My Approach

Which strategies I use and why.

Strengths-Based Approach

The core approach I incorporate into my practice is that of Strengths-Based Therapy. This approach focuses on the following concepts:

Children and youth have existing competencies
Children and youth are capable of learning new skills
Children and youth have natural resources

In essence, this approach fosters the notion that children have existing strengths that they can use to make positive changes to their day to day living. This empowers the child in question to be the agent of change over their own life.

However, before a child can become that agent of change, they must first learn to see themselves for who they are. We do this by putting the focus on their strengths rather than deficits.

When children feel better, they behave better.

- Pam Leo

Strengths-Based focuses on a few factors, including a child's environment and their ability to process thoughts and emotions. Specifically, if there are any exisiting constraints within these areas, preventing a child from reaching their full potential.

Working through these constraints promotes positive ways of thinking that ultimately allow children to feel competent and capable, which is when change can occur.

This emphasis on competence and capability is why I personally prefer this approach to my practices.

ABA Therapy: What is it?

ABA Therapy focuses on the ability to learn behaviour, with the goal of increasing positive behaviours and decreasing the negative. In addition, ABA Therapy aims to provide:

An increase in language and communication skills
An improvement in attention, focus, social skills, memory, and academics
A decrease in problematic behaviours

ABA Therapy uses the approach of positive reinforcement. This refers to rewarding desired behaviours when they occur. The reason this strategy is used is due to the fact that when a behaviour is followed by a positive response, a child is more likely to repeat that behaviour. This helps creates a change in the child's mind, as they begin to learn new ways of behaving and/or coping. Ultimately, ABA Therapy works by teaching children positive behaviours that, over time, will correct negative behaviours. Now, this isn't to say that ABA erases undesired behaviours altogether. It simply teaches children alternative means of behaviour that are more acceptable, and that they can learn to engage in.

Overall, ABA Therapy is widely used amongst mental health professionals due to its success rates and practicality, as it can easily be adapted to individual needs. Not to mention, one does not have to be a professional in the field of Child & Youth Work to practice ABA. In fact, many parents can implement ABA Therapy at home! All they need is a bit of training/guidance.

The ABC's of ABA Therapy:

Before implementing ABA practices with a child, it is important to first recognize which behaviours need to be changed and why. To do so, there needs to have an understanding of what happens before, during, and after a behaviour occurs. This allows parents and workers to understand why the behaviour may be occurring, and how to decrease the likelihood of that behaviour happening again.

This type of behavioural assessment can be conducted through the use of an ABC Chart. An ABC Chart focusses on 3 areas that surround a child's behaviour:

A - Antecedent: what happened before the behaviour occurred? A verbal command (i.e. "please clean up your toys"), something physical (i.e. a toy is broken or taken away), adverse sensory (i.e. sound, light, taste, touch, or smell)
B - Behaviour: what is happening during the behaviour? Emotional response (yelling, crying, tantrum), physical response (hitting, kicking, running away, biting), sensory response ,(rocking, pacing, shifting eyes) cognitive response, (non-responsive, unable to focus)
C - Consequence: what happens after the behaviour? Punishment (time out, losing a privilege), positive reinforcement (reward for desired behaviour), no reaction (when desired behaviour is not met), conversation (discussing what happened and what to do next time)

This type of assessement provides vital information regarding a child's behaviour, including triggers, emotional responses and level of occurance. These factors are vital in ABA Therapy, as they provide insight as to which behavioural patterns require change. Once these patterns are established, individualized therapeutic plans can be implemented to promote positive change in negative behaviour... and that's where I come in!

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Autism Speaks. (n.d.). https://www.autismspeaks.org/applied-behavior-analysis

My Approach

Contact Me