Challenging behaviors don't just happen out of nowhere. They have patterns, triggers, and underlying causes. The key to success is all about preventing them in the first place instead of reacting to the behaviors when they occur. Here, we discuss how to use both proactive and reactive strategies to effectively reduce challenging behaviors with our learners.

When working on challenging behaviors, setting yourself up for success makes all the difference. Proactive strategies are designed to prevent behaviors from occurring and we discuss how to create an environment where they’re less likely to happen. We also share tips on how to teach replacement skills and make environmental accommodations.

While we want to aim for a proactive approach, we can’t always prevent challenging behaviors. Sometimes, we need to use reactive strategies, and we discuss when and how to intervene. We also cover how to block and diffuse unsafe behaviors and how to analyze data to determine how well your strategies are working.

What’s Inside:

• How to use proactive and reactive strategies for challenging behaviors
• The importance of building trust with our learners
• How to block and diffuse unsafe behaviors

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Free ABC Data Sheet

When managing challenging behavior, our goal as behavior therapists is to reduce these behaviors and teach new skills. Here, we discuss how to do so without using strategies like extinction and planned ignoring. Through skill-based treatment, we not only reduce challenging behaviors but also replace them with positive functional skills.

Challenging behavior is often the result of skill deficits in areas like communication, being able to tolerate discomfort, and handling transitions. Skill-based treatment is a compassionate, proactive approach that prioritizes teaching skills that meet the same need as the challenging behavior but in a more appropriate way. We also cover practical functional assessments, why it’s important to start with trust and relationship building, and reinforcement techniques.

For a deeper dive into skill-based treatment, join our next live CEU event on Thursday, May 15, at 12pm EST called Effectively Addressing Challenging Behaviors Using Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) .


What’s Inside:

• How to use skill-based treatment to replace challenging behaviors
• Why it’s important to build a trusting relationship with our learners
• How to join our next live CEU event

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Join Our Next CEU Event 

Before our learners can independently manage their emotions, they need to first master co-regulation. For children, this looks like a trusted adult helping them to navigate big feelings by offering calm, supportive guidance. Here, we discuss how we can best help our learners master the skill of co-regulation and provide practical tips for making progress.

We begin by diving into the difference between terms like emotional regulation, co-regulation, and self-regulation. We discuss how to remain calm and collected so we can manage and temper our reactions. We also share tips on how to help learners identify their feelings, how to develop your own emotional regulation skills, and why practice and consistency in our strategies are important. 

What’s Inside:

• How to help learners master co-regulation skills
• Tips for helping learners identify feelings
• Why practice and consistency are important

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Three Point Scale Teaching Procedure

For many children, understanding and expressing emotions can be a challenge. They may struggle with recognizing their own feelings, reading emotions in others, or knowing how to respond appropriately in different situations. The good news is that emotional awareness is a skill that can be taught, modeled, and practiced with the right strategies.

In this conversation, we discuss the best ways to teach emotions to kids. We dive into how to assess a learner’s baseline and where to start teaching. We also discuss how to reduce rigidity in our teaching, teaching across operants, and generalization techniques.

What’s Inside:

• How to best teach emotions to children
• How to assess a learner’s baseline and where to start teaching
• Helpful generalization techniques

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram 

Leanne Page is a mom, a BCBA, and the founder of Parenting with ABA. When she became a mother, Leanne realized how her training and education in behavior analysis gave her a leg up on discipline issues. She’s worked as a special education teacher in self-contained to inclusive settings, from elementary to high school. She also managed a center providing ABA services to children in 1:1 and small group settings.

Through Parenting with ABA, Leanne leverages her extensive experience in school and teacher training, therapist training, parent training, and providing direct services to children and families in a center-based or in-home therapy setting. Today, she spends a lot of time writing and creating trainings to help disseminate ABA and make it easy for all parents to digest and apply in their own lives. Leanne’s goal is to save parents’ sanity every day!

Here, Leanne shares her strategies for working with parents and her thoughts on emotional regulation. We discuss the risks of not acknowledging parents in our work as BCBAs, common mistakes we make, and tips for supporting parents better. Leanne also shares the benefits of incorporating mindfulness techniques with parents, the importance of self-compassion, and advice for newly minted BCBAs.

What’s Inside:

• How Leanne works with parents through Parenting with ABA
• BCBA tips to better support parents
• Advice for newly minted BCBAs

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Parenting with ABA 

Self-regulation is a challenge for many of our learners. Having a personalized regulation toolbox makes a huge difference in a child's ability to navigate their emotions and daily challenges. This toolbox is made up of a set of calming strategies tailored to each person’s unique needs. Here, we discuss how we can help learners develop the skill of self-regulation and a set of tools that works for them.

We start by talking through the importance of having an emotional regulation toolbox and how to help learners identify their triggers. We discuss how to look at functions of behavior and introduce replacement skills. We also discuss what to avoid when building a toolbox, how to foster independence in our learners, and how to tailor a toolbox to individual needs.

What’s Inside:

• How an emotional regulation toolbox helps learners navigate life’s challenges
• How to identify functions of behavior and introduce replacement skills
• How to tailor emotional regulation toolboxes to individual needs
  
  

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Calming Activities List

Emotional regulation is a foundational skill that influences how we manage stress, handle challenges, and connect with others. Here, we define emotional regulation and dive into all the reasons why it’s so important for our development and well-being. We also discuss how we, as BCBAs and practitioners, can help our learners strengthen this essential skill.

The term emotional regulation refers to the ability to recognize and manage one’s emotions in a way that supports appropriate behavior and well-being. We talk about the importance of uncovering the function of behavior and how to choose reinforcement strategies. We also share why we typically start with teaching co-regulation, how to use modeling and visuals, and the importance of consistency and practice.

What’s Inside:

• Why emotional regulation is necessary for our development and well-being
• How to teach emotional regulation skills to our learners
• How to choose the right teaching strategies 

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
CEU: Teaching Emotional Regulation Strategies to Reduce Anxiety

Amanda Wilson is a school psychologist, BCBA, and the founder of Navigating Behavior Change. She has over 18 years of experience within the public school setting, and as a military wife, she has had the opportunity to work in various regions across the United States. She also has significant experience in conducting assessments, developing comprehensive, individualized behavior intervention plans, and ensuring compliance with special education law.

Amanda is well versed in assisting school teams in implementing positive behavior intervention frameworks, regularly provides professional development, training, and support in implementing classroom management strategies, and is a leader both within her educational setting and her role as an educational consultant.

Here, we dive into Amanda’s work through Navigating Behavior Change and how she empowers and teaches educators across the country. We discuss how to use preventative strategies with students and how to bridge the gap between teachers and BCBAs. Amanda shares some quick classroom wins for teachers to implement and tips for BCBAs to build positive relationships with educators. 

What’s Inside:

• How Amanda empowers educators through Navigating Behavior Change
• Quick classroom wins for teachers
• Tips for BCBAs who work with educators

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Navigating Behavior Change Website

When a learner has multiple diagnoses, it has a significant influence on treatment approaches, behavioral changes, and intervention planning. Therefore, it’s essential to determine whether a skill is a “can’t do” or a “won’t do” when we’re developing our treatment strategies. Here, we discuss the impact more than one diagnosis has on treatment and the steps we can take to provide our learners with the best support possible.

When someone can’t do something, it’s usually due to them not having the skills to do it. In these cases, no amount of reinforcement will be motivating. However, through proper assessment, we can figure out whether a learner isn’t capable of a task or if they are but won’t do it. We discuss the telltale signs that signal a “can’t do” or a “won’t do,” how to break skills down into smaller steps, how to increase motivation, and how to create a trusting environment for our learners.

What’s Inside:

• How multiple diagnoses impact treatment strategies
• How to tell the difference between a “can’t do” vs a “won’t do”
• How to increase engagement and motivation

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram 

Autism rarely occurs in isolation, and many individuals face additional health challenges. Understanding these challenges can help us provide more compassion and effective support. Here, we discuss the common comorbidities we may encounter with our learners. We also dive into the behavioral implications of those comorbidities as well as the medical challenges that may arise.

Comorbidities are conditions that happen alongside autism and may even be undiagnosed. They can have a major impact on a learner’s physical and mental health and overall quality of life. We get into some of the more technical aspects of the common comorbidities, like anxiety and ADHD, and what you should incorporate in your teaching. We also cover the behavioral impacts of various health symptoms, how to approach sensory processing disorders and learning disabilities, and the importance of individualizing our strategies.

What’s Inside:

• Behavioral implications of comorbidities
• How to recognize and manage accompanying physical and mental symptoms
• The importance of individualizing our teaching strategies

Mentioned In This Episode:
HowToABA.com/join
How to ABA on YouTube
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
Free Antecedent Log