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Jessica Gamba

Como I’ve written previously, ABA services can be especially helpful for learners who struggle in traditional academic settings. Many people fall into this broad category for many different reasons, but autistic children and young adults are often among them. It can be difficult for public school classrooms to consistently provide clear expectations, individualized supports, or immediate feedback to all students. One-on-one ABA services can help to bridge that gap so that all learners can thrive and meet their goals. 

Certified and licensed ABA service providers oversee many aspects of educational support, including formal assessment, program development, data collection and analysis, progress monitoring, and implementation of individually tailored teaching procedures. However, many concepts and principles that the field of ABA is built upon can also be used by any person in day-to-day life. Our previous post How to Support Autistic Loved Ones at Home provides some examples. First and foremost among them during skill development is positive reinforcement! 

What is Reinforcement?

In technical terms, reinforcement is a consequence that follows a behavior and increases the likelihood of that behavior happening again.

Negative reinforcement inherently requires that something unpleasant is currently occurring in order for it to then be taken away, creating relief. For that reason, we heavily prioritize positive reinforcement, so that we aren’t relying on what is sometimes called “aversive control.”  

Positive reinforcement is of course also in direct contrast with punishment. The purpose of reinforcement is always to build fluency with a skill and increase the probability that it will be engaged in independently without prompting in the future. Punishment does not teach new skills; it only decreases the future occurrence of the behavior which it follows. It can teach someone what no to do, but not what to do instead, so it can be a very frustrating experience for a learner.  

On the other hand, lots of positive reinforcement encourages desired responding even if less-desirable behaviors have never been punished. Imagine an educational computer game in which a learner sounds out words that appear on the screen. The learner does not need to be scolded for answering incorrectly in order to learn the right pronunciation when a celebratory GREAT WORK appears on the screen. It’s a simplistic explanation, but it essentially comes down to the fact that the pay-off is better for some options than for others! 

Reinforcement can be “positive” in the sense of behavior leading to something desirable being added to the environment, like a stranger smiling at you when you give them directions, or “negative” in the sense of something unpleasant being removed from the environment, like an annoying alarm turning off when you hit the off button.

Source: https://waypoints.life/applied-behavior-analysis-in-simple-terms/

Individualizing Reinforcement

Very few things in the world are consistently reinforcing for all people and in all contexts. There are some forms of reinforcement that are considered “unconditioned” in the sense that we are all born sensitive to them – for example, food, water, and a comfortable temperature. However, even those variables depend on current circumstances, such as whether the individual is hungry or thirsty, or whether they’ve grown tired of a specific snack. 

When it comes to “conditioned” reinforcement, things that we learn to like over our lifetimes, there is even more variability! One person might love hugs and physical contact, while another finds it unpleasant. Some people like to be praised for their work in a public fashion, whereas others become embarrassed and prefer to be recognized privately or with a quiet thumbs up.  

Even things that we absolutely love can vary in desirability from day to day and even hour to hour. I play a lot of video games in my spare time, but I might get bored after a while, my eyes might start straining, or I might simply feel the urge to do something else that I enjoy, like take my dog for a walk. 

For all of these reasons, the specific form of positive reinforcement must be carefully individualized to every learner, and the form is also very likely to change over time. Behavior analysts often use structured reinforcer and preference assessment methods, but there are many informal ways to determine what is likely to function as positive reinforcement as well. For example… 

  • The learner or people close to them can be asked what they’ve been enjoying lately and what they would like to gain access to as encouragement for working on their current task. 
  • Different options can be briefly presented one at a time to determine which ones occasion the most excitement and interest from the learner. 
  • Pairs of options can be held up or placed in front of the learner, with a question like “which break time activity would you like today?” 
  • The learner can be observed while they’re taking a break or before a learning task begins, and preferred activities they engage in during that time can then be used as reinforcement. 

Of course, if the learner in question is a loved one, you are likely to have good intuition about their preferences!  

If you are struggling to find something that effectively motivates skill development, considering some broad categories of options can be helpful. Reinforcement can be tangible, like interactable toys and other objects, new or otherwise special snacks and treats, or stickers or encouraging notes. It may also be more activity-based, like a break to jump on a trampoline, watching a short cartoon, listening to a favorite song, or playing a level of a video game. And then there’s social reinforcement, which is incredibly common in almost everyone’s day-to-day life! It might take the form of straightforward verbal feedback and encouragement during the learning process, an excited high five and fist pump, or celebrating a success with a little pause for a dance break together. 

Reinforcement in Action

No matter what form the positive reinforcement takes, in order for it to be most effective in motivating future responding, it should be provided as immediately following the learning opportunity as possible. This can be trickier than it might seem at first glance! It’s easy enough to pop a sticker on a chart, give a fist bump, or cheer “nicely done!” after each response. However, if the best form of reinforcement for a learner is a break to play on the swing set, it probably wouldn’t be reasonable to run outside between every single practice trial when learning a new skill. 

In these circumstances, schedules of reinforcement can be used. In almost all facets of life, including schools and workplaces, “intermittent” schedules are by far the most common. This means that reinforcement is received following some responses, but not all. It may take some time to gradually “thin” the schedule of how often reinforcement is given while still making sure it helps support the learning process. During ABA services, reinforcement is typically provided more continuously at first, and then gradually faded over time – but never stopped completely! 

The same process can be undertaken when supporting loved ones with skill development at home. An important step is to ensure that goals and expectations are clearly outlined so that reinforcement is delivered when expected, and not withheld by surprise. Visual supports like schedules and sticker charts can be helpful in providing that clarity. In fact, small tokens like stickers can become reinforcers in and of themselves because of this kind of pairing! As long as there is consistency and predictability in the delivery of positive reinforcement, it should remain incredibly effective throughout the learning process. 

Plan for the Future

After a new skill is learned, it still must be reinforced intermittently in order for it to maintain over time. Making sure that reinforcement is given in multiple different real-life situations also helps to ensure generalization beyond the setting in which the skill was originally taught.

This often happens naturally, without another person needing to take any action. For example, once someone learns to tie their shoes, that action is automatically reinforced by having well-fitting shoes and being able to comfortably walk and run outside.

However, some skills need a little extra encouragement, especially if they are effortful in some way. For some people, cleaning their room might be automatically reinforced by having a tidy living space. For others, that is simply not a valuable enough consequence to maintain all of the labor-intensive steps. In such cases, a little bonus positive reinforcement goes a long way.

It’s important to note again that a learner simply avoiding punishment in the form of scolding, grounding, etc. does not have the same effect as positive reinforcement – the reinforcement itself is a critical component. The precise reasons why are complex and deserving of a separate blog post. One key aspect, though, is that such consequences are not effective if the person or people implementing the consequences are not present. Someone who does their chores at home in order to avoid negative outcomes is less likely to tidy up after themselves at a friend’s or relative’s house, or if they move out to live on their own. On the other hand, positive reinforcement that maintains complex or difficult skills can be sought out from anyone in the learner’s life. This is a great example of how positive reinforcement can promote generalization.

Learning how the concepts and principles of ABA can be applied in daily life can be empowering for learners and their loved ones alike, and I hope this post has contributed to that. Consistent reinforcement strategies used across family members, educators, and care team providers always benefits from collaboration – reach out to us at info@waypoints.life if we can join you in that journey! 

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Jessica Gamba

Skill-building based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) has the power to unlock any learner’s potential, and it can be especially beneficial for autistic and otherwise neurodiverse children. While free, public education is an important benefit for all to have access to, teachers often lack the resources and staffing to individualize classroom procedures to meet every learner’s needs. Supplementing classroom activities with ABA sessions can provide additional structure, practice opportunities, and instructions customized to each individual learner. 

Our Waypoints blog has highlighted several aspects of ABA services in the past. Here, I will bring it all together to summarize how the science of behavior analysis can benefit learners who might not yet be thriving in school. I will also link to our library of past posts for further reading! 

The History of ABA

Reorienting to what ABA is in general, our previous blog post, Análisis de comportamiento aplicado en términos simples, is a great place to start. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) also provides fantastic one-page fact sheets for a deeper dive into the huge variety of ways that behavior analysis can be applied, including public health, brain injury rehabilitation, gerontology, and health and fitness. At Waypoints, though, we primarily work with autistic children and young adults in pursuit of skill development. 

To that end, we modify the environment to make learning more efficient and effective. The science of behavior analysis has been studied since the 1910s, and its application in everyday education systems began blossoming until the 1960s. B.F. Skinner and others began to research programmed instruction and teaching machines in order to individualize instruction so that students could learn at their own pace. 

In the first issue of the Revista de análisis de comportamiento aplicado, Don Baer, Montrose Wolf, and Todd Risley defined seven important aspects of clinical and educational practices. They considered those “dimensions,” described below, to be the minimum requirements to call those practices ABA. As our professional organizations have continued to emphasize to this day – see objective A-5 of the BACB’s BCBA Task List – ABA must be: 

  • Applied: Our interventions must target behaviors that will result in socially significant changes for the individuals with whom we’re working. Social significance is sometimes misinterpreted to mean we focus on changing behaviors to be “socially acceptable.” However, it actually refers to the degree to which the behavioral change we’re targeting benefits the individual themselves. At Waypoints we emphasize that our selection of a target behavior, AND methods by which to intervene upon it, must be of interest to and directly benefit the client. 
  • Behavioral: Our research and interventions must target change in an actual behavior of interest or importance. That is, target behaviors are specifically what our clients wish or are expected to do. If a client or caregiver were asked to report if they thought an intervention was working or how satisfied they were with the intervention, this would not be behavioral because the actual behavior of interest wasn’t measured. Of course, verbal reports are also valuable, but a record of the observable, measurable behavior itself is the foremost requirement. 
  • Analytic: Being analytic means that practitioners of behavior analysis focus on actively making decisions based on collected data. That might mean collaborating with clients to develop new goals when previous ones have been mastered. It might also mean working together to change our strategies if we see that what we’re doing now isn’t helping enough. Monitoring data allows us to ensure that the interventions we’re suggesting and implementing are genuinely helping to lead to the changes our clients want to see.  
  • Technological: This refers to the fact that all our procedures must be described in enough detail that someone else could read that intervention or study the procedures and implement it without further information. Like all other sciences, the believability of our conclusions is based upon others’ abilities to replicate our findings. As such, this requires describing our interventions and procedures in enough detail to allow them to do so. Any written instructions regarding assessments or interventions must be thorough and complete enough to be implemented reliably across clinicians. 
  • Conceptually Systematic: This means that the strategies that we suggest and develop are always based on the concepts and principles of the science of behavior analysis, such as reinforcement and motivating operations. We need to explain why we’re recommending a given plan – our recommendations will never be arbitrary or “cookie cutter.” We always explain behavior based on its interface with the environment; the key principle of behavior analysis is that behaviors are a function of environmental variables. 
  • Effective: This might seem to go without saying, but this term really means that the outcomes of ABA services must be socially significant. Behavior changing to a small degree is not enough. Of course, not all interventions will be immediately effective to these standards. This dimension of ABA requires that we constantly assess the effects of our work, based on direct effects on behavior and based on input by clients and their significant others, and adjust procedures as necessary. 
  • Generalizable: Applied behavior analysis must be generalizable in terms of both its procedures and effects. Generalization means that the effects of interventions occur across environments and maintain over time. We must program for generalizability by, for example, implementing interventions with various stimuli found in the natural environment. If the effects of intervention do not generalize – for instance, if behavior changes at home but not at the client’s grandmother’s house – the intervention was not sufficiently effective, and we must make changes to address this. 

In 1999, the United States Surgeon General released a report confirming that “thirty years of research has demonstrated the efficacy of applied behavioral methods.” Since then, the field of ABA has continued to grow at a steady pace. 

Skill Development

Our focus at Waypoints is on supporting our clients to help them set and meet their goals for skill development. While ABA is often thought of in the context of therapy, we do not pursue services based on the medical model; our past blog post Why You Should View ABA as a Skill-Building Tool covered this topic in more detail. This also relates to our perspective that el autismo no es algo que pueda (o deba) curarse, as well as common critiques of the organization Autism Speaks. 

“Gifted” children can also often benefit from support with specific skills outside the classroom, and ABA can help. Some examples of socially significant skills that can be helpful throughout the lifetime include those related to socialization, language, academics, daily living, self-care, and seeking out and maintaining employment. For an overview of how we support the development of these skill sets at Waypoints, I recommend reading ¿Qué hacen los terapeutas AAC? y What Does an ABA Session Look Like? 

Above all, our ABA services revolve around positive reinforcement. In an ideal educational setting, learners have many opportunities to practice and are reliably exposed to immediate reinforcement through feedback and encouragement. This increases the likelihood that skills can be accurately reproduced in the future. This seems straightforward, but our practitioners’ expertise comes into play with their focus on directly assessing what consequences will truly function as reinforcement. Additionally, one-on-one individualized use of Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) and Natural Environment Teaching (NET) make ABA unique. 

Behavior analysis is a science of learning, so ABA also features many forms of careful instructional design. First, clearly defined goals and mastery criteria permit educators to continually assess learners’ progress and adjust teaching techniques as needed. We also use direct assessments to identify prerequisite “component” skills to ensure that those are fully developed first before moving on to more complex “composite” skills, which rely on fluency with those components. This careful planning of instructional sequences is sometimes called “scaffolding.” 

Behavioral Skills Training (BST) is another aspect of ABA that ensures true mastery of skills beyond simply being able to answer questions on a quiz or verbally describe what should be done. This involves starting by verbally rehearsing skills, but then multiple more rigorous steps of intervention. These include multiple rounds of actively practicing via roleplay and sharing feedback before finally having the opportunity to try out the skills in controlled but real-world settings.  

ABA practitioners also sometimes act as “environmental engineers” by making changes to the physical environment that can help optimize learning in day-to-day life. This is reviewed in our post How to Support Autistic Loved Ones at Home. All together, these practices allow us to effectively approach skill deficits based on whether our clients haven’t yet learned the skills or important prerequisites, need some extra motivation to engage in the skills, or are facing physical challenges. 

Behavior Management

We overwhelmingly focus on skill development at Waypoints, yet I would be remiss in excluding behavior management as an aspect of ABA. This topic was covered in How do ABA Practitioners Help with Clients’ Self-Harming or Dangerous Behaviors? y ¿Es dañina la terapia AAC? 

Most challenging behaviors occur due to difficulty with getting one’s needs met in other ways, as discussed in another post, Autism and Anxiety Caused by Sensory Overstimulation. Encouraging skill development helps to address this issue by establishing and reinforcing those alternative methods of self-advocacy and communication. 

If clients require more intensive support, one example of supplemental training we provide for our clinicians and technicians can be found on YouTube at this link. Punishment procedures are never used – we emphasize a good and trusting relationship with our clients, respect for withdrawal of assent to participate in services, and, most importantly, the safety of everyone involved. 

A slide from our training regarding preventing and reacting to challenging behavior.

The Real World – Maintenance and Generalization

Ultimately, we want our clients to meet their goals so successfully that they no longer need ABA services. This might simply involve learning the specific skills they set out to learn. It might also mean learning self-help and self-advocacy strategies that allow them to learn more effectively in everyday life. These long-term goals involve two primary outcomes – maintenance and generalization.  

Maintenance is continued fluency with a skill after teaching procedures have been concluded. As B.F. Skinner wrote, “education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.” Specific details might fade over time, but for ABA services to be considered truly effective, skills mastered during the course of services must continue to be mastered long after those services end. Our services are structured with that goal in mind – we ensure that learners can practice in real-world contexts, that the home environment and other settings have any necessary supports in place, and that the skills being learned are actively encouraged in the home, school, and community. 

Generalization refers to skills learned in structured, one-on-one sessions that can be applied in the real world. BST is one way this is prioritized – just as it aids in maintenance over time, real-world practice ensures that we aren’t just “teaching to a test” or approaching goals in a way that isn’t realistic in day-to-day life. It is vital to use various teaching techniques and learning opportunities and to avoid focusing on rote, repetitive responses. 

Our Core Values

I’ll close with a few more posts highlighting our core values at Waypoints – Why We Celebrate Neurodiversity, Not Just Acknowledge It y How to Support Autism Awareness and Acceptance. While not inherent or exclusive to ABA, dismantling ableist practices and supporting the neurodiversity movement colors everything we do. 

By helping to provide a comprehensive understanding of ABA and its potential for positive impact at Waypoints, we hope to empower families to make informed decisions about their child’s education and support services. If you’d like to learn more about how our services can enhance skill development, self-care, and increased independence, please get in touch with us at info@waypoints.life. You can also find us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

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Jessica Gamba

In 2018, a report revealed that 95% of teens had access to a smartphone. Indeed, it’s not unusual for children to gain access to a smartphone by age 10, and many if not most are able to interact with screens of various kinds at home or at school before then as well. While “screen time” is a complex and nuanced topic, it’s undeniable that it is a part of our culture and day-to-day lives. 

One big challenge in figuring out how screen time affects the wellbeing of children and adolescents, or people of any age for that matter, is that screens are everywhere and interactions with them can take many different forms. Reading, watching shows, playing games, and interacting with social media are all dramatically different activities that can have different impacts, depending on how and when we use them. 

There is no clear conclusion about how much screen time is acceptable vs. unhealthy. On average, adults in the United States spend about half of every day interacting with screens, and cutting-edge research shows that an average of 4 hours per day has been reported even as early as 9-10 years old. This increases to almost 8 hours per day by the age of 12-13. This is clearly at odds with the increasingly-outdated recommendation for a maximum of 2 hours of screen time per day! Every family must determine their own guidelines for screen time at home, and those should ideally be based upon each individual’s circumstances rather than arbitrary rules. 

This blog post will review potential pros and cons of different screen-based activities, as well as suggestions for how to find and create a healthy balance. 

Considerations for Autistic Youth

Screen time has increased since 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated decrease in opportunities for activities and social interactions outside of the home, and a 2012 study found that autistic children spend more time on screens than their allistic peers. However, this may have changed in the past decade as screen use has become more common. Even so, autistic children might prefer online interactions because it provides more time to understand social cues and think about their responses, which can be difficult in face-to-face situations. 

It’s also the case though that digital media and the internet in general allow for easy access to one’s special interests, the repetition and predictable nature of video games can be pleasant and comforting, and social media provides more opportunities for interacting with other members of the autistic community. Screen time is not just an escape or a mindless activity – it can be a rich and varied part of our world! 

With all that being said, it is true that children’s brains and development are uniquely sensitive in ways that adults’ are not, and the impact that screen time can have at younger ages is still not fully understood. But here’s something we do know: social rewards become more powerful around the age of 10-12 due to increased receptors for hormones like oxytocin and dopamine in the brain. The immediacy and constant activation of these receptors provided by technology is something that we will no doubt be carefully studying for decades to come. 

Even now in the present day, though, I don’t believe it’s controversial to suggest that the immediacy of reinforcement available from screens of all kinds can have addictive properties. However, addiction is partly characterized by the harm it causes in different areas of one’s life, such as damaged relationships, bad grades, or physical harm. So, does excessive screentime produce such effects? 

Potential Pros and Cons

While this topic could easily fill multiple books, I’ve conducted a brief literature review to help families weigh the potential pros and cons of screen time and find a healthy balance that works for them.  

  • Sleep: A recent study found only a small increase in sleep problems for those who used screens more often throughout the day. Overall, “every additional hour spent watching videos meant less sleep,” but this is affected by when screen time occurs as well as “sleep hygiene” in general. For example, children and adolescents who have access to screens in their bedrooms may experience more sleep disturbances; other studies support this as well. 
  • Physical Activity: Until we have the kind of physically-interactive virtual reality that we now see only in science fiction, spending more time with screens means less time spent moving our bodies. But of course, this would be just as much an issue with reading, writing, drawing, or any other stationary hobby. Interestingly, “youth engaging mostly in social media (e.g., video chatting), compared to other types of screen media (e.g., streaming movies), reported more physical activity.” 
  • Social Skills: Concerns about computers making kids antisocial are (or should be) a thing of the past. Most social interaction at all ages takes place online now, and healthy use of social media can make pre-teens and adolescents feel more connected, included, and confident. However, social interaction online es unique – it is permanently available to be referenced, and often public. According to a 2022 study, children who use social media at younger ages may be at a higher risk of experiencing harassment and increases in inappropriate behavior towards others online. 

Suggestions for Striking a Balance

As has been the theme throughout this blog post, moderation is key when it comes to technology, just like most things in life. While screen time isn’t all bad and shouldn’t be eliminated, unlimited and unmonitored access isn’t the answer either. Even simply monitoring your child’s use of technology, with no explicit rules in place, can lead to decreased exposure to mature content and time spent using devices overall! On the other hand, overly-restrictive rules can lead to needless conflict and increased arguments amongst siblings. 

A good compromise is to reach an agreement regarding when screens can be used. For example, limitations might be set when you spend time together as a family, when it’s time to study or do homework, or near bedtime. You might also create a schedule for taking breaks – more and more, all kinds of screen-based activities are eliminating cues that prompt people to take a break and do something else. Streaming shows automatically play the next episode or include cliffhangers that encourage binge-watching. Games allow limitless earning of points and present bite-sized levels one after the other. You could scroll through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok without ever reaching the end of the novel content!  

Especially for younger children, modeling healthy use of technology is important. This might include spending time with your child on social media, blocking accounts with inappropriate content and following ones that share diverse and uplifting messages. In general, “co-viewing” media is helpful – whether that takes the form of watching YouTube together, playing video games, or just sitting side by side as you check in on your social media accounts. As noted above, another important skill to model is simply putting down the screen to engage in different activities. 

Helping your child to develop critical thinking and media literacy skills can help prevent self-esteem and body image issues that may otherwise result from use of the internet. The Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC) provides an incredibly helpful online safety manual for autistic teens and adults, and the American Psychological Association (APA)’s chief science officer has provided an excellent list of guidelines for supporting children’s use of social media. 

Looking to the Future

Our understanding of the effects of technology use on children, teens, and society in general, is growing every day. We are still too early in our technological boom to know for certain what the outcomes of increased screen time will be at different stages of life. Most research to date has focused on older adolescents, despite the fact that children are gaining access to technology at much younger ages. As Dr. Eva Telzer, director of the Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab at the University of North Carolina, stated in a recent interview, “Undoubtedly there’s a link between teens’ social experiences online and the way their brains respond to the environment, but it’s something we’re slowly working to unpack.”  

In 2015, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study became the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, with over ten thousand children participating from age 9-10 into young adulthood. A variety of childhood experiences such as video games and social media are being studied, and I’ve referenced many of their outcomes that they’ve discovered so far throughout this blog post. In a few short years, we will surely know more about how to strike a healthy balance between our digital and analog worlds. 

In the meantime, a great resource for further reference is https://www.teensandtech.org/, which includes a handbook about adolescent digital media use and mental health as well as a library of short videos with tips for how technology and social media can be used in healthier ways. If we at Waypoints can help to support your family in creating and maintaining guidelines for screen time, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@waypoints.life. 

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Jessica Gamba

As the summer draws to a close, families across the nation gear up for a significant change in routine – the return to school. While this transition can be exciting, it can also pose unique challenges for autistic students and their families.

The sudden shift from a relaxed summer schedule to the structured demands of school can be daunting for those who thrive with more consistent expectations. The change in routine, sensory overload, social expectations, and the unfamiliar environment can lead to anxiety and a sense of overwhelm. As parents and caregivers, it’s essential to approach this transition with empathy and a proactive mindset to ensure a smooth journey.

To ensure a smooth back-to-school transition, this post offers ideas for how to prepare and support your autistic loved one’s needs. By incorporating these strategies, parents and caregivers can navigate this crucial period and foster a positive and successful school experience.

Clear Expectations for Comfort and Security

Routines provide a sense of predictability and stability, which is often crucial for autistic children. As the school year begins, it’s helpful to gradually reintroduce a structured daily routine that aligns with the school schedule.

Visual schedules with pictures or symbols showing the order of activities can be a powerful tool to help autistic children understand what to expect. These visual cues offer a tangible way to navigate through the school day, reducing anxiety and enhancing the student’s sense of control. More suggestions can be found in one of our previous blog posts, How to Support Autistic Loved Ones at Home!

Clear communication is vital in helping autistic youth feel secure in the school environment. Establishing expectations around behavior, common tasks, and activities can provide a sense of clarity that can help alleviate anxiety. This is also an opportunity to build a strong partnership with teachers and school staff, which can be pivotal in creating a positive learning environment for autistic children. If possible, communicate openly about your child’s strengths, challenges, and any accommodations they require at the start of the school year. Work with teachers and school staff to create a consistent set of expectations and ensure that these are communicated effectively to your child. This clarity enhances understanding and fosters a supportive and inclusive atmosphere within the classroom.

Navigating Sensory Sensitivities

Sensory sensitivities are a common aspect of autism and can be challenging in the bustling school environment. Loud noises, bright lights, and unfamiliar surroundings can trigger sensory overload, which can lead to increased feelings of anxiety. To overcome these challenges, try collaborating with the school to create a sensory-friendly classroom. Consider options for dimmed lighting, noise-canceling headphones, or designated sensory break areas. Additionally, work together with your child to develop strategies that can help them regulate their sensory experiences throughout the day. By sharing relevant information about sensory sensitivities, communication preferences, and individualized supports that you’ve found to be helpful at home, you can empower educators to adapt their approaches to better meet the needs of their autistic students.

Promoting Social Interactions and Friendships

For some (but not all!) autistic children, social interactions and friendships are important goals. Our blog post Social Cues and Autism offers a crucial overview of factors to consider when deciding whether and how to support socialization beyond one’s comfort zone. Navigating social dynamics can be tricky, but with the right support, autistic youth can develop strong social skills and meaningful connections. With so many new people to meet and interact with at school, it can be a prime time to encourage opportunities for social engagement while respecting your child’s preferences.

Opportunities to practice and role-play social skills during group activities can help develop communication, empathy, and cooperation. Fostering inclusion within the school community may also involve educating classmates about autism and promoting a culture of acceptance.

Navigating the School Year with Confidence and Cheer

As the school year begins, the back-to-school transition can be both exciting and challenging for autistic students and their families.  By establishing routines, setting clear expectations, collaborating with teachers, and addressing sensory sensitivities, parents and caregivers can provide the necessary support for their children’s success.

Through understanding and proactive planning, the journey back to school can become a positive and enriching experience for autistic youth, setting the stage for a successful academic year ahead. Our past blog post Building an Autism Support Network for Your Loved One is another great resource for unifying the home, school, and community environments!

Remember, every child is unique, so it’s crucial to tailor these tips to suit your child’s specific needs and preferences. Never hesitate to reach out to us at info@waypoints.life if we can provide any assistance or guidance.

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Jessica Gamba

It is critical for all caregivers to understand how to best help their families during emergency situations, and autistic children may experience some stressors and challenges that their allistic peers do not. A greater likelihood of increased sensitivity to unexpected or extreme stimuli, and anxiety when routines are disrupted, mean that emergencies can be even more acutely stressful than expected. Additionally, autistic individuals are seven times more likely to need emergency medical services when compared to other groups, making it all the more important to plan ahead.

With the strategies described below, I hope to assist our readers in preparing for emergency situations and helping their autistic loved ones feel as comfortable as possible when they happen.

How ABA Can Help

Skills developed through ABA services such as those offered here at Waypoints can help our clients feel more prepared for emergency situations! Obviously, emergencies are stressful by their very nature, but learning core safety skills and practicing them in calmer circumstances can help to ensure that they’re ready like tools in a belt when the need arises.

  • Communication – Whether vocal or non-vocal, learning communication skills will proactively help autistic children when they have to interact with emergency medical service (EMS) providers. Goals of ABA sessions could be to help clients understand and respond to instructions, express their needs, and provide critical information such as their phone number or address. Being able to ask and respond to questions can greatly help with problem-solving and self-advocacy during crises.
  • Safety – Learning safety skills such as fire and poison prevention is often a high priority during ABA services. This might entail memorizing simple rules about how to prevent and react to different kinds of danger, but also actively practicing important skills. Some examples of commonly practiced routines include staying out of the street, avoiding wandering from safe areas without supervision, and tolerating medical examinations and care.
  • Stress Management – As reviewed in another recent blog post, there are numerous ways to prepare for and process stress. Our clinicians and technicians can help clients tackle anxiety during emergency situations by identifying and teaching coping skills that work best for each individual, such as self-soothing, engaging in deep breathing or mindfulness, or following step-by-step checklists.
  • Familiarity With Emergency Services – Sometimes simply being able to identify and recognize professionals within the community based on their uniforms and equipment can be a huge help during emergencies. These cues can then also be associated with which emergencies the different professionals are able to help with, what assistance they can provide, and how to safely interact with them. This can make it easier to know who to seek out and ask for help in different circumstances, as well as decrease potential fear of unfamiliar strangers.
  • Desensitization – While ABA services should never expose autistic clients to aversive stimuli and scenarios without their consent, gradually becoming familiar with scary things can be extremely helpful in overcoming fears and anxiety. As long as the individual is actively on board, we could provide video and/or audio recordings of alarms or sirens, seek out chances to observe them safely at home or in the community, and even provide opportunities to interact and become familiar with them directly, as exemplified in this story of a young autistic man learning to be comfortable with and downright interested in fire alarms!

Some environments like schools, workplaces, and condominium/apartment complexes have emergency drill plans in place to provide opportunities to practice these skills and ensure that systems are working correctly. While the suddenness of these drills without necessarily having advance notice is important for their realism, it’s highly advisable to let your loved one know that they will happen at some point. This will hopefully allow for the drills to be less stressful than real emergencies, while at the same time allowing for more and more confidence in being prepared for true crises.

Proactive Strategies in the Home and Community

While being prepared with a robust repertoire of safety skills is always a good idea, there are helpful changes at home and in the community that can be considered as well.

  • Physical and Environmental Supports – As discussed in another of our blog posts, many changes can be made around the house to help improve accessibility. The same principles apply for emergency preparedness. For example, checklists for steps in emergency plans and/or visual aids could be created and kept in easy-to-reach locations. As suggested in this thorough article, “caregivers might consider making a ‘quick guide’ to keep by the door that includes pertinent medical information, insurance numbers, and basic visual systems that can support communication” during emergencies.
  • Consider Sensory Needs – There are often a lot of intense sights and sounds associated with emergencies, such as smoke detectors, fire alarms, and sirens. Every autistic person’s sensory needs and preferences are different, and becoming familiar with them can help one to come up with alternative safety systems. For example, alarms could be adjusted to use flashing lights instead of high-pitched sounds, or the sounds could be changed to instead be less aversive or even include vocal instructions.

    Sensory preferences can also be applied in a positive fashion – if manipulable objects like stress balls or fidget spinners help to alleviate anxiety, those would be great to have on hand in an emergency kit! An organization called Ben’s Blue Bags even provides sensory tools like these to first responders nation-wide.
  • Educate Emergency Responders – This is beyond the scope of preparing one’s own family for emergency situations, but it’s good to keep in mind. Police officers, firefighters, and EMS providers may or may not have experience interacting with and assisting autistic and otherwise disabled members of the community. If you or a loved one need specialized support, it may be worth reaching out to these service providers in your area. For example, as suggested in an article for first responders, you might ask that service providers avoid using flashing lights or sirens once they’re at your home, minimize use of physical contact or restraints, or speak more slowly with direct and literal language.

Handle Emergencies With Confidence

By planning ahead to allow plenty of opportunities to practice these important skills, ensuring that your home is well-prepared with needed accommodations, and getting to know the emergency response services provided in your community, you and your family will be in a good position to handle the stress and unpredictability of emergency situations. If our team at Waypoints can provide any assistance in helping you or a loved one with skill development and real-world practice, please reach out to us at info@waypoints.life!

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Jessica Gamba

For individuals who find comfort in routines, including many within the autistic community, vacations have the potential to be highly stressful events despite the goals of fun and relaxation. With Summer approaching, it’s a great time to start planning a trip that will meet those goals for everyone in the family!

Some people may certainly prefer to stay home when push comes to shove, but just because someone struggles with travelling, it shouldn’t be assumed that they don’t want to vacation away from home. Thinking ahead to help prepare for an autism-friendly trip can open the door to innumerable new and enriching experiences in the future.

A child laughing while on vacation and playing in the water

The Journey

  • Airports – Airports are overwhelming for everyone! To someone with a predisposition to sensory overstimulation, they can be downright nightmarish. Organizations like The Arc provide opportunities to practice and become comfortable with the steps required at airports without time pressure or as many high-intensity distractions. Participants can go through the motions of checking in and receiving their boarding pass, completing TSA security checkpoint procedures, waiting in boarding areas, and actually boarding an aircraft. Check out The Arc’s Wings for Autism program or contact your local airport or favorite airline to see if there are any similar events planned! (Incidentally, The Arc also provides educational outreach to teach airport personnel to be more accommodating of neurodiverse guests’ needs, an angle that is invaluable in reducing ableism in our society.)
  • Security Checkpoints – While covered in the bullet point above, TSA procedures deserve their own highlight given how intimidating they can be. Uncertainty with new rules such as what items of clothing to remove and where to put them, being rushed by other travelers and airport employees alike, and getting touched unexpectedly during pat-downs can really ramp up the anxiety. Practicing and becoming familiar with these expectations can help but may not completely eliminate concerns. If accommodations are needed, the TSA provides a notification card that can be printed out and presented. This is especially helpful for travelers who don’t communicate vocally or lose vocal capabilities when stressed out.
  • In the Air – The experience of one’s ears popping when changing altitudes is in no way unique to autism, but the discomfort can be exacerbated for people who have trouble pinpointing what exactly is causing pain or communicating verbally in general. This can be planned for in advance by using special ear plugs or having gum or another object ready to chew on.
  • Carsickness – Autistic people may experience a higher prevalence of nausea caused by motion such as that experienced when driving or riding in a car, possibly due to differences in the vestibular system. Medications like Dramamine can help, but common side effects like agitation or drowsiness can be disruptive and distressing, especially if the road trip is intended to be part of the vacation! Other techniques to avoid and relieve carsickness include looking out the window rather than at things inside the car, avoiding reading or looking at screens, staying hydrated, and sitting in the front of the vehicle and facing forward.
  • Cabin Fever – Air and car travel alike require long periods of sitting motionless with relatively little in the way of entertainment. Getting in some vigorous physical activity right before a trip can help to increase tolerance to being stationary. If TV shows, movies, and video games are usually rationed activities, this is the time to embrace the screens and let them distract from the monotony! Fidget toys like stress balls and pop-it squares can also be comforting.

The Destination

  • Autism Travel Directory – The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) provides a search engine allowing travelers to find destinations that explicitly provide accommodations for neurodiverse guests based on their location or their category, including art centers, restaurants, theme parks, sports arenas, and even entire cities. While the directory only consists of locations certified by the IBCCES, and as such isn’t yet terribly extensive, it’s a great place to start!
  • Confirming Accommodations – While finding locations and activities that accommodate travelers’ needs used to often require hiring a travel agent or buying a guidebook, it has thankfully become much easier in the age of the Internet. We’ve put together such a list for our neck of the woods in Ottawa and Kent Counties, Michigan, and many other such resources are just a few clicks away!
  • Familiar Comforts – Unfamiliar routines can be difficult to adjust to but having small reminders of home and even sticking with some usual daily habits can help. If supports like a visual schedule or communication devices are used at home, those should absolutely be brought along on vacation! Packing familiar foods and favorite items of clothing is also a good idea.

No one kind of location or activity makes for the best autism-friendly vacation – that is dependent upon the specific autistic person’s interests and preferences! One person might be overwhelmed by the intense sights and sounds of a theme park, while another craves the adrenaline rush. One might love the quiet contemplation of an art gallery or museum, while another can’t stand the requirement to speak quietly and move slowly. Consider what you or your loved one wants to get out of the vacation and go from there. Any kind of trip can be enjoyed with the right planning and accommodations.

Let Waypoints Help!

One of the most important goals of ABA services is generalization – skills that are learned and practiced at home and intended to be applied in the world at large, so that our clients can thrive and gain independence in day-to-day life. If we can help with the growth of skills that help to make travel and vacationing easier for you or your family, please check out the services we offer or contact us at info@waypoints.life!

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Póngase en contacto con Waypoints

Ya sea que esté buscando pruebas de diagnóstico, terapia AAC personalizada en el hogar y recursos para el desarrollo de habilidades, o simplemente desea obtener más información sobre nuestro enfoque único, ¡no dude en comunicarse con nosotros! (Nos encanta recibir correo).

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