Author: Valori Berends, MS, BCBA

Alphabet Soup and Behavior Analysis

July 10, 2014  |  Behavior, Treatment1 Comment

Many families receiving a diagnosis of autism for their child find themselves faced with a plethora of new vocabulary related to finding treatment: behavior analyst, BCBA, ABA Therapy, BCaBA, applied behavior analysis. If you’re feeling like all of these terms and acronyms are enough to make your head spin, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re going to decode this new language.

What is behavior analysis?

Behavior analysis is the scientific study of behavior and environment interactions. It can be used to explain or predict the behavior of humans or animals.

What is applied behavior analysis?

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the application of principles of learning to everyday problems. It can be used in a variety of settings to improve behavior including job performance, adaptive skills, language development, Read full post »

Tackling Difficult Behaviors Part 2- Elopement and Autism

June 18, 2014  |  Behavior, SafetyComments Off on Tackling Difficult Behaviors Part 2- Elopement and Autism

This is the second of a 2-part series for families dealing with pica or elopement. In this post, we’ll cover the following information on elopement:

  • Presentation and prevalence
  • What makes elopement so challenging to treat
  • Common, evidence-based treatments to consider
  • Tips for parents to begin a treatment plan

Elopement

Presentation and prevalence

Elopement occurs when a child runs or wanders from a safe, supervised environment. A 2012 study found (via parent survey) that 49% of the study children with autism eloped after the age of 4 and of these, 53% were away from supervision long enough to be considered missing. In contrast, parents reported that 13% of the study’s unaffected siblings had eloped after the age of 4. Statistical analyses showed that the children with autism who were more severely impacted by autism (lower intellectual and communication abilities) were more likely to elope than those who were more mildly affected by autism.

What makes elopement so challenging to treat? 

Like pica, there is less research on elopement than other problem behaviors exhibited by those with autism. Often, elopement is lumped into a category of “challenging behavior” and not studied independently. Read full post »

Tackling Difficult Behaviors Part 1- Pica and Autism

June 11, 2014  |  Behavior, Safety, Treatment5 Comments

Children with autism display a variety of unique behaviors. Some behaviors charm us. One upstanding character I met last week proudly reported that he’d memorized all of the U.S. presidents plus special facts about each one. Then he proceeded to tell me 3 facts about 3 presidents. Other behaviors are not so charming and can be disruptive and dangerous. Two particularly daunting behaviors families affected by autism contend with are pica and elopement. Pica refers to the ingestion of non-food items. Elopement occurs when a child runs or wanders away from safe, supervised environments. Why do these behaviors occur and why are they so difficult to treat?

This is the first of a 2-part series for families tackling these difficult behaviors. Starting with pica, we’ll cover the Read full post »