Today is a short one.

Point #1: Today I want to reinforce the perspective and idea that (in my line of work– behavioral therapy, behavioral change, children and adults with disabilities or limitations, social work, trauma, foster care) the progress and success comes 100%, and I mean 100%, from us. From adults: the parents, foster parents, teachers, mentors, strangers; as a parent, an older sister or brother, an aunt or uncle. I have officially been in the ABA field for almost 8 years now. And if there is one thing I can sum up from the field from working in clinic settings, in-home, school settings, and foster care settings, is that it is not a child’s job to understand their trauma, their ‘label’ or condition, or their reactions. It is not their job to understand where their tantrums or non-compliance are coming from, or why they are engaging in a particular behavior–their brains are still developing. It is our job to understand their story and to teach them; to understand where this behavior came from and Why? IT is our job to modify our teaching strategies so that they feel successful in learning. But in order for us to teach them healthy strategies, we ourselves must learn how to set that example and practice healthy strategies. We ourselves must understand why we need to engage in healthy strategies, why we must practice before we have them practice. We must practice, train, and continue learning.

Point #2: Person first, ABA second. Sometimes if you’ve been trained in such a clinical, scientific field, you forget about the purpose of your work. You forget that your ‘client’ or ‘target’ is a human being. You get caught up (unfortunately because of the healthcare pressures of meeting standards) making sure that you are meeting requirements so your company survives, your paycheck survives, your position survives. But if there is anything I’ve taken away from these past 2 years is that you’re bringing a ‘controlled’ practice into an ‘uncontrolled’ environment. What this means is that as someone in the field who practices ‘controlling variables’ with ABA, you’re not always going to have explainable behaviors with a primary function, and you’re definitely not going to be able to ensure successful progress all the time. The worst thing I’ve noticed about my field and in many ABA companies I’ve worked with is that it becomes a drill, a routine, a to-do list, a “lets hire an RBT and not explain to them why they are doing what they are doing” environment. That is the worst environment to be professionally trained in. That omitted my experience and ability to understand that I am dealing with a human first, then ABA second. What does human mean? I pair the word human as flawed, making mistakes, messy, shaming, and learned behaviors from an ontogenic culture from generation after generation. Humans, need breaks, empathy, inclusive and individualized plans that include what works but also what doesn’t work, and most importantly, some just need time. While our field does not always acknowledge the concept of emotions (it’s considered a covert behavior depending on which theology you follow), it does not mean that you can’t learn how to validate and use them for teaching appropriate coping skills. After all, research suggest it dictates 80% of the success of our lives.
Person first, ABA second.

I had the opportunity to listen to a podcast from Brene Brown interviewing Opera and Dr. Bruce D. Perry discussing Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. They wrote a book called “What Happened to You?”. Highly recommend this to everyone and anyone. If you’re not a reader, listen to the podcast. If you’re not a auditory listener, read the book. Link below:
https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-oprah-winfrey-and-dr-bruce-d-perry-on-trauma-resilience-and-healing/

#behavioraltherapy #ABA #trauma #mentalawareness #parenttraining #BCBA #childdevelopment #responsibility #therapeuticABA #autism #clinicsetting #humanfirst