autism daily

You School System Can Afford ABA Training

If you are a school administrator or a member of your local school district, you likely know just how much of a struggle it is to get the most out of your budget each year while providing the most benefit to your students.  Unfortunately, this often means that school systems have to make choices that will benefit the largest number of students, leaving those with special needs languishing behind.  For students with autism spectrum disorder, proper therapy is rarely offered in schools.  What may surprise you, however, is to learn that is can be quite affordable to offer ABA training for faculty in your school system. While sending each of your educators, or even a couple from each school, to a special class or seminar to learn how to provide ABA training is often too expensive for school districts, this does not mean that you cannot provide the therapy.  The key is to instead look for a more cost effective means of offering the necessary training to your staff members.  Providing ABA training through the use of a DVD course can equip all of your faculty members with the skills needed to teach and interact with autistic children while requiring you to pay only a single fee. When you choose the right DVD program, you will find that the basics of teaching Applied Behavior Analysis therapy are broken down into multiple lessons.  This helps to ensure that teachers understand not only what they are teaching, but why and how.  Each lesson is quite detailed, and DVDs offer the benefit of being able to be reviewed frequently whenever an educator has a question.  You will also find that you can use the courses for years, offering refreshers when needed and training new staff members without paying extra expenses. Another benefit of choosing a great DVD course for ABA training is that it will include everything you need to start teaching.  Not only should you expect high quality DVD lessons, but the paperwork and supplemental materials needed to put the lessons to work for you.  Educating your students should not be cost prohibitive, and DVD course for Applied Behavior Analysis therapy make it affordable to educate children with autism spectrum disorder.  These students should not have to suffer because the cost of education is too high, and these courses help to ensure that they receive the best quality of education possible.

What Is ABA Therapy and Does It Work?

If you are the parent of a child who has been recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, there is a good chance that you have heard the term ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis therapy.  ABA is a unique form of treatment for autism, and holds the distinction of being the only treatment that is scientifically proven to work.  Using a process of measuring behaviors and implementing specific teaching procedures, ABA works to help children learn a very comprehensive set of skills.  ABA works through guiding and positive reinforcement and can be quite successful. One of the places where autistic children differ greatly from other children is that they typically do not just pick up or grasp large concepts, ideas, and behaviors simply by observing them.  While many children can look up at a gray sky and understand that this means that it will rain soon, an autistic child does not make the proper connections and understandings for this concept to be understood.  ABA therapy is designed to help teach concepts and ideas in such a way that teaches the brain how to learn larger concepts.  It literally helps kids learn to learn. ABA therapy certainly works, and studies show that it is by far the most effective treatment out there for children with autism spectrum disorder.  ABA can help these kids become more socially active, more independent, and more capable.  In fact, many kids who have undergone rigorous ABA therapy are able to function in a normal classroom setting after a relatively short period of time.  This is especially true of children who begin ABA during or even before the preschool years, which is when the brain is developing many of the skills required for learning.  The new pathways developed by ABA can often help autistic children function quite like their non-autistic counterparts. At the end of the day, it is up to parents and school systems to decide what is right for each child.  With that in mind, however, it is important to understand that ABA therapy really does work.  When employed both in the home and at school, it can be even more effective.  ABA therapy teaches social, cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and academic skills.  When you want your child to be able to go to school, learn, and interact with peers as normally as possible, these skills are absolutely crucial.

Seriation Lessons Help ABA Therapy Become More Effective

ABA therapy is widely recognized as the premiere treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder.  Designed to break tasks, concepts, and ideas into their most basic elements and steps, ABA helps to literally rewire the brain so that it can understand things in a different way.  There are many different tools and tactics used in teaching ABA.  There are also a number of different types of supplemental materials that help to make it easier.  One supplement that has proven exceptionally beneficial is seriation cards. Seriation cards are designed to help kids with autism spectrum disorder understand concepts and sequences of events.  Take, for example, the rising and setting of the sun throughout the day.  While most children slowly learn to understand this concept simply from looking out the window at various times, the mind of an autistic child is not capable of making these broad intuitive leaps.  Seriation cards are designed to offer a step by step sequence of events.  Children are taught the proper sequence of events, and the lesson is repeated over and over until they are able to put the cards in order for themselves. While seriation cards are looked at by outsiders as simple memorization tools, they are much more than this.  Studies show that learning to piece together processes and sequences through ABA helps children to understand the underlying concept of processes.  In other words, by memorizing different patterns, the brain will form new neurons that make it easier to identify these types of patterns naturally in the future.  The human brain is quite incredible, and the ability of simple ABA methods to literally help it rewire itself is certainly something spectacular.  Seriation cards are excellent tools in helping to make this happen. There is little doubt that ABA therapy is highly effective when properly taught.  Students with autism spectrum disorder need to learn in a specific way, and ABA helps to break things down into easily repeatable processes that make learning much easier.  Supplemental materials are an integral part of Applied Behavior Analysis, and seriation cards can prove to be remarkable teaching tools. When combined with rigorous data collection, discrete trial teaching, positive reinforcement and other crucial elements, these cards can help kids essentially learn how to learn.  Every child deserves the chance to learn as much and as well as possible, and ABA therapy makes it easier to enable just that.

School Based ABA Therapy Teaches Positive Behaviors

In many school systems, children with autism spectrum disorder are forced to remain in special needs classrooms until they have reached the age of 18 or until they are no longer enrolled in the school system.  In many cases, this is not because the children are not intelligent, but instead because they exhibit behavior patterns that are disruptive to other children and to the learning process.  For school systems, and excellent alternative to this arrangement is to implement a quality ABA therapy treatment. ABA therapy is well known as one of the most successful and world renowned treatments for children with autism spectrum disorder.  It uses positive reinforcement, prompting, and other specific techniques to help children learn new ideas and concepts, as well as behaviors.  Studies show that children introduced to ABA at a very early age are often able to learn the proper behavior patterns and social skills needed to allow them to integrate fully into a classroom of their peers.  ABA also makes it easier for these children to learn academically in a standard classroom setting by literally helping their brains make the connections needed to put together broad concepts and ideas. What few people seem to understand about children with autism is that their brains work differently.  These children are not by any means stupid, and they absolutely do not choose to act in such negative or disruptive ways.  ABA therapy teaches them better methods of communicating and helps them to understand what behavior patterns will be recognized and rewarded with attention.  The end result is a child who is capable of functioning within a social or academic setting and who is no longer forced to sacrifice the quality of their education due to behavior patterns and issues. The reason that many school systems simply send autistic children to these special classrooms is that they simply don’t have the tools needed to properly treat them.  Paying for specialized ABA training for an entire school system can cost a fortune, and the price is something that most districts cannot afford.  The good news for these systems, however, is that it is possible to purchase DVD courses that teach ABA and that include all of the materials needed to integrate it into the classroom.  With everything that educators need, including access to trained professionals who can provide support, these courses can literally help educators change the lives of many autistic children forever.

Positive Reinforcement with ABA Therapy Teaches Positive Behaviors

While there is no doubt that ABA therapy is the most widely accepted and recommended form of treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder, there are varying reports from parents as to how effective it really is.  Scientific studies from leading government and independent agencies show that it is the most effective form of treatment, yet many parents have trouble.  So what is the discrepancy?  Often it is the form of reinforcement used in conjunction with the therapy. In order to understand the importance of reinforcement, it is necessary to understand that the brain of a child with autism does not differentiate between positive and negative attention.  In other words, if you respond to a negative behavior with scolding or other punishment, all your child will really know is that their behavior was rewarded with attention.  This will only serve to facilitate a further pattern of negative behavior.  Negative reinforcement is only seen as negative to the person offering it.  That is why so many school systems get no result when sending autistic students in for disciplinary action. Instead of feeling punished, they have received the attention they were looking for. On the other hand, positive reinforcement can be an excellent teaching tool for kids with ASD.  Positive reinforcement is an important part of proper administration of ABA therapy.  Using this form of reinforcement, children who provide an appropriate response or behavior are met with praise, a comforting touch, or some other form or reward.  Rather than punishment, negative or inappropriate responses are met with no reaction at all.  The key is to help the child understand that negative behaviors will go entirely unnoticed and will offer no chance of reward.  Unless the child is in danger, it is important not to react to negative behaviors. Positive reinforcement is an excellent tool and a recommended part of ABA therapy.  When you undergo training to provide your child or your students with ABA therapy, you want them to be able to get the most benefit possible.  This means working to not only help them understand concepts and ideas, but behaviors as well.  Positive reinforcement is an integral part of behavioral training for children with autism spectrum disorder and it can help ensure that other aspects of ABA therapy are more effective as well.  When properly utilized, you will find that positive reinforcement leads to natural patterns of positive behavior as well.

Positive Reinforcement Is an Integral Part of ABA Therapy

One of the biggest problems that school systems have with providing a proper education for children with autism spectrum disorder is that they tend to display negative behavior patterns.  These patterns can include anything from verbal disruptions to repetitive motions, self harming actions, and more.  Unfortunately, too many of today’s schools handle these behaviors by applying standard punishments.  Instead, schools should be turning to ABA therapy, which is the most effective proven treatment for children with ASD.  With ABA therapy, positive reinforcement is used to help children naturally overcome behavior issues. When treating a child with ASD, it is important for educators and school employees to understand that their brains function differently than most.  When negative behaviors are met with punishment, these children do not perceive it as a negative thing.  Instead, their minds simply recognize that they exhibited a certain behavior and that they were in turn met with attention.  This can feed a negative cycle of behavior that is exceptionally hard to break.  It is absolutely crucial that school systems learn as quickly as possible that negative behaviors cannot be met with attention.  Unless the child is in physical danger, the behavior must be ignored. ABA therapy is an intensive form of treatment for autism.  There are many aspects to the treatment that help to make it effective, and one of the biggest aspects is that of positive reinforcement.  Educators trained in ABA therapy are taught to encourage positive behaviors.  When a child offers an appropriate response or behavior, they are rewarded verbally or physically and are given attention.  When the response or behavior is negative or disruptive, it is ignored rather than punished.  Over time, this helps the child understand that negative behaviors offer no benefit at all. While this form of treatment might not sound appealing to many educators and parents, it is crucial that you stop to understand that children with ASD operate differently.  Their brains do not perceive things the same way as others.  Offering positive reinforcement for the right behaviors and ignoring negative behaviors helps them learn how to act in a social setting.  Over time, these processes also help them learn how to act and react in new situations.  All children must be taught how to act in a social setting, and by understanding that children with autism need to be taught in a different way, you can equip them with the skills needed to interact more appropriately with their peers and their elders alike.

Picture Cards Make ABA Therapy More Effective

ABA therapy is largely recognized as the most effective and beneficial form of treatment for children who suffer from autism spectrum disorder.  The treatment is shown to help teach a variety of skills, from motor skills to social and academic skills.  More importantly, research shows that these skills are carried with these children for the rest of their lives, helping them not only in school, but as they transition and make their way into the real world as adults.  One of the best tools used in ABA therapy is picture cards. One of the most basic elements of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy is the understanding that the minds of autistic children process information differently.  Ideas, sequences, and concepts are not as easy for these children to understand.  While most kids can watch a series of events unfold and put together cause and effect, it does not work the same way for kids with autism spectrum disorders.  Instead, they must be able to see the process step by step and to learn specifically what happens.  Over time, however, this repeated learning helps them develop the ability to recognize sequences and concepts. Picture cards can be a major factor in teaching these elements to autistic children.  These cards can show a series of events that must be put into order, a standard image with a single detail that is out of place, or even a concept.  The cards help the children make a visual connection to different ideas and concepts.  Picture cards can also be used to help teach language and expression.  Cards with varied scenes and images can be used in a variety of ways, including enabling educators to ask general questions to help the child understand what is happening in the picture. There is no doubt that ABA therapy is effective, and there is also no doubt that picture cards can help it work even better.  When utilized with proper discrete teaching trials and as part of a standard ABA curriculum, these cards can offer teachers a much better way to help students understand ideas and concepts.  Learning can be a very attainable goal for students with autism spectrum disorder, and offering the tools and supplements needed to make it easier can greatly improve the results.  ABA has been proven to help many kids learn to function in a standard classroom, and for many of them, picture cards have helped to pave the way.

Is Your School System Offering ABA Therapy?

If you are an educator, guidance counselor, or other school faculty member, then you understand the commitment you have made to providing every student that steps into your hallways with the best education possible.  With that in mind, what treatments does your school system offer for children with autism spectrum disorders?  Are they herded into classrooms for students with special needs?  Are they frequently punished for behaving in ways outside of the norm?  Sadly, these are the most common treatments in today’s schools, despite the fact that offering ABA therapy could make a real difference in behavior and learning. ABA therapy is more than just a bunch of memorization and mimicking.  While these are certainly integral aspects of the therapy, they are designed to help the brains of autistic children form new neural pathways and to literally develop the ability to understand larger concepts.  Intensive ABA therapy is shown to help kids learn not only acceptable behavior patterns and specifically taught concepts, but the ability to learn new things in much the same manner as their peers.  This is certainly remarkable, and with thirty years of evidence to support the treatment, the real question is why more schools don’t offer ABA. One of the biggest hindrances to offering ABA in school systems is that training is largely cost prohibitive.  Sending every educator within a school system to special classes or seminars is unaffordable for most school systems, and educating only one teacher will prove largely inefficient.  Many schools see this as a sign that they simply cannot offer ABA therapy, but this is not the case.  Through the use of a well designed and well implemented DVD course, it is possible for entire school districts to learn how to provide ABA therapy for autistic children. While the notion of a DVD course might be surprising at first, it actually makes sense.  A well designed course will come with all of the materials needed for both learning and providing ABA therapy.  It will also include information on how to contact someone with questions or to get clarification on different aspects of the therapy.  One of the best things about a DVD course, however, is that it doesn’t just offer one-time training.  It can be used time and again to ensure that new teachers are also taught this method.  Ensuring that everyone in your school system knows how to handle autistic children is the key to proper educating, and a DVD course in ABA therapy can make that goal attainable.

Early Intervention by Parents and Schools Can Make ABA Therapy More Successful

For parents with autistic children, dealing with school systems can often be a nightmare.  Simply put, many of today’s schools are underfunded, and as a result, many teachers and guidance counselors are undereducated when it comes to understanding how to treat children with autism spectrum disorder.  No matter where the cycle begins, however, placing blame on schools offers little benefit.  Instead, it is up to parents and schools to work together to provide ABA therapy for students who have been diagnosed with ASD.  Studies show that the earlier the treatment is started, the more successful it will be. Treating autism spectrum disorder using ABA therapy is shown to be the most effective method possible.  There are more than three decades of studies that have been done on ABA, both through the government and through independent researchers.  The one thing the studies have in common is that they show that ABA, especially when introduced early, can greatly improve a child’s ability to learn, react, and thrive within a social or classroom setting.  Better still, the skills learned through ABA will stay with the child for the rest of their life. For schools that cannot afford to send all of their educators and guidance counselors off for special training, there are still options.  In fact, a well designed DVD course can provide teachers with all that they need to properly administer ABA therapy.  The courses, when offered along with necessary materials such as data sheets, picture cards, and other items, can help teachers learn the most important parts of providing ABA therapy as well as how to integrate it into their teaching style.  So often, children with autism are forced to simply sit in the back of a special needs classroom when they are capable of so much more. A DVD course that helps educators learn to provide ABA therapy can be an integral part of learning for children with ASD.  These courses enable teachers to begin providing therapy as soon as the child enters the school system.  Repeated studies show that ABA is more successful in younger children, and that early intervention provides the most successful outcome rate.  With this in mind, and with the availability of well designed, professional DVD courses known, the only question is why you haven’t talked to your school system about using these classes to help teach your child or other children with autism spectrum disorder.