Before starting with any of our training segments, please watch these videos which explain certain “generalized” techniques for ABA and Autism Therapy. The topics deal with Setting up a Therapy Room, Prompting, Reinforcement, and Data Tracking. These techniques are carried over for all lessons on Autism Support Now.
Creating a Therapy Box
Creating a therapy box with the essentials makes the process a lot easier. You can store the things you need in an area out of reach from day to day activities.
What is Prompting?
Prompting is the action of saying something to persuade, encourage, or remind someone to do or say something. There are several different types of prompting in ABA Therapy and Autism Training. This video goes through the explanation of prompting and offers a few basic examples you can use with any of our training videos.
Reinforcement Explained
Positive Reinforcement is key! Positive reinforcement uses positive rewards to shape a behavior. It is the most important tool for your child to learn a new skill/task.
Reinforcement means you are praising your child’s correct response/right answer in a positive way. Which can be a hug, a piece of candy, a book, access to his/her favorite toy, high five, access to an electronic device, a stuffed animal, anything your child likes.
In the beginning of teaching your child a new skill reinforce every single right answer. You ask your child to for example clap, so reinforce every time your child claps. Once your child understands the concept of what you want from them, start fading the reinforcement out. Only reinforce every other right response, then every third, every forth and so on until you have faded out the reinforcement and your child has learned a new skill!
How to Use the Data Sheets / How many lessons at once explained
Please Download the following two sheets for each lesson. Click on Links Below or Image Files to Right.
Keeping track of Programs
It is important for you as a parent to see how your child progresses. A simple way to do this is to set up data sheets for each individual program and also set up skill tracking sheets for each program.
What you need
A printout of a data sheet and skill tracking sheet
How to use the skill tracking sheet
- On the skill tracking sheet you write the name of the program.
- Underneath you’ll find a space for the item, date introduced and date mastered.
- In the item column you put any item that goes with the program.
For Example:
Program: ROL with emotions
Item: happy, sad, angry, worried, surprised, and sick
Date introduced: you put the date when you first put the item on the data sheet
Date mastered: you put the date when your child mastered an item
How to use a data sheet
- On the data sheet you put the item(s) that you are working on with your child.
- On top of the program you put the name of the program.
- Each data sheet has an Item column and a date column.
- In the item column you enter the item you are working on and in the date column you enter the date of the day you are working on.
- You then keep track of your child’s progress by either giving a + for a correct response or a – for an incorrect response.
- An item is considered mastered (M) when your child receives 4 consecutive +s in a row over the course of 4 days.
