Building Better Behaviors
It’s summer time! Warm waves of happiness are in high tide. Times like these when we’re relaxed and less-scheduled are the perfect time to build better behaviors. School being out of session shouldn’t equate a break from thriving. Developing healthy habits leads to a higher quality of mental health; building better behaviors is that important.
A dynamic way to change behavior is through reinforcement. In the world of applied behavior analysis (ABA), positive means adding and negative means removing. Positive reinforcement is adding something or someone to a situation to increase desired behaviors. This appears as giving compliments, stickers, money, and more. Negative reinforcement is the removal of something or someone from a situation to increase desired behaviors. For instance, getting to exit the dinner table early by using polite manners, or receiving zero homework for scoring 100% on a spelling test, etc.
Cheers to implementing a summertime behavior bootcamp in your home… (Trust me, it’s easier than it sounds!)
Choose no more than three specific behaviors you want your child to change
Think about your child’s reinforcers, his or her favorites
Choose at least one replacement behavior for each of the target behaviors
Teach your child the new, better replacement behaviors
Watch, listen, reinforce
In your home this will look like…
Your child will stop sucking their thumb (preschool is around the corner!)
Your child’s reinforcers are tickles, attention, and coloring with parents
Instead of sucking the thumb, your child wears nail polish or chews gum
Demonstrate how sucking a thumb with nail polish/gum would be icky
When your child is NOT sucking the thumb - REINFORCE!!!
During your fun-in-the-sun this summer, choose five minutes in the morning and five in the evening where you will catch them being good! Recognize desirable behaviors when they are hanging around in front of you. Catch those fine fish in your proverbial net. Be present and upbeat with positive speak. Notice the difference between stop complaining vs. let’s practice using positive self-talk. Simple statements can sound attainable to young ears. Label the correct behaviors: you were so calm during your doctor’s visit and that makes me so proud!
Reinforcement leads to the right rituals. As the child develops better behaviors, the parent is building a habit of reinforcing the right words and actions. This is a perfect recipe for a successful summer! Mental wellness blooms when we build better behaviors.
The 13th Child Autism & Behavioral Coaching, Inc. works with families in Connecticut and New York. We accept most insurance plans. Reach out to us today and get started on your ABA journey!