ABA Therapist Essay Example

and is able to target the program goals, but that the client perceives that this is a choice and thus, everyone wins. Teacher vs..

Child Directed: A tutor should be able to run a session in both a structured and in a more natural setting. Structured sessions are typically tutor- directed during which time the tutor chooses the stimuli and chooses the activity to be earned upon completion of the work. hill-directed sessions how;ever are typically more play based and may be based in the natural environment.

Tutors will be assessed on whether the can follow the child's lead, effectively use the child's interests to work on the program targets, and capture naturally occurring teaching opportunities within the child's chosen activity.

Reinforcement skills. Reinforcement must be: contingent on responses, must be behavior specific, and must be Immediate. Deferent modes of reinforcement must be used, from verbal praise, to physical attention such as hugs and tickles, to delivery of specific items.

Practice different forms of reinforce delivery with your client, and make sure you use reinforcement appropriately. Differential Reinforcement. Differential reinforcement means that one member of a response class is reinforced, while other members of the same response class are not.

At the same time the future probability of occurrence of one member of a response class Increases, and that of other members designed after the process of differential reinforcement.

Our tutors are assessed on their ability to reinforce some behaviors and not others. In addition, your ability to SE more praise for better responses, such as giving a ton of praise for independent responses, and lesser amounts of praise for maintenance trials will also be

critiqued throughout your progress as a tutor.

Discriminative Stimulus: This may be noted as SD or SD. The SD is a type of stimulus preceding a behavior that signals availability of reinforcement. Some of the major difficulties tutors have is presenting a clear delivery of the SD and remaining consistent with the SD delivery.

It is important to use clear SD and make sure the client is attending before delivering the SD. In edition, if a program uses specific SD, make sure you know this. Maintenance vs.. Acquisition: Acquisition skills are those that the child is working on in their program.

Maintenance skills are those skills which the child has already acquired, either naturally or from previous instruction. Maintenance is the ability to keep the same skill over time. This means that if a child can ask for Juice today, he will be able to ask for Juice tomorrow, the next day, a week from now, and a month from now. If this occurs, it is said that the child has maintained the behavior of asking for Juice.

Maintenance skills should be built into every step of the current program as opposed to simply running maintenance skills on one specific day of the week only.

It is important that maintenance skills are incorporated into current skill acquisition programs both to prevent the loss of the skill and to vary the difficulty level of the instructional demands. Tutors should intersperse maintenance material when working on acquisition skills and be able to explain the importance of interspersing these skills. Tutors should also be able to explain what it means to build behavioral momentum by using maintenance material.

Furthermore, it is imperative that you know how to find the maintenance material by going to the archived mastered goals in the client's goal page.

Rollovers Teaching: Rollovers teaching minimizes the opportunity for the client to make errors.

When teaching an acquisition skill (a new skill that has not yet been acquired or mastered) the tutor should provide an immediate prompt for the client to complete the task upon the presentation of the SD. The prompt could be verbal, physical, model, or gesturer depending on the skill being taught. However, the most important aspect of this training that should be emphasized is that the prompt must occur immediately after the SD is presented to prevent the client from responding with an error.

The client should not be able to respond incorrectly before the prompt is delivered.

Some tutors have trouble with this and wonder why we are "giving the client the answer". Research shows that trying to correct errors after they have already taken place take a longer amount of time to acquire a skill than simply providing a teaching prompt immediately. Token Economy: A token economy refers too behavioral contingency in which desirable behavior is reinforced or rewarded by the delivery of "tokens".

These tokens have no value on their own but serve as reinforces due to the fact that they have been paired with or can be exchanged for other items. Token systems can be adapted to fit any age group or functioning level.

For example, every person reading this is familiar with and uses a form of a token economy EVERY DAY!! The dollar bill you may have in your pocket is

in itself not very rewarding, however, since the exchange of to be VERY motivating. The tokens we use in a system like this are largely irrelevant.

They may be coins, stickers, cutouts of cartoon characters, marbles etc. As long as e sufficiently pair them with higher-value reinforces we have the ability to turn these items into powerful reinforces themselves. If the training client you are using does not use a token system it is best to create a small star chart and practice anyway. Fluency: Fluency is an intervention used to not only increase knowledge but also to increase speed.

It is important for a child to know math facts but it is also important that they can answer questions given to them quickly.

Fluency is typically used to teach math facts and spelling words, but it can be used to teach other tasks as well. Use a timer as an example and collect data on how many words a child can read per minute. Most to Least vs.. Least to Most Prompting: Many Trainees have trouble with the prompting methodology used at Butterfly Effects.

It is important to understand the importance of how to choose prompting methods. Children that make errors easily must be taught via Most to Least prompting and those prompts must be faded over time.

As a tutor you will also need to know the difference between within session fading (going from an intrusive prompt to a lighter prompt within the same session), and across session fading (sticking to a high prompt level en shift, and then based on advancement criteria, move to lesser prompt levels on subsequent shifts). Least to

Most prompting should be used for maintenance tasks and on generalization trials. In addition, some higher functioning students who learn quickly but do not respond with errors may use least to most prompting. BBC contingency: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence.

The Trainer should review what each of these terms mean and ask the you to provide examples throughout your training sessions. For example, your Trainer may provide you with a behavior observed during the session and ask you to give you a possible antecedent and ensconce to that behavior. It's also important to point out behaviors and have them record what happened immediately before and immediately following the behavior, thus preparing them to collect BBC data with your ABACA whenever new behaviors come up when you are working with your client.

Reinforce vs..

Punisher: Reinforcement follows a response and increases the probability of that response occurring again in the future. Reinforcement can be positive (adding something to the environment which is reinforcing ii: toys, edibles) or negative (taking away an aversive stimuli from the environment whose removal is reinforcing ii: turning off odd music). Punishment follows a response and decreases the probability of the response occurring again in similar conditions in the future.

Punishment can also be positive (adding something to the environment which is punishing ii: shock or spanking) or negative (taking away something from the environment whose removal is punishing ii: time out).

It is important that you understands both types of reinforcement and punishment and are able to provide examples of these terms upon request. Expressive vs.. Receptive: Receptive language refers to the ability to receive and understand a message.

Receptive language skills are

those skills which require listening such as following directions. For example, touching a toy car when asked "touch the car", sitting down when told "sit down".

It is important that a child increase their receptive language skills because in everyday life people have to be receptively identify objects, before they learn to expressive language. Expressive language is spoken language which includes words, signs, picture exchange of thoughts, needs, or wants. In receptive language, the child is the listener whereas in expressive language the child is the speaker.

Extinction: Extinction occurs when reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior is no longer provided, resulting in the decrease in frequency of the behavior in the future (Cooper, Heron, & Heard, 2007).

Extinction can be used for behaviors maintained by different functions. You should be able to provide examples of how to put a behavior on extinction as well as what an extinction burst could look like in the given scenario. Verbal operates: And.

Minds are the first type of verbal behavior acquired by typical children and are essentially the most important of all verbal operates. Minds are he only operant that specifically benefits the speaker because they are controlled by motivating variables rather than discriminative stimuli. Tact. Skinner identified the tact as a verbal operant.

A tact is said to "make contact with" the world, and refers to behavior that is under the control of generalized reinforcement. Essentially, a tact is a label for an item, location, or a person and elicits nonspecific reinforcement.

Echoic. An echoic is a behavior under the functional control of a verbal stimulus and is often seen in early shaping behavior. The verbal

response and the verbal stimulus share hat is called point to point correspondence, where the speaker repeating what is said. In echoic behavior, the stimulus is auditory and response is vocal.

An echoic response elicits nonspecific reinforcement.

Interval. The interval is verbal behavior that is under the control of other verbal behavior and is strengthened by social reinforcement. Intervals are typically thought of in terms of conversational language because they are responses to the language of another person, usually answers to "who-" questions. There are two classes of intervals, fill-ins and answering questions. Intervals elicit nonspecific reinforcement.

Duration: Duration refers to how long a behavior occurs during an observation period and is typically represented as percent of time.

It is used to measure behaviors to increase or decrease when other data collection types do not provide enough information. For instance, stating that a child had a tantrum every day for five days in a row does not offer information on whether an intervention is effective, as it would appear that the behavior is not changing. However, when collecting data on the duration of each tantrum per day, one may observe an increase or decrease in the length of the mantras across a period of time, thus demonstrating the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the intervention.

Examples include the length of time a child waits for a requested item, or the length of time the child sits at circle time.

Percent Correct: Percent data is the number of occurrences divided by the total number of opportunities for occurrence. This data collection is often used to calculate the percent correct of a target behavior. For example, when tracking

compliance, if the child was compliant for 6 out of 10 opportunities, the score entered on the graph would be represented as 60%.

Prompt Level Data Collection: In prompt level data collection, the amount of prompting used during each trial is collected individually and then averaged at the conclusion of the session. Individual trial scores are collected so trends in the student's learning and/or errors in the teaching protocol O = If the child exhibits problem behavior or is not attending Prompting 2 = Moderate Prompting 3 = Minimal Prompting 4 = Independent = Maximum One advantage of using prompt level data collection is that it can show small changes in a behavior that would not be seen when using percent correct data collection.

Prompt level data collection is often used with behaviors targeted for acquisition. Examples of targets that could utilize prompt level collection are the level of independence the child labels colors, or the level of independence a child writes his name. Rate and Frequency: In frequency data collection, the individual records how many times the target behavior occurs. Frequency data collection should be used with discrete behavior only (behavior that has obvious beginning and ending) and is not appropriate to use for behaviors which occur too frequently to count or when a behavior occurs for an extended period of time.

In rate data collection, the number of occurrences are divided by the total number of time units, for example rate per hour is the number of times a behavior occurred divided by the number of hours data were collected (10 episodes of aggression / 7 hrs in day = 1. 43 aggressions

per hrs). Interval Data Collection: Interval data collection demonstrates whether or not a particular behavior has occurred during a set amount of time. There are two types: partial and whole interval recording. Partial interval data collection demonstrates whether a behavior has occurred at any point during the time period.

This type of data collection is often used for behaviors that are occurring at a high rate without a clear beginning and end to show when one behavior ends and the next begins.

Partial interval data collection tends to overestimate the occurrence of behaviors. Thus, this method of data collection is most typically to decrease a particular behavior. For instance, if measuring a child's humming behavior, and he hums for one second during a one minute interval, the interval is scored as an occurrence.

Other behaviors that can be tracked using partial interval include: self-stimulatory behaviors such as vocal scripting, hand-flapping, air twirling pencil tapping, etc.

, crying, out of seat behaviors in the classroom. In contrast with Partial Interval, Whole Interval data collection demonstrates whether a behavior has occurred during an entire interval. Whole interval data tends to under estimate the occurrence of behavior. This type of data collection is often used for behaviors targeted for increase. For example, if a child remains on-task for a complete five minute interval, it would be scored as an occurrence.

If she was on- task for 4 minutes 49 seconds of the 5 minute interval, it would be recorded as a nonoccurrence.

Goals are often set for short intervals and then can be slowly increased as the child progresses. Other behaviors that may be tracked using whole interval

data include: waiting, in-seat behavior in the classroom, and remaining on- topic in conversation Task Analysis: This is a step by step guide of how to complete a sequence of events. For example washing hands is broken down into 7 different steps starting with turning on water and ending with drying hands.

Example: Step 1: Turn on water. Step 2: Wet hands. Step 3: Get Soap.

Step 4: Rub hands for 10 sec. Request. You are asking for something because you want it. Example: You give instruction "What do you want? " child responds by saying "l want tickles" Result is you give the child tickles (positive reinforcement) Receptive: This is when you are trying to get a child to identify something through touching it or pointing to it. Example: You give instruction "Touch the ball" child responds by touching the picture of the ball.

Result you say "Good Job touching ball" give a high five (positive reinforcement) Expressive: This is when you are trying to get a child to tell you what something is. They are labeling it. Example: You give the instruction " What is this? " child responds by telling you what it is. Result you give praise, high five or access to a toy.

Imitation: This is when you are trying to get a child to do what you are doing. Like playing Simon Says. Example: You give the instruction "Do this (perform action you want them to do) child will look at you and complete the action. Result is positive reinforcement.

Interval: This is when you are trying to get a child to answer a question. Example: You give the

instruction "What is your name? " child responds by saying Joey.

Result is positive reinforcement. IOWA: This is when 2 people take data on something and you compare the two different sets of data collection. BBC: This is how we talk about all types of behavior. A= what happens first, behavior, C= what happens after. Example: Mom tells Joe to get a crayon, Joe gets a Crayon, mom gives Joe a cookie.

Positive reinforcement: This is when we give something to a child that they really like.

Example: Saying Great work, giving high fives, giving an M&M, letting them play on the pad or tablet Differential Reinforcement: this is when we vary the level of enthusiasm or amount of M&M's the kiddo gets for responding to an instruction you give. Example: You want to teach the word ball to a kiddo. If he says buy" you give him a high five, if he says "ball" you give him a high five and 3 M's. You are differing the amount of positive reinforcement that you give the kiddo for different levels of the kiddo's responding.

Target: Another word for what object you are working on in a program.

Pairing: Another way to describe playing with a kid. This can also be referred to as Rapport Building. Trial: This is what we take data on. It involves multiple parts.

Instruction, response from the child, reinforcement from the tutor. Example: 1. SD or Instruction, 2. Response either independent or prompted, 3. Deliver reinforcement immediately Prompt: This is what we do to make sure that the child gets the right answer. Example: Physically guiding a kiddo to clap his

hands, verbally telling them the answer to a question, you point to the right flashcard.

Non-compliance: This can range from whining, to protest, to tantrums, to throwing things etc. Example: any instance where the kiddo doesn't respond, acts out, cries, whines, runs from the table, throws things. Maintenance task: These are things that we know the child can already do. Example: running a program that the kiddo has already mastered or completed previously in teaching Mastered: This is owe we describe skills that a kiddo is able to do independently at least 90% of the time when asked by anyone.

Our History Everyone loves a butterfly.

They are as beautiful and graceful as they are aerodynamic and brilliantly engineered. They are symbols of love and rebirth, harbingers of good luck and metamorphosis. For those reasons alone, we are proud runs deep with thought and purpose. At Butterfly Effects, we work with individuals who are challenged by a wide variety of difficulties including Autism, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, behavioral issues, Cerebral Palsy, immunization deficits, and Listener's.

Recognizing Just how fragmented and chaotic services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders were in South Florida, Butterfly Effects founder, Charlotte Fudge set out in 2004 to build a network of providers committed to accountability and collaboration, first locally, and then across Florida, and followed by the United States, and now across the world.

Applying technology to make universal connections, while never forgetting the importance of developing cooperative local communities, Charlotte was able to enlist the help of some very dedicated individuals across a number of fields.

At Butterfly Effects, we are committed to providing services that make sense and

make a real in differences in the lives of all populations needing special services, including infants, children, teens, adults, and seniors, as well as all of their families. We see ourselves as caregivers not caretakers, and look to promote functional skills and behaviors rather than promote dependence. We recognize that due to the complex and multiple needs of our clients, it's important that they access services from a number of specialists and providers. But this doesn't have to lead to any sort of confusion and contradictions.

At Butterfly Effects, we charge our case managers with the responsibility of creating a plan that incorporates every relevant resource and overseeing the delivery of services that are as seamless as they are comprehensive. How an infant transitions into childhood and a child into adulthood is gradual and is not arbitrarily determined by the passing of birthdays. That's why we provide continuous uninterrupted case management services over the client's entire lifetime. Butterfly Effects applies a litmus test to all of its practices and services.

This litmus test consists of adherence to those core values developed and shared by all our takeovers, including therapists, educators, clinicians, caregivers, clients, and client families. We hire those compassionate empathic individuals who not only understand the importance of these values, but also allow those values to inform every decision they make, every action they take.

Company Today Today, with more than 400 professional clinicians, therapists, educators, caregivers, and case coordinators, Butterfly Effects is one of the fastest growing therapeutic providers in the country.

Our company and team members are noted for their interdisciplinary approach to treatment, core competence, and extensive knowledge n their respective

therapeutic fields. We employ psychologists, behavior analysts, speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists, special educators, and paraprofessionals. Service offerings include: Autism 'ABA Services Behavioral Services Academic Services Therapy Services Specialty Clinics Elder & Adult Services Professional Services Imitating Gross Motor Actions Rationale The purpose of this objective is to teach the child to the readily imitate the actions of others.

Imitation is a critical building block to learning. Without the ability to imitate the actions of others, we are unable to learn.

The long term goal is that the child will be able to imitate novel actions after being modeled so he/she can go on to learn more complex skills. Pre-requisite skill for this objective is ability to make eye contact for at least three seconds. Instructions The following procedure is an example of an rollovers teaching procedure.

Once the child has learned to imitate one gross motor action, additional actions can be taught using the same procedure as for the first action, while also randomly asking the mastered actions for maintenance. A correct response is the child imitating the action that was presented to them when asked, "Do This". .

Begin your lesson by capturing the child's attention and identifying potential reinforces. For example, if the child is on a token board, decide what the token board will be traded for. 2. Choose the first action you are going to teach.

It is important that you choose an action that is in the child's repertoire and the child is readily able to perform. 3. Be sure to have the child's attention and be sure the child is looking at you as you perform the

action. While performing the action for the child state, "Do This".

For example, while clapping your hands, simultaneously state "Do This". 4. Immediately allow the direction "Do this" with physical assistance, for example, if that action was clapping hands, immediately take the child's hands and assist the child to clap avoiding any opportunity for the child to make a mistake.