problem behavior

In this episode, I talk about how to deal with your teenager’s disrespectful attitude. You may have had a conversation with a friend about kids these days and how much they feel entitled. Or you may have had a conversation about how all of a sudden your sweet boy or your sweet girl has become nearly impossible to deal with since entering the pre-teen or teen stage in their lives. Hey, I’ve been there and in some aspects I’m still going through it, so just know that you are not alone and this season in their life is going to require a lot of parental support in order to come out of it successfully. I am going to be sharing 3 ways to deal with your teenager’s disrespectful behavior in order to help you get things back on track. 

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Thank you for listening!

I love this power statement: “If you don’t believe in ABA, it’s like you don’t believe in breathing.” It’s a really impactful tidbit from my chat with Dr. Joanne Gerenser, SLP and Executive Director of the Eden II Programs. Dr. Gereneser and I discuss the importance of ABA in the field, as well as what that means for collaborating with other professionals; having SLPs and BCBAs work together with ABA to serve students with autism, especially those with challenging behavior.

There are some professionals and parents in the field that just really don’t understand what ABA is. There can be a lot of mean-spirited, negative, information online about ABA depending on where you’re looking. When you really look at it and understand the professionals working in the ABA field and the help it can provide to the autism community with serious learning and behavior challenges, you will see just how important it is. 

When it comes to collaboration, you can’t paint every BCBA with the same brush just the same as SLPs. The worst therapists are not representative of the entire field and you cannot walk into an interaction with telling the other professional what to do; It erodes the professional relationship.

Dr. Gerenser’s techniques for communicating with hesitant professionals:

• Build a professional relationship.
• See the person beyond the technique.
• Be humble, you don’t know all the answers.

You can find out more about Eden II and Dr. Joanne Gerenser, visit Eden II Programs online.

#autism #speectherapy

What’s Inside:

• Using ABA in Speech Therapy
• How to collaborate with hesitant professionals
• Serving students with problem behaviors as an SLP

Mentioned In This Episode:
Home - Eden II Programs (eden2.org)
ABA Speech: Home
Register for the free SLP in an ABA Setting Mentorship webinar

In this episode, learn more about what your child’s behavior means. Oftentimes when a child is having a tantrum or meltdown, the first question parents may ask themselves is “Why is my child behaving in this way?” Well, this episode is going to turn your thought process about the reason behind behavior totally upside down. You will find out that asking “why” the behavior is occurring may not actually be the right question. Well, what IS the right question? AND, find out if you are unintentionally reinforcing the behavior that you don't want to see. Tune in to find out.

About This Episode's Special Guest:

Sabrina was a part of The Global Autism Project
Learn more at https://globalautismproject.org/

Resources Mentioned In this Episode:

*EMAIL LIST*
Click here to join my email list for more free content to help you on your parenting journey!
or go to strongermindsstrongeryouth.com/jointhelist

*REACH OUT & SHARE*
Email me your stories to share with others parents just like you at  jessika@strongermindsstrongeryouth.com 

*CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!* & *TAG ME IN YOUR STORIES!!!*
#jessikashields or @strongermindsstrongeryouth

Get Social to Stay Connected!!!
Twitter: @Official_SMSY
FB: @StrongerMindsStrongerYouth
Instagram: @StrongerMindsStrongerYouth
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TikTok: @Official_SMSY
To access more Podcast resources, visit strongermindsstrongeryouth.com

Thank you for listening!

Today I had the pleasure of talking with my BCBA supervisor and trailblazer in the field. Kelle was introduced to the world of autism at a really young age, which led into special education and continued on to her large body of work. In this episode she is sharing with us, from her wealth of knowledge, about how to work with students with problem behavior and what to do to support learners when it becomes a barrier to therapy.

The first step, with any therapy case, is to understand your learner. You can do this by reading the files, interviewing the parents, teachers, and other providers, and talking to the learner. You really want to know who this child is, what they like, and how they work so that you can pair your environment and therapy up to these things. Take a deep breath, take your time, and just build that relationship.

If you've built that rapport and problem behavior is still occurring, you can analyze the appropriate next steps. When tier 1 or non-dangerous behavior is occurring it is important to move forward with therapy. Note it, track data on it, but keep doing what you're doing. Try to avoid accidentally reinforcing that negative behavior. But what if it's more?

What is an FBA?
A Functional Behavior Assessment, is a formal assessment process that must be requested as a part of an IEP. This process is worked through the team of providers, parents, and anyone who works with the learner. Next, a direct observation occurs to track patterns and antecedents. Finally, an actual analysis may be necessary where the learner will be tested. We do all this to guide us to an accurate behavior intervention plan.

What is the BIP?
A Behavior Intervention Plan written into an IEP to guide and shape therapy. A BIP can not be created without an FBA. Whoever develops the BIP needs to be the one to train and support staff on how to support the learner.

When it comes to these plans and conversations, they are often occurring because things are not going well which can cause some contention between professionals. Kelle and I both discuss how we find it helpful to remind the team that we are in fact on the same team and that the common goal is to help the learner!

To close out this awesome interview, Kelle shares a little bit about her upcoming conference, The Verbal Behavior Conference. This began in 2018, became virtual throughout COVID, and is occurring both live and virtual this year. There are a ton of great speakers and leaders in the field and so many trending topics on the billet.

#autism #speectherapy

What’s Inside:

• What is the FBA?
• What is a BIP?
• What can you do when problem behavior becomes a barrier to learning?
• How can speech therapists support students with problem behavior?
• Why does problem behavior occur?

Mentioned in this Episode: 

ABA Speech: Home
ABA SPEECH Your Autism Resource
Verbal Behavior Conference

I often get requests for how therapists can help students who are engaging in problem behaviors that create a barrier to learning. In this interview, my colleague Sasha Long of The Autism Helper shared her “Five Favorite Antecedent Strategies”.

If you’re not sure what antecedent means, Sasha gives a great explanation. For the purpose of this list, antecedent means to be proactive. This is a list of best practices that when used to their fullest potential can help teachers, therapists, and even parents become proactive instead of reactive in the face of problem behavior.

1. Evaluate the Physical Environment. Remove elements of distraction or possible sensory overload. We might not always be able to remove it all together, but we can minimize or be aware to be of support to the learner.

2. Routines. Kids and adults thrive off of routine and knowing what to expect. Be sure to include several grounding activities throughout the day. We’re all human and things come up but how can you plan ahead to maintain a routine even when there is a change in the day?

3. Schedules. We often have schedules for the whole day but mini schedules are the secret sauce. Try to break down the steps into every group and activity. If you can associate each activity with a visual cue in the order it happens. Keep it simple and applicable to the receptive language skills of the learners.

4. Visuals. We all use them, but, why are you using them? Take a look at the receptive language skills of your learners and figure out what kind of visuals they need. Make visuals a purposeful strategy as opposed to pictures used for the sake of taking up wall space.

5. Reinforcement of replacement behaviors. When you build up good behavior, you’re not going to need to be reactive. Provide praise when students are engaged in positive replacement behaviors. Find the good even if it's small!

Our end goal when working with students and implementing this list to see an increase in communication and a decrease in problem behaviors. Sasha is a wealth of information. You can find out more about her and her work through her blog and podcast, The Autism Helper.

#autism #speechtherapy

What’s Inside:

• Proactive strategies for students who engage in problem behavior. 
• What to do when problem behavior becomes a barrier to learning.
• How to help students who engage in unsafe behavior during therapy.
• What are Sasha Long’s Top 5 Antecedent Intervention Strategies?
• How  to set up your therapy environment for the safety of your students.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Don’t miss Pyramid Educational Consultants’ Second Annual FUNctional Behavior Conference on April 4th and 5th, 2022! Pyramid’s international team of behavior analysts, and dually certified speech pathologists, led by Andy Bondy and Lori Frost, the developers of PECS, have created all new and expanded content that includes a broad range of practical information related to the field of behavior analysis. Day one will focus on content related to educational programming and program development. Day two of the virtual conference will present information related to behavior analysis and communication. Earn up to 8.0 BACB CEUs including one ethics and one supervision credit when you attend the full virtual conference. To learn more about attending the FUNctional Behavior Conference on April 4th & 5th  visit, pecsusa.com!

The Autism Helper
ABA Speech: Home
ABA SPEECH Your Autism Resource 

Dr. Danielle Smarsh, equine extension specialist at Penn State, and Brittani Kirkland, youth livestock extension specialist in Larimer County, Colorado share their personal stories of horses that just didn't want to get in the trailer.  How to you handle a horse that won't get back on the trailer to let you leave?  What if they won't get off the trailer?  Learn some tips and tricks from professionals who have been there.

For More Horse Information: extensionhorses.org