Parent Coaching is the "Secret Sauce" In A High Quality ABA Program

How frustrating it can be when your kid is sweet and cooperative during therapy but turns into a handful the minute therapy is over!  You might be wondering if this is even the same kid.  Or, is it your fault that they don’t behave.  How can the same child behave so differently from one setting to another.  Do you find yourself saying “you should have seen him when I told him to get his shoes on to come here” to the BCBA?  Or, “Can you just come home with me?”

You are not alone.  Parents frequently report vast differences between behavior at home and behavior at therapy.  Lucky, there is a solution.  It’s called Parent Coaching. 

Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA is the most research-based therapy for autism.  It uses behavioral principals that have been scientifically proven to teach new skills and also decrease undesired behaviors.  For most kids ABA will be recommended as a part of a comprehensive treatment plan.  ABA typically is conducted with one trained behavior technician and one child.  The program has already been developed and is overseen by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst whose job it is to create a plan for your child.  

Chances are you have other responsibilities at home outside of teaching, entertaining, and catering to your child.  Home environments can never replicate a therapy environment and they shouldn’t try!  Home life has more demands, less time to wait, parents divided attention, and typically less levels of reinforcement.  This is real life!  And, as a mom you can never be as patient or objective as a paid professional.  

This is where parent coaching comes in.  Really good parent coaching goes beyond teaching you “what to do” and helps you actually do it.  Implementation is the hardest part and, yet, the most important, because you need your child to demonstrate skills at home and with you.  A parent coach will problem-solve with you the realities of your life and help you find a way to incorporate the strategies in a way that works for you.  And, coaching also helps you work on your mindset as well as your skill set in the process.  

Your parenting mindset is critical to this process.  Some of the behavior change strategies are going to be tough.  You will need to stay the course even when you totally want to give in.  Maybe there are times you do give in and are made at yourself for not being stronger.  But, it can be so hard to “be the bad guy” or wait out the tantrum.  You need a coach to provide support and tough love in these situations.  Someone who will not be judgemental but who will help you figure out a doable action plan for next time.  This support is the “secret sauce” to a really effective ABA program.  

Want to find out more about how parent coaching can change your life?  

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