When you have a young child with autism receiving ABA therapy, you might be wondering if you can continue the therapy at home on your own. The answer is yes, and there are many different ways to approach this with your child.<\/p>\n
When a child already receives in-home ABA therapy<\/a>, continuing therapy at home is often easier. After observing the process, parents usually find it easy to continue the same strategies without the therapist. Since the therapy has already been taking place at home, the child won\u2019t really feel like there\u2019s anything different happening. It\u2019s easier all around for kids to have their therapy sessions at home.<\/p>\n Although the basics of ABA therapy are the same whether at home or in a therapist\u2019s office, in-home therapy offers several key benefits you don\u2019t get from visiting a therapist\u2019s office. The biggest plus is that your child will be in a familiar, comfortable space when receiving therapy, which will greatly reduce the potential for frustration and agitation. Kids with autism tend to prefer familiar environments and will do better in therapy when they aren\u2019t stressed out.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the element of routine. If your child is already used to having a therapist come to your home to interact with them in a specific way, then it will feel like part of their routine when you do the same thing in the same manner.<\/p>\n When you do ABA therapy activities at home, visuals are important and can make everything you do more effective. For example, when you\u2019re teaching your child how to keep track of time<\/a>, a visual timer will help immensely. The timer can be real, or it can just be a drawing of a clock. You can even create several visuals to show time spans.<\/p>\n ABA therapy centers on reinforcement to encourage desired behavior and discourage undesired behavior. For instance, to encourage a behavior, you\u2019ll reward your child with something they want after they show that desired behavior. To discourage a behavior, you\u2019ll remove or withhold a reward for showing the undesirable behavior.<\/p>\n While both types of reinforcement are important, kids with autism tend to do better when they have an ample amount of positive reinforcement, slightly more than negative. Do your best to maintain a balance, but lean a little more on the positive side.<\/p>\n If your child struggles to show the specific desired behaviors you\u2019re aiming for, set the bar a little lower to ease them into the process. For example, it might be too much to expect your child to get their shoes from their room and put them on.<\/p>\n Instead of holding out on rewarding them until they actually put their shoes on, try rewarding them for each step. First, reward them for getting their shoes. Then, they\u2019ll be more likely to complete the next step of putting their shoes on their feet.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t make activities too complicated for your child. Start with the basics, even something as simple as teaching them how to sit in a chair<\/a>. If your child struggles with hyperactivity in addition to autism, this will be challenging for them.<\/p>\n Doing this activity will help your child learn to focus and concentrate, even if it\u2019s just a little bit at a time. What you do is put two chairs together, sit in one, and ask your child to sit next to you in the other chair. Reward them for the time they sit without getting up. As time goes on, they\u2019ll learn to sit a little bit longer.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n