Autism

June 5, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, behavior analysit, behavior therapists, pairing, reinforcementby rec

Pairing

Today’s Topic Tuesday comes from the Owner and Executive Director of the Recreational Education Center, Tricia Woolard. Today Tricia is tackling (say that 3 times fast!) Pairing and how our staff uses it with our clients. The process of building rapport with a client What …

May 29, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, aba therapy, verbal behaviorby rec

Verbal Behavior – Part 2

Verbal Behavior Part 2 Ashley Horton In the last Topic Tuesday I explained the six elementary verbal operants of verbal behavior. This one will go over some more complex verbal behaviors and the autoclitic. Complex verbal behavior includes tact extensions, automatic reinforcement, and private events. …

May 8, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, assessment, presentation, reinforcers, trial basedby rec

Trial Based Preference Assessments

Trial Based Preference assessments are used to identify a student’s favorite items or activities. These items or activities can then be used as rewards or potential reinforcers for appropriate behaviors. There are 3 different types of trial-based preference assessments. 1. Single Item Presentation – …

May 1, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, activity, activity schedules, autism, boards, learning, schedule, taksby rec

Activity Schedules – Teaching for Independence

What is an Activity Schedule? An activity schedule is a sequence of pictures or words that cue someone to engage in a sequence of activities. The pictures or words used can be detailed or vague depending on the learner. They can also include tasks such …

April 24, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, antecendent, interventionby rec

Antecedent Intervention

Antecedent interventions are strategies we develop to manipulate an environment prior to the occurrence of a behavior. These strategies are utilized to increase the likelihood of the desired behavior to occur and to decrease the occurrence of maladaptive behavior one might exhibit. Antecedent Intervention …

April 17, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, autism, sensory, sensory friendly, The REC, touch a truckby rec

Topic Tuesday: What is a Sensory Friendly Event?

Sensory friendly may mean different things for different venues or events. At movie theaters it means the lights are on throughout the movie and the sound is turned down lower than usual. Getting out of one’s seat to stand up, talk, sing, or move and …

April 3, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, autism, behavioral health, verbal behaviorby rec

Verbal Behavior

Skinner (1957) identified six elementary verbal operants of mand, tact, echoic, intraverbal, textual, and transcription. Verbal behavior is a behavioral approach to language the describes how language is shaped by the consequences, what happens as a result of speaking, in the environment. This means acquiring, …

March 30, 2018Autismaba, adult services, autism, bakery, Community, cupcakes, job skills, social skills, young adultsby rec

Introducing the CREATE Program

Here at The REC, we are always looking to expand our services and teach new programming for all ages. The Chelmsford REC has recently launched The CREATE Program – Community and Recreational Experiences for Adults and Teens. The CREATE Program is the life skills division …

March 27, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, autism, Behavior, functional communication, topics, training, tuesdayby rec

Topic Tuesday: Functional Communication Training (FCT)

What is FCT ? FCT is a procedure for teaching functional language as a replacement for interfering behavior that serve the same function. Why is it Important to Teach FCT ? Challenging behavior is a form of communication. FCT is one of the most effective …

March 20, 2018Topic Tuesdayaba, ABC data, attention, Behavior, escape, function, sensory automatic, tangibleby rec

Topic Tuesday: Functions of Behavior

Last Tuesday you read about ABC data. We use ABC data to help us figure out why the behavior is occurring (the function). There are 4 main Functions of behavior: Sensory Automatic – Provides some sort of sensory experience. Occurs without the involvement of another …