the timer rings, walk away, provide your child with water, a healthy small snack and the toy or sticker or you’re your child was working to earn-positive reinforcement.

Take 5 minutes to stretch and regroup.

Resume work by starting the timer for next 15 minutes and tell your child he/she will be all done when the timer rings.

Remember to:

• sit very close to your child
• Praise your child frequently for staying seated in the chair, making eye contact and following instructions
• Use ample praise,’ wow! Good work! Way to go! Very nice! Great! So proud of you! Awesome!’ —–set the tone right from the get go

Set up Reinforcement the Right Way

• Motivation for your child

Different children get motivated by different things. For some children, receiving praise from parents is a strong motivator to complete tasks and follow instructions, for others, getting good grades works. For some children, the motivation comes from extrinsic rewards or tangible rewards and the use of a planned system of reinforcement may be the most important thing that you do to help your child to learn.

Remember:

• Reinforcement must be individualized-it is unique to each child, what may work for one child may or may not work for another child.
• Reinforcers may be objects or activities such as, food, hugs, kisses, positive comments, or stickers, access to a favorite toy or book etc.
• You may write out a behavior contract and have a token economy system set up for your child.