Tag Archives: AVA – Early Intervention

Make It Stop! Understanding and Preventing Problem Behaviors

Brenda Fossett, PhD, BCBA-D, Capilano University

Filmed November 2020 – edited into 14 parts; total 213 minutes

Parents often assume that the difficulties they face in helping their children develop healthy daily routines are a part of their child’s autism and must be endured. This presentation provides parents and caregivers an overview of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) with the goal of supporting them to be proactive in helping neurodiverse children to be safely included in home, school and community activities. Core features of PBS include the application of behavioral science (ABA), the use of practical strategies to promote desired behavior, and a focus on improving the quality of life for the individual and their family. 

A goal of this presentation is to increase parental awareness of good PBS service, so they can find a behavior consultant to support them in using positive strategies to address essential functional skills, including toileting, sleep and mealtimes. Importantly, parents will learn about positive strategies they can begin using immediately with young children to lessen the child’s reliance on destructive or self-injurious behaviors to communicate their distress. Parents of older children will better understand the challenges their children are experiencing  and how to identify skilled support to provide the young person with positive ways of having their needs met while being fully included in their community. 

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define Positive Behavior Support
  • Identify common misconceptions regarding PBS
  • Identify common purposes served by problem behavior
  • Identify components of a quality PBS-based intervention
  • Describe common preventative strategies

Presentation Handout (40 Pages)

Presenter Bio

Brenda Fossett is an inspired teacher who is widely admired for her ability to convey complex concepts to those who work with children and adults with diverse needs, whether they are educational professionals or parents.  Dr. Fossett has been on faculty in the Applied Behavior Analysis – Autism Department at Capilano University since 2013. She is a certified teacher of the deaf and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Fossett has extensive clinical experience providing behavioral and educational consultative services to children with ASD, deafness, and other developmental conditions in home, school, and community settings. Her scholarly and clinical interests include: applied behavior analysis, the implementation of positive behavior support in home and school settings, and educational interventions for deaf children with developmental disabilities. 

Part 1: Positive Behavior Support Introduction

Topics Covered: 
  • Traditional vs. current views on behaviour
  • Application of behavioral science
  • PBS process

Part 2: Functional Behavior Assessment

Topics Covered: 
  • Identifying problem behaviors
  • Four functions of behaviour

Part 3: Indirect Assessment

Topics Covered: 
  • Gaining information from relevant sources
  • Identifying physical and environmental factors that influence behaviors
  • Identifying functions of behaviors

Part 4: Direct Assessment and Functional Analysis

Topics Covered: 
  • How to gather evidence to support hypotheses regarding problem behavior
  • What information direct observation should provide
  • When functional analysis is needed

Part 5: Designing PBS Plans and Setting Events

Topics Covered: 
  • Identifying setting events and possible strategies
  • Preventing setting events from occurring
  • Reducing impact of setting events

Part 6: Antecedent Strategies

Topics Covered: 
  • Increase cues for appropriate behaviors
  • Decrease cues for problem behaviors

Part 7: Teaching Strategies

Topics Covered: 
  • How to pick teaching strategies based on context, challenges and goals.
  • Functional Communication Training (FCT)

Part 8: Consequence Strategies

Topics Covered: 
  • How to increase desired behaviors
  • How to increase alternative replacement behaviors

Part 9: PBS Example: Transition to Bath Time

References video shown in Part 4.
Topics Covered: 
  • Breaking down an example of PBS

Part 10: Accessing PBS Services

Topics Covered: 
  • What to look for in a PBS service
  • Behavioral parent training
  • Data collection systems

Part 11: Introduction to Visual Support Strategies to Prevent Problem Behavior

Topics Covered: 
  • Challenges in processing speech or sign language
  • Predictability and ease transitions
  • Understanding expectations

Part 12: Visual Support Strategies

Topics Covered: 
  • Environmental supports
  • Visual schedules
  • Object cue schedules
  • Within activity schedules

Part 13: Visual Support Strategies Continued

Topics Covered: 
  • Rule supports
  • ‘Universal No’ symbol
  • Choice Boards
  • Waiting Supports

Part 14: Putting it All Together

Topics Covered: 
  • Collaborative Partnerships
  • Parents’ roles

Visual Support Strategies for Individuals with ASD

Visual support strategies have been used to successfully support children, youth and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities for decades. Many are familiar with the use of visual schedules, but there are many ways in which visual support strategies can be used. These supports have been demonstrated to increase independent functioning, teach specific skills, improve environmental awareness, teach rules and social expectations, reduce problem behavior and so much more! There is a large body of research to support the use of these strategies with children, youth, and adults in home, school, community and employment settings.

Filmed at Picturing Success: Visual Support Strategies for Individuals with ASD – October 20-21, 2017

Brenda Fossett, PhD, BCBA-D, Capilano University

Dr. Brenda Fossett, BCBA-D, is an inspired teacher who is widely admired for her ability to convey complex concepts to those who work with children and adults with diverse needs, whether they are educational professionals or parent. Dr. Fossett has been on faculty in the Applied Behavior Analysis – Autism Department at Capilano University since 2013. Prior to that she was Assistant Professor (Special Education) in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta. She is also a certified teacher of the deaf, as well as being a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Dr. Fossett has extensive clinical experience providing behavioral/educational consultative services to children with ASD, deafness, and other developmental disabilities in home, school, and community settings. Her scholarly and clinical interests include: applied behavior analysis, the implementation of positive behavior support in home and school settings, and educational interventions for deaf children with developmental disabilities.

 

Introduction to Visual Support Strategies

Part 1: Overview of Visual Support Strategies

Part 2: What Does the Evidence Say?

  • Object cues
  • Difference between graphics symbols and PECS
  • Selecting appropriate representations

Symbol Assessment Preparation, Formats, and Planning

Part 1: Symbol Assessment

  • Preparing for a symbol assessment

Part 2: Symbol Assessment Formats

  • Receptive Language Format
  • Yes/No Format
  • Visual Matching Format
  • Conducting a symbol assessment

Part 3: Planning for the Future

  • Other considerations

Part 4: Where to Get Symbols, Photographs, and Materials

Visual Supports Guide

Part 1: Visual Supports to Provide Information

  • Environmental supports

Part 2: Visual Schedules

 

Part 3: Using an Object Cue Schedule

Part 4: Using Visual Schedules

  • Embedding behavior support in visual schedules
  • Time pieces in a visual schedule

Part 5: Using Visual Schedules (continued)

  • Tablet-based visual schedules
  • Teaching with a visual schedule
  • Considerations when using visual schedules

Part 6: Visual Schedule Routines – with examples

  • Within-activity visual schedules
  • Examples include: Showering, After-school Routine, Transition Routine: School to Homework, Snack Routine at School, Dressing at the Pool, Making a Sandwich, Using the Bus, and Morning Routine
  • Table-based within-activity schedules using Pictello

Part 7: Creating and Using Within-Activity Schedules

  • Temporal and waiting supports in a visual schedule
  • Using timers and track timers

Part 8: The Problem with Social Interactions and How Visual Supports Can Help

  • Social narratives: Social Stories, Power Cards, Tablet-based social narratives
  • Implementing social narratives

Part 9: Using Contingency Maps

Contingency maps are a visual support designed to provide information regarding the consequences for positive and problematic behavior.

Part 10: Rule Supports

Rule supports are a visual depiction of the rules. They can provide information regarding rules and assist with teaching individuals to follow rules.

Improving Communication with AAC

Part 1: Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)

  • Supporting expressive communication with AAC

Part 2: Expressive Communication using Choice Making

  • Visual support strategies for choice making
  • Using choice boards

Part 3: Improving Expressive Communications: Communication Boards & Books

Part 4: Improving Communication Using the Picture Exchange Communications System (PECS)

  • Overview of PECS
  • When PECS is appropriate
  • Six phases of PECS instruction

Part 5: PECS in Daily Activities

  • Examples of implementation
    • At a restaurant
    • During cooking
  • Exchange-based communication support

Improving Conversation Skills

Part 1: Visual Support Strategies to Improve Conversation

  • Conversation supports
    • Visual bridges
    • Conversation books
  • Examples of visual bridges

Part 2: Improving Conversation Skills with Conversation Books

  • Creating conversation books
  • Teaching conversation book use
  • Tablet-based conversation books
  • Developing communication skills

Improving Skill Acquisition

Part 1: Improving Skill Acquisition with Video Modelling

  • Definition: Video of a model demonstrating desired behavior
  • Different types of video modelling
    • Video modeling
    • Video self-modeling
    • Point-of-view video modeling
    • Video prompting
  • What can we teach with video modelling?

Part 2: Implementing Video Modelling

  • Planning a video model
  • Making the video
  • Showing the video
  • Apps for video modelling

Improving Literacy Skills

Part 1: Academic Activities & Literacy

  • Access to academic activities
  • Instruction guides
  • Examples of lesson topics
    • The periodic table
    • Transportation in Canada
  • Story guides: Examples with Tale of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Owls in the Family, Chocolate Fever, and Charlotte’s Web

Part 2: Adapted Stories for Read-Alouds

Add visual supports and adapted text to storybooks to improve access during read-alouds.

  • Adapted story example: Caillou: Merry Christmas!
  • Adapting story books and novels
  • Question and answer activities
  • Brainstorming for poem writing
  • Lesson on healthy eating
  • Graphic organizers
  • Sort & classify
  • Compare & contrast

Part 3: Graphic Organizers for Sequencing & Describing

  • Examples of sequencing: Romeo & Juliet, The Little Red Hen, The Rainbow Fish, Turtle Hatching, The Mitten
  • Examples of describing: The Rainbow Fish, Jack and the Beanstalk, Charlotte’s Web

Part 4: Visual Supports for Literacy Development

  • Skills for literacy development
  • Teaching comprehension of text
    • Drawing to show comprehension
  • Visual supports for writing

Considerations and Planning for Visual Supports

  • Considering your purpose
    • Determine the necessary representation and type of visual support needed
    • Determine what type of visual support is most appropriate
  • Creating your visual supports
  • Advice for implementing & using visual support strategies in practice

Resources recommended by Dr. Fossett

  • Indiana Resource Center for Autism

  •  The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning, Vanderbilt University

  • VCU Autism Center for Excellence

    Virginia Commonwealth University Autism Center for Excellence provides a number of online resources, including 45-minute webcasts, 30-minute seminars, and 5 minute ‘how to’ videos demonstrating a number of evidence-based interventions, including the use of visual supports. This website also provides guides and factsheets related to evidence-based interventions.

  • Design to Learn

    Provides information and resources focused on early communication development, including the use of tangible symbols, with an emphasis on individuals with complex communication needs/dual-sensory impairments/etc.

  • In the references/resources section of the handouts, there are links to two providers of online modules (Autism Internet Modules and AFIRM). There are also links for Mayer-Johnson (Boardmaker) and SymbolStix, as sources for symbols. The best place to buy Boardmaker in Canada is Bridges (prices in Canadian dollars and shipping from Canada).

PBS – Working Together to Support Children and Families

Filmed at Setting the Stage for Success: Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community – October 20, 2018

Part of a video learning stream on Positive Behavior Support.

Supporting students with disabilities and their families takes a village, including a range of professionals who must collaborate if students and families are to be provided with seamless service.  The purpose of this presentation is to discuss strategies that professionals can employ to work collaboratively, across disciplines, to enhance outcomes for students with disabilities.

Ilene Schwartz, PhD, BCBA-D, Professor and Chair, Special Education, University of Washington

Dr. Ilene Schwartz  is the Director of the Haring Center for Inclusive Education on the University of Washington campus, an interdisciplinary, research and training center focused on improving outcomes for children of all abilities. Her work focuses on autism, developing educational interventions for young children, and preparing staff to work with people with disabilities.

Dr. Schwartz has spoken to audiences around the world on topics such as “Understanding Autism”; “Why Inclusion is Important for all Children”, and “Getting an ‘A’ in ABA*”. Her TED talk, “The Power of Inclusive Education” has been viewed by thousands of people. Her recent book, “The Project DATA Model for Teaching Preschoolers with Autism**” describes her 20-year ground-breaking project designed to provide state of the art services for children with autism in public school settings. The Project DATA model is used across the country and internationally and is the standard of care for young children with autism in Washington State.

Part 1: Introduction and Objectives

Part 2: Meaningful Objectives, Inclusion, and the Four Non-Negotiables

Part 3: Non-Negotiable #1 – The Power of Positive Reinforcement

Part 4: Non-Negotiable #2 – Make Instruction Intentional

Part 5: Non-Negotiable #3 Rethinking Intensity – Embedded Teaching Strategies, Contingency Contracting, Environmental Arrangement, and Teaching for Independence

Part 6: Non-Negotiable #3 – Teach Students What to Do

Part 7: Non-Negotiable #4 – Data-based Decision Making

Part 8: Q & A

  • 0:00 – 2:32 You don’t have anecdotes listed as a type of data? Why is that?
  • 2:32 – 4:05 How do we keep visual schedules from taking up too much time?
  • 4:05 – 6:12 Do you have any suggestions for encouraging members of a team to collect data?
  • 6:13 – 7:06 How do you define keystone skills?

WTF – What’s the Function?

Filmed at Setting the Stage for Success: Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community – October 19, 2018

Part of a video learning stream on Positive Behavior Support.

Problem behaviors are one of the greatest barriers to student learning and is a significant problem for school staff and parents alike. Understanding why they occur is critical to developing preventative and educative solutions in-order-to benefit students and those who support them. These videos will dispel myths about why students engage in problem behaviors and teach participants about the four functions of behavior.

Richard Stock, PhD, BCBA-D , Capilano University

Richard Stock, PhD, BCBA-D is a full-time faculty member in the Applied Behavior Analysis – Autism Department at Capilano University.  He has provided  behavioral/educational consultative services to children and youth with ASD and other developmental disabilities in home, school and community settings since 1999. 

Dr. Stock teachers courses in Ethics, Behavior Principles, Clinical Applications of ABA, Instructional Methods, and the Conceptual Analysis of Behavior. In addition to his work at Capilano University, he also teaches graduate courses in ABA as an Assistant Professor at the University of Western Ontario and Adjunct Faculty at UBC. 

 

 

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Breaking the Cycle of Problem Behavior

Part 3: Problem Behavior in the Past

Part 4: Potential Negative Effects of Punishment

Part 5: Functions of Behavior

Part 6: Name That Function! – Identifying the function of problem behavior

Part 7: Conclusion and Q&A

Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Why are ASD and ADHD Missed?

Filmed April 2017 – edited into 3 parts; total 32 minutes
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Director, Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg

Presentation Description

The onset of eating disorders, which tend to affect girls and women rather than boys and men, usually begins in puberty or early adult life, but in many cases it has been preceded by early onset neurodevelopmental problems, including ASD and ADHD (ASD in anorexia nervosa, ADHD in bulimia nervosa). The neurodevelopmental difficulties have usually not been properly diagnosed before the appearance of the eating disorder; the slightly different clinical presentation in females and the general public/professional perceptions of ASD and ADHD contribute to this state of affairs.

Professor Gillberg is a world renowned autism researcher who has developed the concept of ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations), recognizing the overlapping symptoms of ASD, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD), anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, intellectual developmental disorder, communication disorders, dyslexia, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and others.

This presentation was preceded by Dr. Gillberg’s lecture, also available at Autism Videos @ ACT: ESSENCE* – Early Recognition of ASD and Associated Disorders Can Lead to Better Outcomes

Also available is  Practical Strategies for Supporting Mental Wellness of Teenage Girls and Women with ASD,  a presentation by Dori Zener, MSW, RSW.

These presentations were recorded in 2017 at ACT’s 13th Annual Focus on Research Conference, held at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. ACT appreciates Dr. Gillberg’s generosity in allowing us to include it in Autism Videos @ ACT.

Show more

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize symptoms of ASD and ADHD in eating disorders.
  • Understand how ASD and ADHD contribute to the eating disorder.
  • Analyze how, in the individual case, ASD and/or ADHD should best be diagnosed and intervened for and how this will affect outcome in the longer term.
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD

Christopher Gillberg is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden where he heads the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre. He is also Visiting or Honorary Professor at the Universities of London, University College London (Institute of Child Health), University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and Kochi University, Japan (where he is involved with the Japan Environment Cohort Study/JECS). Christopher Gillberg is considered the most productive autism researcher in the world, and is on Thomson Reuters 2014 list of the world´s most influential researchers (all fields) because of the number  of citations of the many peer-reviewed scientific papers he has published (600) relevant to children´s and adolescents’ mental and neurological health. His research interests included ASD, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, intellectual disability, epilepsy, behavioural phenotype syndromes, depression, reactive attachment disorder and anorexia nervosa. His research ranges from genetics and basic neuroscience through epidemiology and clinical phenomenology to treatments/interventions and outcome. He has written 31 books, which have been published in more than a dozen languages, several of which are standard textbooks in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Autism. He is an honorary member of the Swedish National Autism Society and ADHD Society (“Attention”), and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.

Visit Dr. Gillberg’s blog. Christopher Gillberg and his team of experts offer their opinions each week on the latest happenings in the world of neuropsychiatry and mental health (ESSENCE).

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Autism in Anorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorders

Part 3: Why are Females with Autism missed?

How should we plan for best recognition and intervention in autism and other ESSENCE in females?

Topics covered:

Solving Sleep Problems in Children with ASD

Filmed June 2014 – edited into 18 parts; total 285 minutes

Many parents assume that nothing can be done about their nightly struggle to help their child with ASD go to sleep and stay asleep throughout the night. However, research is demonstrating that although common, poor sleep in children with ASD can be tackled effectively and that parent training is key to success. A good night’s sleep is fundamental to all children being able to learn and for their parents to function. This event is relevant to both professionals and parents who are looking for practical steps that parents can take to reap the benefits of improved family health and quality of life. While developed specific to autism, many of the strategies that Dr. Malow will describe are relevant to children with a range of diverse needs.

Topics include:
  • Overview of Sleep Issues in Autism
  • Best Practices in Sleep Screening
  • Practical Sleep Screening
  • Working with your Health Care Provider
  • Behavioral Treatment – Strategies from Vanderbilt’s Parent Sleep Education Program
  • Practical Behavioral Treatment
    • designing a program for a parent volunteer based on their child’s sleep habits; constructing bedtime routine
    • inviting a parent volunteer to design a program for their child.
About the Presenter

Dr. Beth Ann Malow is the Burry Chair in Cognitive Childhood Development, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, and Director of Vanderbilt University’s Sleep Division. Dr. Malow is the co-author of Solving Sleep Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders – a Guide for Frazzled Parents. A parent of two children with ASD, Dr. Malow has great compassion for parents and a deep understanding of the practical techniques that parents can use to improve attention and behavior and lessen anxiety through better sleep.

Part 1: Overview of Sleep Issues in ASD (25:51)

Part 2: Standards of Sleep Screening and Screening Tools (10:33)

Part 3: Q&A (22:24)

Part 4: Sleep Screening – Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (17:50)

Part 5: Sleep Study – Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Restless Leg (9:14)

Part 6: EEG for Nocturnal Events and Safety Measures (16:09)

Key idea: cell phone videos can be useful aid in diagnosis.

Video examples in this section have been blurred for privacy. 

Part 7: Monitoring Techniques at Home and Actigraphy (7:30)

Part 8: Guidelines for Medication Treatment (12:47)

Part 9: Q&A (29:14)

Key question: What is feasible for you as a family?

Part 10: Successful Sleep: Daytime Habits, Evening Habits and Sleep Environment (15:06)

Book: Goodnight iPad 

Part 11: Sleep Needs and Timing (10:16)

Part 12: Bedtime Routine Visual Schedule, Worksheet and Q&A (12:02)

Part 13: Parent Volunteer Demo: Sleep Habit Questionnaire (17:15)

Part 14: Parent Volunteer Demo: FISH (19:44)

Part 15: Parent Volunteer Demo: Bedtime Routines Worksheet and Q&A (9:31)

Part 16: Sleep Resistance, Strategies For Night Waking and Q&A (16:51)

Part 17: Bedtime Pass and Other Strategies (12:34)

Part 18: Current Research and Final Q&A (19:51)

Want more? Online interview with Dr. Malow