Martha Gabler – Page 12 – Autism: Chaos to Calm

Scientific methods for educating a child with autism

November 2, 2013January 20, 2018 Martha Gabler

asat logo

I have been working with my son, who has severe autism and is profoundly non-verbal, since he was 4 years old (he is now a young adult). I started off knowing virtually nothing, but having heard vaguely of something called “ABA” (Applied Behavior Analysis). Had I known then what I know now about the behaviorally-based methods, therapies and curricula available, our journey would have been much smoother and faster.

This article describes the topics that I had to educate myself about: teaching methods, curriculum, how to make adaptations to help a child with autism learn, and increasing desired behaviors with positive reinforcement. At the end of this post is a list of methods that have worked well for us, plus my personal recommendations for books to read if you are fairly new to the task of teaching a child with autism.

Check out what reputable research organizations have to say

I recommend that autism parents begin by reviewing the websites of two reputable autism research organizations: the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), and the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT). Both provide information about successful methods for working with children with autism. ASAT has extensive information about methods that have scientific validity and methods that are much-promoted, but do not have scientific validity in the treatment of autism.

The National Autism Center has produced a guide for parents entitled: A Parent’s Guide to Evidence-Based Practice and Autism.

How can you tell when your child with autism is running out of gas?

October 27, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler 2 Comments

Your car has a warning system

We’ve all done this: pulled away in the car and suddenly noticed that the needle in the gas gauge is hovering on empty. Naturally, at that particular moment, it is always extremely inconvenient to stop for gas, but we have to. No one wants to be stuck on the side of the road with an empty gas tank.

Running out of gas is such an inconvenient and potentially dangerous occurrence, that car companies give us all kinds of warnings before disaster hits. The gas gauge tells us how much is in the car and we can estimate how much further we can drive before we have to fill up. If we ignore the gas gauge, the blinking FILL TANK light comes on. If we ignore that, we will pretty soon feel the car slow to a halt, and we are stuck.

So does a child with autism

Kids with autism also get stuck and have problems, but they too have warning systems. Their warning systems just aren’t always apparent to us. My son, who is nonverbal and has severe autism, was always sending signals when he had problems, but for a long time I was too dense to comprehend them. Finally, I began paying attention and learned how to read his emotional gauge and emergency blinking lights.

Q & A re: Quiet Mouth

October 26, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

QUESTION:

Several readers emailed questions about using positive reinforcement and an event marker to teach “Quiet Mouth” behavior to my son. The questions had a similar theme: How did I know the “function” of the behavior? Did I have any idea why my son was screaming? Was he trying to communicate?

ANSWER:

These are all interesting and appropriate questions. I never knew the function of most of the behaviors my son displayed, including the constant screaming. I would have liked to have had this information. However, like most autism parents, I never had, and still do not have, access to sustained behavioral services and professionals who could help piece this out. Eventually I just stopped thinking about that part of the problem because there was nothing I could do about it. The continuous screaming or shrieking appeared to be a self-stimulatory behavior. I wanted him to do more productive things with his time than scream and stomp, so I taught him to walk nicely and quietly with me in the neighborhood. Once he learned this set of behaviors, we were able to go out to other places and we started to have a much better quality of life.

What is your child’s balance of failure and success?

September 28, 2013March 25, 2018 Martha Gabler 2 Comments

Delivering success is critically important when working with a child with autism.

Success is great; we all enjoy it and we feel happy.

Failure is bad; nobody likes it and we get upset if we have too much of it.

For a child with autism, heavy doses of failure can lead to difficult behaviors, even to aggression and anger.

Difficult behaviors

When a child with autism starts biting, hitting or pinching family members, it is a devastating experience for everyone involved (including the child with autism). Sometimes a child who has been doing okay may turn, almost overnight, into an aggressive, physically violent kid.

Most of us are untrained and unprepared for dealing with these behaviors. What do you do? What I learned over time is to watch carefully that balance of success and failure. Too much failure – bad behavior. Lots of success – great behavior.

Phrases that Help

Some years ago I encountered some phrases that help me when I have a problem with my child. They are:

“Difficult behaviors result from unmet needs,”

and

“Behavior is information.”

I learned that when my child has a lot of difficult behaviors, he is informing me that he has a lot of unmet needs. He cannot communicate the specifics of what is bothering him, the problems continue, and, as a result, he lashes out. When this happens, the balance is tilted towards failure.

Podcast with Martha Gabler: Effective communication for autism families

September 22, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

Martha Gabler is the author of the book: Chaos to Calm: Discovering Solutions to the Everyday Problems of Living with Autism.

Listen to this podcast, in which Martha answers these questions about an effective communication method that families living with autism can use.

What are some of the everyday problems of living with autism?
What is the TAGteach method of communication?
What is a common issue that autism families face that can be addressed with the TAGteach method?
How does TAGteach help with this problem?
What advice do you have for other families out there that may be dealing with some of the same things you had to?

Martha Gabler’s book, Chaos to Calm, Discovering Solutions to the Everyday Problems of Living With Autism, is available now in print and Kindle formats.

You can connect with Martha at her blog AutismChaosToCalm.com or at her Facebook page.

This podcast is presented by the National PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR. Annie is the Creator of JenningsWire, an online magazine that features a diverse community of talented bloggers.

What is TAGteach?

TAGteach stands for Teaching with Acoustical Guidance. TAGteach is a teaching and communication method based on the scientific principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the precise moment the child performs the behavior! The acoustical signal is a short, sharp sound made by a handheld device (the “tagger”). When the child performs the correct action, the parent/instructor immediately presses the button on the tagger and hands over a treat (candy, treat, token, praise, social recognition, or money) as a reinforcer.

With TAGteach, it is easy to reinforce behaviors precisely, quickly, and intensively. The immediate, accurate feedback and positive reinforcement result in the child performing the correct action more often, and for longer periods of time. With immediate feedback and learning tasks broken down into small steps, children (and adults) can learn many new skills with TAGteach — at their own pace.

For more information visit the TAGteach website.

Join the free TAGteach Yahoo Group.

TAGteach taggers are available here.

See Martha’s book about TAGteach for Autism or feel free to ask me a question (with no obligation).

If you liked this post, please share it. Thank you!

Direct Instruction: It even works for kids with autism

September 21, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler 2 Comments

September 19, 2013

I sent this letter to the Commissioners of a Review Committee within a State Board of Education. The Commissioners were considering whether to approve a set of Direct Instruction curricula for use by school districts within the state. Please note that Direct Instruction curricula align with the new Common Core Standards.

What is Direct Instruction?

For those who may not be familiar with Direct Instruction (DI): this is a body of academic curricula for teaching reading, writing, math, spelling, language and language to students in grades K-8. What makes Direct Instruction unique is that it is based on scientific principles of human learning, the same principles that we see in ABA programs; these principles include use of positive reinforcement, shaping, cues, signals, prompting, and fading. But there is more. According to the Association for Direct Instruction:

“(T)he real power of a DI program comes from the careful analysis of each skill taught. The skill is broken down into its component parts, then each component skill is taught to mastery. Afterward, the skills are combined into a larger context where different skills are utilized across settings, resulting in generalized fluency.” (See http://www.adihome.org/di-programs/faq-moofaq)

Direct Instruction programs are designed for typically developing children. However, I found them to be so powerful that I was able to use them to teach my severely autistic and profoundly nonverbal son. He learned reading, math, spelling and language with these programs.

The Letter

Dear Commission Members;

The purpose of this email is to ask respectfully for your support for including Direct Instruction curricula for use within the state.

What is ABA and why is it so important for autism?

September 4, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler 2 Comments

Did you start hearing a lot about ABA when you first got started with your child?

Did you think, “What on earth is ABA and why is everybody talking about it?”

If you’ve ever wondered what’s the big deal with ABA, here are some facts.

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis.

ABA is widely acknowledged to be the most effective way to teach skills and manage behaviors in children with autism.

Why? It is based on decades of scientific experiment and verification.

ABA is a science

Applied Behavior Analysis is a science, just like biology, chemistry or physics. Scientists in this field use the scientific method to explore questions about behavior and learning. Remember the scientific method from high school science classes? Here are steps:

observation of phenomena
development of a hypothesis explaining these phenomena
experiments to test the hypothesis
collection of data from the experiments
analysis of data
development of a conclusion.

This process is replicated to refine and validate the results. When the process is completed, if the results meet certain criteria (the results are stable, they last over time, they can be replicated), the scientific method results in the discovery of new scientific “laws.”

The good thing about these “laws” is that we know they are valid. They are real. And they work. Read More

I want to use the clicker, but I can’t get started. Part 1

September 1, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

A reader sent me the following question:

“Imagine a person who has never parachuted out of an airplane. They stand at the door, but are almost paralyzed with fear. I think many families of children with autism may feel that way. They know they must do something right now, and they have some tools (teaching methods), but they are afraid to take the first step.

How did you feel before you took the first TAG step? What was your first move with your son after you’d learned some concepts and methods? How would you advise families?”

Each of these questions is a perfectly natural question to ask, so I will take them in turn.

Common fears

As to being afraid to take the first step, for many families the first step might mean completely different things. The first step may be the decision to use TAGteach, or the decision to buy clickers and treats, or dealing with doubts and questions about this method. Information is the key to addressing these fears.

More information

Let’s talk about the fear of using TAGteach. If you are afraid of hurting or damaging your child in some way, you will not do so if you use TAGteach properly. TAGteach is based on the Science of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and relies on the use of positive reinforcement to build desired behaviors, along with an event marker signal. With the marker signal (click) used in TAGteach, you provide specific information to your child that he has done something right; then you provide a treat (reinforcer) as a reward. Providing information and reinforcement to any child is a good thing. It is a scientifically-validated method of building desired behaviors. It will help your child learn and can eventually build up a mutually trusting and interactive relationship.

I want to use the clicker, but can’t get started. Part 2

September 1, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler 2 Comments

A reader posed the question, “How did you feel before you took the first TAG step?”

I felt nervous. But, before I took the first step I had already done the following: read about TAGteach, purchased a clicker and prepared a handful of candy treats. From an intellectual standpoint, I understood that marking and reinforcing a behavior would work in increasing that behavior. From a personal standpoint, I wasn’t sure how this was all going to work with my child in my living room.

The Tantrum

The first morning I had my clicker and treats and came downstairs, my son started to tantrum, for no apparent reason. With the clicker in my hand, I had to think about what to do. I knew I should not try to cajole him out of the tantrum. I knew I had to find something positive to mark and reinforce. But what? So, I watched him. Within a minute or two I realized the obvious: he was jumping and running around and screaming. What did I want? It flashed into my mind: Quiet Mouth and Still Feet.

I want to use the clicker, but can’t get started. Part 3

September 1, 2013February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

A reader posed this question. “What was your first move with your son after you’d learned some concepts and methods? How would you advise families?”

Think about behaviors you would like to see

After learning about concepts and methods, the next step was figuring out what behaviors I wanted. For autism parents, that is an amazing concept, to think that you can work on behaviors you would like to see in your child. There are two ways to go about TAGteach: with a specific behavior goal in mind, or general marking and reinforcing of any behaviors you like.

What family activities are stressful with your child?

I spent a lot of time in the beginning using TAGteach to reinforce and build Quiet Mouth behavior. I was also desperate to get out of the house and go for a walk in the neighborhood. Going anywhere with my son required extreme vigilance to make sure he didn’t dart into the street or into oncoming traffic. Going to the grocery story was also a stressful event that required lots of vigilance. Waiting in the line at the store was equally difficult. So my next projects were teaching Nice Walking, Going to the Grocery Story, and Waiting In Line. I worked on these behaviors because I wanted to get out, go for a walk and buy food without all the stress and trauma we usually experienced.