Autism parent help Archives - Page 5 of 15

Got Autism? Need food? Here’s how you can teach your child to go to the grocery store.

March 9, 2015January 15, 2019 Martha Gabler

Check out this list of stressors for a kid with autism:

Bright lights pulsating overhead.
Tinny music.
People, kids, and carts milling around.
Water sprayers misting the vegetables.
And my pet peeve: the coupon dispensers with their blinking red lights waving coupons at eye level.

Think this is stressing for a kid with autism? Think this is a challenging environment for an autism parent to manage while also trying to shop for food?

Well, you’re right. The prospect of taking a kid with autism through the grocery store can bring people to tears or to their knees. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Food is Health, Family History and Culture

Every family needs to go to the grocery store, and it should be happy experience. The grocery store is an important learning environment! Families talk about healthy foods, or explain what Grandma needs to make her famous holiday recipe. Family lore and culture is passed on via food. All the kids in the family deserve this experience, including kids with autism.

Tick, tock, tag: autism, teaching and time

March 8, 2015February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

Time is precious.

Time passes.

Time lost can never be recovered.

As autism parents, we are excruciatingly aware of time.

How helpful it would be if we could teach our children more efficiently, so that they could learn more skills in a shorter time. I’d like to tell you about Teaching with Acoustical Guidance, or TAGteach, an ABA-based method for increasing productive skills, and how it can help you teach a child more quickly and effectively.

Delayed Integration of Sights and Sounds in Autism

Children with autism often process sounds and sights, not simultaneously, but with a slight delay. When watching and listening to an instructor, the child with autism will see the lips and arms moving faster and will process the words more slowly. The child sees more action in less time and needs more time to decipher spoken words. It’s easy to see how this sensory and time disconnect would be a stressor for the child. It could result in speech problems, learning problems, frustration, and behavior problems.

So, how do you teach a child who is not experiencing his environment in the same time frame as we do? How do you make allowances? How do you provide effective supports to overcome this disconnect? I believe that TAGteach is a solution. The clear acoustical signal gets around the problems of sensory processing disconnect by providing precise, instantaneous reinforcement — in place of slower, traditional verbal reinforcement. The tag encourages the child to stay focused on what she is doing. No interruptions, no confusion, better learning!

How TAGteach helps children with autism learn

TAGteach enables extremely precise positive reinforcement of behavior by using an acoustical signal to “mark” the behavior – at the exact time 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 exactly on time. 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.

A sound is better than verbal praise? Why?

Many people are still learning about the benefits of using a consistent sound, the “tag,” to mark a behavior. This is new to the mainstream, and often people wonder why a verbal comment like, “Good job” or “Yes, you’re right” isn’t as effective. Karen Pryor, internationally renowned author, and a pioneer in the development of force-free training methods, has a beautiful description of why an audible sound is much better at “marking” a behavior than our spoken words:

“…please note that the human voice is a very poor marker signal… too long, too slow, too variable, carrying too many confounding messages (your sex, your age, your mood, your health, etc.) and it also almost always late. Furthermore, you can’t distinguish when you are a mini-second late with your voice, but you CAN tell at once, without experience, when your click is late. (Karen Pryor, Penn State Listserve System, Standard Celeration Society, 18 May 2005.)

The tag delivers one message — success — without burdening the child with our slow words and personal emotional issues. Best of all — the the tag delivering this message on time!

To sum up, TAGteach lets you deliver reinforcement on time, so you can build skills more effectively. Time is a precious commodity in the life of a child with autism. We need to use our time wisely to teach a child as many skills as possible in the shortest amount of time.

TAGteach is easy to learn and easy to do. It is effective and low cost. It is a boon to families who need to teach their children the skills needed for everyday life. TAGteach gives parents an accessible, scientific way to teach new behaviors, rather than constantly managing or struggling with difficult and sometimes even dangerous behaviors. I recommend it to all parents for their consideration.

First published at the Behavior Station Guest Blog: The Behavior Station’s mission is to stay on track with ethical and professional standards of behavior analysis while transporting resources and mapping out science-based information as a means of guiding one to the best-supported platform on their life journey, regardless of the final destination.

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).

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 and quickly. 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 example, an instructor is teaching a child to follow directions and says, “Pick up the crayon.” If the child picks up the crayon, she is correct. If she picks up a pencil or eraser, or walks away, she made an incorrect response. With TAGteach, the instant her hand hovered over the crayon, the instructor would

“We have no time to stand and stare.” W.H. Davies, Welsh poet.

“… my time has been properly spent.” Ann and Jane Taylor, English writers. 1806.

“Time is fleeting.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. American poet. 1838.

There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come. Anonymous.

Tick, tock, tag! Autism, teaching and time.

Articles: Simple Movement: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130508131829.htm

Sights and Sounds out-of-sync: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/15/children-with-autism-sights-and-sounds-out-of-sync_n_4604231.html

Time Perception Different in Autism: http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Time_Perception_in_Autism_Spectrum_Disorder

Got autism? Want a happy car trip? Here’s how you can teach your child.

February 17, 2015January 7, 2019 Martha Gabler 1 Comment

Do you have a hard time taking your child places in the car?

Does your child make noises or flail about?

Do you feel nervous when you set out?

Would you like to concentrate on traffic instead of an agitated child?

Good car behavior is critical for the well-being of the family. Life is better when your child feels calm and happy in the car, and the family can go out and have a good time.

TAGteach is an excellent and easy way to build good car travel skills in small increments. With TAGteach, you “tag” a desired behavior of the child with an event marker signal (the “tagger”) and then “reinforce” (give a treat of the child’s liking). TAGteach allows the child to experience success for very small behaviors that eventually add up to a strong, complex behavior. Use the tag points below (and modify as necessary!) to teach your child to cooperate with getting into the car, and sitting calmly and quietly for the duration of the drive.

First small step: show that the car is a great place to be

Instead of taking an anxious child out in the car, start by showing the child that the car is just an object on the driveway. Park the car on the driveway and tag and reinforce the child every time she looks at or walks near the car. Here are some potential movements to tag:

Child walks next to car, Tag and Reinforce.
Child stands next to car, Tag and Reinforce.
Child touches or opens car door, Tag and Reinforce.
Child walks to another door, Tag and Reinforce.
Child touches or opens another door, Tag and Reinforce.
Child glances inside car, Tag and Reinforce.

Give the child as much time as she needs to become comfortable around the exterior of the car. Spend a few minutes several times a day working around the exterior of the car. Keep it up until your child is comfortable.

Got autism? Want your child to be safe outside? Here’s how to teach Safe Walking.

February 2, 2015November 6, 2017 Martha Gabler 1 Comment

Do you

worry that your child will bolt or run off?
have to chase after your child constantly to keep him safe?
have a hard time walking through grocery stores or your neighborhood?

Many autism families have these problems. As a result we often find ourselves isolated at home and fearful of going beyond the fenced-in yard.

How nice it would be if our children could walk safely next to us, stop at corners and walk across the street on signal. I taught these skills to my nonverbal son with severe autism. TAGteach (Teaching with Acoustical Guidance) made this possible. You can teach these skills to your child too. Here’s how to do it, literally, one step at a time.

Look before you leap

It’s helpful to assess your child before teaching a new skill. To assess your child’s walking and running behaviors, download the free Child Observation Form or simply make notes on a sheet of paper. Take your child to a safe area, like the fenced-in yard, and spend five minutes observing his walking and running behavior.

Observe the legs and feet. How many steps does your child take in the same direction? Does he alternate walking, running or hopping? Does he alternate running quickly with running slowly? How frequently does he change direction? What are the walking problems you commonly encounter outside on the street or in a store? Describe the physical movements your child makes with legs and feet.

Got Autism? Need to Sleep? You can teach your child to stay in bed and sleep, sleep, sleep ….

January 12, 2015January 7, 2019 Martha Gabler 6 Comments

This post is one in a series designed to help you get out of the house and enjoy life with your child. Previously we described how to deal with anxiety and disruptive behaviors, so as to overcome these before moving on to outside excursions. Here we talk about sleep. Sleep is essential to a happy life with your child. If the family is not sleeping it is very difficult to manage anything else.

As autism parents we may find ourselves

Lying down with a child for hours to get him to sleep,
bringing him into our own bed,
taking the child to another bed or room in the house,
dealing with the problem all over again during the inevitable night-time wake-ups.

We know what it is like to struggle with sleep problems for four to eight hours. It’s exhausting, agonizing and depressing.

My family dealt with those problems for years. When I learned about TAGteach, I was able to teach my son to lie still, be quiet, and go to sleep.

I’ll be honest. This took some time. It was hard work, and I often felt depressed and resentful. But eventually, my son learned to sleep. This is a step by step process that will take some time, but if you don’t start it now, you will still not be sleeping weeks and months from now. It is worth the effort to take baby steps toward sleep and reap the rewards for years to come.

Thanks to this systematic approach, now we sleep and we are much happier.

Let’s see how to tackle the sleep problem with the always useful, effective and flexible TAGteach approach.

First things first – Consistent Routine

The following steps are always recommended for sleep problems:

Set a consistent wake-up time early in the morning
Set a consistent bedtime in the evening
Limit screen time before bedtime
Avoid large meals or snacks late in the evening.

Got autism? Have a child with anxiety and disruptive behaviors? Here’s what you can do.

December 29, 2014February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

This post is one in a series designed to help you get out of the house and enjoy life with your child. If your child is anxious and exhibiting disruptive behaviors, these need to be overcome before moving on to outside excursions.

A Mother’s Concern

Recently a mom told me that she was worried about her 12-year old child, who is low-functioning and nonverbal.

Her daughter becomes agitated and upset in public places; she screams and puts her head down when in those settings.

The daughter also displays anxiety. The mother asked for some suggestions to relieve the child’s anxiety.

Behavioral Science Explains Why This is Happening

Let’s back up a little. From the laws of behavioral science, we know that behavior that is reinforced is behavior that will occur again. As hard as this may be to believe, the daughter is experiencing more reinforcement for screaming and putting her head down, than for an alternative behavior. What is she experiencing that is reinforcing her for screaming? We don’t know the answer to that question, and it would take a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) to find out, but ….

In the meantime the mother, or any parent, can take action with the following steps: (1) Collect data (2) Observe her daughter to see what kinds of functional behaviors she already has, and (3) Set up a reinforcement plan to reinforce appropriate alternative behaviors.

TAGteach for autism parents: An easy, effective and kind method for teaching your child

December 1, 2014February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

Okay, TAGteach. I’m a parent. What’s in it for me?

Answer: A better life

TAGteach is a way to improve your family’s home life and give you more opportunities to include your child with autism in everyday outings.

TAGteach is a way to teach and communicate with your child.

TAGteach is an easy, effective, low-cost and scientifically-based way for parents to increase their child’s functional skills.

TAGteach is great for parents. Here’s why.

You already know 95% of what you need to know to use TAGteach!

You observe your child every day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You know your child.

You know your child’s needs and wants.

You are familiar with his setting.

You know his routines, triggers, limits and sensory profile.

You have a trained eye!

You are the expert on your family.

You know your family’s priorities.

You can apply your family’s values.

You can tailor everything precisely to your unique situation.

You have 95% of the knowledge you need to teach your child the behaviors he needs – the behaviors that will increase your family’s opportunities for a happier home life and participation in the community.

Know the three essential conditions for effective teaching? Guess the third one!

November 23, 2014February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

Here’s the answer:

Learning organized in small steps

To review, the three essential conditions for effective learning are:

Immediate Feedback
Student Learns at Own Pace
Learning Organized in Small Steps

We’ve discussed the first two conditions described by Dr. B.F. Skinner, Immediate Feedback and Student Learns At Own Pace. This post will address the third condition.

Learning Organized in Small Steps

The third essential condition for effective learning is a carefully constructed program where the skill is taught in many small steps. The reason for this is to ensure that the child experiences success in the learning progression. Many successful small steps result in a confident, motivated learner.

Know the three essential conditions for effective teaching? Guess the second one!

November 15, 2014February 15, 2016 Martha Gabler

Here’s the answer:

Student learns at own pace

To review, the three essential conditions are:

We’ve already discussed the first condition, Immediate Feedback. This post will address the second condition: Student Learns at Own Pace.

Student Learns at Own Pace

Dr. Skinner emphasizes the need for students to learn at their own pace. Learning at her own pace is crucial for a child with autism. Our kids have so many sensory and emotional issues that the teaching process must respect their need for time to respond to, and understand new stimuli.

Since children with autism often have problems with pre-cursor learning skills such as eye contact and imitation skills, it is important to teach these. Yet, eye contact, for example, can be a difficult task for a child with autism for a variety of reasons.

Use These 4 Proven Reinforcement Tips and Watch Your Child Soar, by Elna Cain

November 10, 2014November 11, 2014 Martha Gabler

Introducing Elna Cain

Today’s guest post comes to us courtesy of Elna Cain. Elna is a freelance writer who lives in Northern Canada with her husband and twin children. She is a former Special Education Assistant (SEA) and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist for children with autism.

Elna’s Background in Autism

As a Special Education Assistant (SEA) and ABA Instructor for over 10 years, I’ve witnessed many breakthroughs in a child’s success to learning.

I’ve helped children learn how to play with their peers, to wait patiently in line, to ride a bike and even how to enjoy eating pizza. Many, if not all, of those successes were attributed to effective reinforcement.

What is Reinforcement?

Reinforcement is the addition or removal of a stimulus in order to increase or decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

In other words, do you know the ding ding ding noise you hear when you open your car door? That annoying sound is a stimulus that will increase your likelihood of putting on your seatbelt.

Car companies utilize negative reinforcement (putting on your seatbelt to stop the noise) as a way to increase seat belt wearing.

Similarly, when a teacher rewards a student for being quiet when they are working on a worksheet, he or she is using positive reinforcement, which will increase the likelihood of that student continuing being quiet.