Can an ABA Imitation Program work for your child?

One of the first things your Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapist may work on with your child is imitation. This is a program your therapist teaches if your child is babbling and attempting speech but won’t speak when asked a question, or cannot repeat something.  

Being able to imitate somebody is so important for learning social skills, mands and how to learn from others. And since children with Autism learn a little differently than their peers, it’s vital to teach them this key skill in a way they can comprehend.

How an Imitation Program Works in ABA

If you want to teach your child new words and new behaviors they have to copy those behaviors, right? If they can’t copy the behavior, then they can’t learn how to do the behavior.

This is where the therapist steps in and shows a behavior or phrase to a child. This could be something silly and totally out of context, like, “say itsy-bitsy”. The child repeats this, and gets a reward. Later on another child might hop, and your child may imitate as they have learnt how to.

This program is also used in every day context, such as, “say I want juice” or “a cookie” to receive the desired item. Instead of whining, repeating your sentence or gesturing, the child will begin to learn to say “I want juice” instead.

But My Child Can’t Imitate At All!

When your child is completely non-verbal and has a hard time saying anything at all, words are broken down into pieces and taught over time. For example, “say mommy”. The sound “mo” is taught first and rewarded, then mom, then mommy.

What Issues Could Arise?

There are a couple of behavioral ‘issues’ your child could pick up from this program, but nothing that won’t be reversed with ease.

We had an issue recently where an autistic child repeated everything. The therapist would say, “do this” and touch their head, and he would say, “do this” and touch his head. This is a common problem in autistic children who practice echolalia (repeating phrases automatically). It can be fixed easily! Our therapist simply dropped the phrase, “do this” and so did he!  

ABA is an excellent therapy for teaching a child with Autism the skills he or she will need to move through life, and learn from their experiences. Imitation program are just one of the skills implemented to encourage this.

Applied Behavioral Analysis Therapy And Discrete Trial Training

One type of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy is called the Loovas Method; the most heavily researched therapy for Autism which demonstrates some of the best outcomes. If your child has been diagnosed with Autism at a young age and you’re thinking about ABA therapy, then your child could be on the road to success.

As a parent we worry about the legitimacy of all therapies, how they will help our child, and what exactly goes on inside the therapist’s room. The Loovas Method relies heavily on Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and some incidental teaching.

What is DTT?

Discrete trial training is when a skill is broken down into steps instead of being taught as a whole. For example, when teaching shapes, the therapist would give two shapes and ask ‘which is the circle?’. Once the child can point out different shapes, then they would teach the child to say the shapes. Each skill is taught slowly, easing your child into the learning process without overwhelming them.

There are 5 steps to DTT

1.     The Antecedent (when the therapist sets up the question, perhaps by showing two shapes)

2.     The Prompt (where the therapists asks a question, or performs an action to get a response)

3.     The Response (where the child responds)

4.     The Consequence (for either a correct response, or incorrect response)

5.     The Pause (where the therapist allows it to sink in)

A Further Explanation of the Prompt

There are three types of prompts, an independent, a partial and a full gesture. This means that your child will either be: fully shown what to do, half shown, or not be shown at all. A therapist will generally start with a full prompt and begin to fade this until it becomes independent.

A Further Explanation of the Consequence

It’s scary as parents when we hear the word consequence, and we ask ourselves if it means punishment. This shouldn’t be the case with a qualified ABA therapist. A consequence only means something that happens after a response. If the child performs correctly they are showered with praise. But if the child cannot perform the task (which will happen sometimes) they are simply corrected and shown the right response.

The Loovas Method is just one school of ABA therapy, a therapy that can change the life of an Autistic child. Children who have completed this therapy have gone on to achieve a normal intellectual and educational functioning by the time they are 7 years old.

There’s always hope for a child that’s struggling.

Please visit our website at www.buildingblockresolutions.com for more information. 

Studies show that in the case of childhood therapy, a therapist should focus on relationships rather than the actual child. This means that children are happier when they see the happiness in their caregivers and loved ones. When they see that the people in their lives are happy and healthy it affects the children in a positive way. Consequently, when the people in their lives are living unhappy, unhealthy and stressed out lives, it affects the children in a negative way.

Behavioral therapy focuses on both the child and the environment in which the child grows up. Behavioral therapy helps the child to feel that they are growing up in a nurturing stable environment. It is understandable that adults do have problems and every day issues that they face; however, the most important thing on their mind should be the portrayal to the children. Children thrive better when they witness healthy, happy relationships among the people in their lives.

For more information about the services at Building Block Resolutions, Inc. Click here