Banish Bad Therapy!

Posted by Ashley, Special Educator

In a previous post, "Not All Therapists Are Created Equal," I discussed the qualities of a good therapist.  That post focused on the idea that, regardless of qualifications on paper, all therapists have different strengths, weaknesses, and experiences.  Therapists who look the same on paper may not be the same in practice.  Clinical judgement is a difficult thing to teach.  The sad truth is that there are some bad therapists out there.  I hope my previous post has helped our parent readers to evaluate their child's therapists.

Because I have previously provided my thoughts on what defines good and bad therapists, I think it is now important to discuss what this means for your child.  This sounds like common sense, but I think it is worth saying anyway: bad therapists will provide bad therapy.  I will not go into extensive detail about what makes a bad therapist or what defines bad therapy because that information is available in "Not All Therapists Are Created Equal."  This post will focus on the effects of bad therapy.  

What I want you to know is that bad therapists and bad therapy can have detrimental effects for your child.  If you have identified that your therapist is not right for your family, please make a change--and do it quickly! I know that requesting a change in therapist can feel awkward or intimidating, and can even come with feelings of guilt.  For any parents out there who find themselves struggling with this decision, I write this post for you!  I want you to know the effects of bad therapy so that you can make an informed decision for your child.  What you are about to read may sound frightening.  It is not my intention to scare you, but I do want you to know the truth so that you and your family can receive the best therapy possible.

MiliWHO??

Posted by Dani, Speech-Language Pathologist MA CCC-SLP

Milieu! Milieu teaching is pretty much the most accurate way I can describe the way I do therapy given my population and their needs.  

I subscribe to the Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research and I received an article that caught my eye the other day. Long story short, it led me to a really old article (1993, I was only in 3rd grade!) entitled "Facilitating Prelinguistic Communication Skills in Young Children with Developmental Delay" (Warren, Yoder, Gazdag, Kim &Jones, 1993).

OK don't worry this isn't going to be a boring journal article post but the speechie geek in me got really excited while reading this. Why? Because it literally describes EXACTLY how I do my therapy!! Specifically the article highlights the effectiveness of milieu approach to teaching prelinguistic (before speaking) communication skills. So get ready to learn a new word and feel smart: MILIEU! (To all my professors and speechies, yes this word rang a bell from the days I spent studying, just never stuck with me so meaningfully!)

What is ABA?

Posted by Hiroe, Special Educator

I’ve been working at an agency that provides services through the Early Intervention Program (EIP) as a teacher and behavior analyst for the last several years.  Before I became a teacher, I worked as a service coordinator for the EIP.  As service coordinator I met many parents who opted against Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for their children.  In my experience, parents often made this decision because they were misinformed by people who did not fully understand ABA.  Unfortunately this is very common in the field!  ABA is arguably the most misunderstood science.  I hope that this post, and this blog as a whole, will help to clear up some of those misconceptions.  Before discussing what ABA is, I think it might be helpful to discuss what ABA is not.

Labeling or Disabling?

Posted by Ashley, Special Educator

Because we work closely with our families (which all educators should do, by the way!), we often hear the thoughts and concerns of our parents.  One very common concern I encounter has to do with labeling children.  Many families feel uncomfortable with having their child labeled with a diagnosis.  This raises countless questions.  Will this label follow my child throughout his life?  Will it prevent opportunities for him in the future?  Will he be judged or stigmatized?  Will the diagnosis cause more harm than good?  These are just a few of many concerns some of our parents face.

An open letter to the world..on behalf of "My parents"

Posted by Dani, Speech-Language Pathologist

Dear parents everywhere,

Let me first state that I am not yet a parent. More specifically, I am not a parent of child with special needs and/or interfering behaviors. That being said, I have gained significant experience in counselling, educating, and collaborating with parents who raise children with a range of diagnoses including Autism and PDD-NOS ("my parents"). I give credit to my amazing coworkers who I continue to learn from every day, the strong and loving parents who share with us their most vulnerable states and rawest emotions regarding raising a child with special needs/interfering behaviors, and most of all, I accredit the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (it's science! it works!)

 I can't even begin to describe the strength and perseverance I see in so many of my parents. I assure you that my parents come from ALL walks of life. I assure you that despite socioeconomic, cultural, and religious differences-- my parents have MANY things in common. The obvious commonality is the fact that they are parents of children with special needs. More importantly, they all love their children deeply and enter into Early Intervention for that very reason-- to try and find the best and most effective way to help their children.

Modifying Behavior: The Process

Posted by Ashley, Special Educator & Peri, Licensed Psychologist and BCBA

How many times have you wished you could change the behavior of the people around you?  Whether it be your spouse, your colleagues, your friends, or your children, most of us wish we could change someone's behavior at some point during our day!  Well, we are here to share a little secret with you: you can change behavior!  That is what the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is all about!  The principles of ABA are founded in the idea that all behavior is learned and that all behavior can be modified.  And, fortunately, these principles are not a secret!  In fact, they are a science!  We are here to share them with you!  While we are closet (or maybe not-so-closet) nerds who enjoy reading ABA textbooks, we realize that most people do not!  Our goal here is to take that information and break it down in a way that is useful to those of you who are not ABA nerds like us!  Now let's get down to business...

What's the Point of Center-Based Intervention?

Posted by Ashley, Special Educator

In the field of Early Intervention, the majority of services are provided within a child's home.  This is a widely accepted model and there are many advantages to home-based instruction.  One primary strength is that the child is being taught in his/her home environment, hopefully making the instruction  age-appropriate, natural, and meaningful.  This allows therapists the wonderful opportunity to integrate instruction into the child's already existing daily routines (e.g. making lunch, brushing teeth, getting the mail, etc.)!  It is also beneficial because it makes parent involvement a little easier.  When therapy is provided in the home, parents are more likely to be included and to be treated as collaborative partners, which is hugely important!  It also allows regular opportunities for the therapists and caretakers to observe one another and offer support.  So, with all of these great benefits to home-based instruction, what's the point of center-based intervention? (Hint: there are many benefits, so keep reading!)