Positive Behavior Changes

The prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen drastically in the last 10-15 years. In 2008 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that an estimated 1 in 150 individuals had been diagnosed with ASD, the 2014 report now estimates that 1 in 68 individuals have been diagnosed with ASD, roughly a 120% increase (CDC 2007 & 2014). This rising trend necessitates a greater number of programs and intervention strategies to improve the quality of life of individuals with ASD. One of the primary professions responsible for implementing and designing these new strategies and programs are occupational therapy (OT) practitioners. Occupational therapists are responsible for providing services that increase performance and participation of individuals with ASD. It is essential that occupational therapists utilize interventions proven to be efficacious and are continually improving and redesigning their program strategies (AOTA Ethics and IDEA). There is a wide range of interventions utilized by occupational therapists when treating individuals with ASD due to the various manifestations of deficits and positive symptoms that can occur.

Its application to the treatment of mental problems is known as behaviour modification. Learning is seen as behaviour change moulded by experience; it is accomplished largely through either classical or operant conditioning.

Implementing home therapy for child with autism requires me a daily basis to utilize consistently strong active listening skills, use effective and correct verbal communication that enhances interactions with colleagues, students, and parents/guardians. Working with my fellow therapists allows me to use skills that help my team move forward by

While engaging with ABA coursework, I became an intern at the university’s Autism Center for Excellence, where I began my journey of applying what I learned in the classroom to implementing behavioral strategies for children with developmental delays. After a year of being a dedicated intern, I was invited by the center’s clinical supervisor to attain a position as Program Team Staff. I enthusiastically accepted the role and assumed responsibilities that the position required.

It remains that time of year again when people make resolutions to stay fit. My family and I are no exception. Due to not being able to embark on this journey alone, I will engage my parents in influencing their diet and exercise habits. To invoke this change I will apply Grenny et al.’s (2013) Six Source model of influencing a vital behavior change. This paper will demonstrate my proposal to change their diet and exercise strategy to support us while embarking on our journey to eat healthy and stay fit.

According to Lovaas (1987) and Carr & Durand (1985), early behavioral treatments was highly designed. As the field has progressed, behavioral treatments had suffered a number of changes to improve instructional results and improve their skills. One alternative change had been the way of improvement of performances that are more naturalistic and child-centered. According to Lovaas (1987), children with autism shows lack of social communication, absent or abnormal speech, intellectual disabilities IQ, aggressive behavior, and they also could self-injury themselves, etc. According to this article, the researcher discusses the effects of the treatment behavior change for the two groups of similarly constituted young children with autism (Lovaas, 1987). Participants were given to one of the two groups: an intensive-treatment experimental group that has more than 40 hours of one to-one treatment per week, and/or the minimal-treatment which was the Control Group 1 that got only 10 hours or less of one-to-one treatment per week (Lovaas, 1987). Control Group 1 was used to increase further information about the rate of spontaneous improvement in very young children with autism, especially those selected by the same assistance or researcher that provided the diagnostic work-up for the intensive-treatment experimental group (Lovaas, 1987).

In 1943, Leo Kanner observed a small group of children with a condition he called Infantile Autism, launching the scientific study of autism. There were few studies about autism through the 1960s, but “behavioral research began demonstrating that children with autism were capable of learning, if taught systematically and intensively using operant learning methods” (Thompson, 2013). Through the 1970s and early 1980s, most students who were diagnosed with autism were in classrooms for students with severe intellectual disabilities or emotional issues and lived in public institutions after childhood (Thompson, 2013). Over the past two decades, there has been much progress and increase in studies; however, more research needs to be done on the subject, including determining the most effective interventions (Thompson, 2013).

All schools in America have a type of school discipline. While some agree that schools should have negative behavior interventions, others believe that we should have positive behavior interventions. Schools should focus more on the positive side of behavior because it helps students behaved better, creates a better learning environment, and zero tolerance is not working.

Theories of behavioural change are used during program planning because they help explain and predict how individuals go through change. Understanding how and why people change is useful in the selection of program activities and outcomes (Hodges & Videto, 2011).

It is recommended that SPED teachers can try new and effective behavior modification strategies to children with exceptionalities.

All my life I have been overweight for my height and age, and always felt the burden of being a fluffy girl. Growing up in a society where fast food is more accessible than ever before took a major toll on my health. I indulged on fatten foods to cope with my stress and depression because of the desirable satisfaction I felt after every bite. Also, being active was something I did not care to do because after a hefty meal the only thing I wanted to do was relax on a couch. One day after ordering Chinese food, I read my fortune cookie and it mentioned, “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” At that very moment reality slowly dawned on me. Gradually, I started taking control over my life because I didn’t

The behavior I selected was to create a habit of drinking at least one gallon of water every day. I chose this behavior because after talking to my academic advisor and evaluating my life, I felt that, as an athlete, the consumption of the right fluids each day would have the greatest effect on my body. The dimension of health affected by this behavior change is obviously my physical health. The drinks you consume on a daily basis affect your body greatly. Overall they affect the body day-by-day and in the long run. Day-by-day changes to the body include energy and food cravings. Yet also, in the long run, the body’s intake of fluids can lead to or prevent disease, chronic illness, and overall appearance. Though physical health

At this point, I felt that it was more important to first gain fundamental experience by focusing on teaching methodologies in order to be successful in the MSED in Special Education. In the past year and a half, I have worked with numerous children on the autism spectrum, varying in symptoms and levels of impairment; however, the majority of methods I utilize are primarily for students with mild-moderate autism. A large percentage of my students participate in small group sessions, which emphasize the development of social-emotional & behavioral growth, to introduce appropriate behavior in natural social situations. My youngest client, 3, up to my adult client, 25, participate in a weekly group session tailored to his/her age, needs, and developmental levels to effectively provide the tools to meet such unique needs. By participating in a small group session, I am able to analyze the differences and similarities of children with exceptionality, then utilize the data collected to assist developing individualized intervention strategies. By focusing on building background knowledge in this field, I bridged a relationship between experience and fundamental framework of

My behavior change was to go to the Colvin more. When I made this choice, I thought it would go quite well for me, considering I lived near the Colvin and I considered my class schedule to be fairly spaced out. My goals were simple: go to the Colvin a certain amount of time by a certain date, and go to a certain amount of dance (Tango) classes by a certain date. My rewards for completing those goals seemed to be enough to motivate me. I was confident that I would be able to complete this behavior change and feel better about myself and my personal health.

The action of recording in the moment might be hard to do while always being on the go with a preschool classroom.