Often times, parents are not entirely aware as to why their child behaves the way they do. During parent training sessions, the behavior analyst and caregivers go over the possible reasons, aka functions, that are dictating the behaviors.
As an example, a child may have tantrums in stores every time they see something that they really want but cannot have. In this situation, the behavior analyst will guide the parent on how to prepare their child for the outing, what expectations to set, and to not give-in to the tantrum and instead reward the appropriate behaviors – “good job waiting for mommy while she shopped”, “I love how you asked for things so nicely!”, “you shopped with us so nicely that we are taking you for ice cream”.
As much as behavior analysts and behavior therapists love the families that they work with, the goal is to eventually fade out and it us up to the parents to continue working on evidence-based procedures to maintain the child’s progress.
It is entirely possible to equip parents and caregivers with the tools to feel more empowered and confident throughout their child’s growth and development!
-Salma Jaramillo, MA, BCBA