A Behavior Plan for Myself

I'm on a weight loss journey - one that I hope to be the ultimate success for me.  If ABA works for our kids, our husbands, and our pets, then why not for ourselves?  The key ingredients for my behavior plan include reinforcement and shaping.  First of all, I HATE exercise and I LOVE food!  I'm a tv watching, sugar/carb/fat consuming, self-proclaimed couch potato.  To make this work, I need to fix this love-hate relationship.  I need to make exercise fun and reward myself for participation.  I need to train myself to use food for nurishment and punish overindulgence.

I have learned from past attempts that I cannot use food as a reinforcer and I cannot use exercise as a punisher.  I used to reward myself for exercise and diet by indulging in favorite foods.  In order for that to work, I had to abstain for those foods until I met whatever requirement to earn it.  The problem with that is when I abstain from favorite foods, I tend to overindulge (once I start I can't stop).  Also, food reinforcement is notoriously bad news and often leads to weight gain - not the direction I need to go. 
I also used to use exercise as punishment for not exercising (i.e. instead of the planned 30 minutes I would do an hour).  The problem with using exercise as a punishment is that I will continue to view exercise as a punisher (i.e. aversive).  This is exactly the relationship I am trying to change!  I want to enjoy exercise not hate it.

So how will I change my relationship with food and exercise?  Starting with exercise - the key to enjoying something is to pair it with something you already enjoy.  For example, spending time with my daughter is enjoyable and she enjoys active activities (neighborhood walks, bike riding, dancing, and the playground).  My goal is to work in one of these activities on a daily basis.  I will also begin the Slim in 6 series, which uses shaping to get you exercising.  The series has "Start It Up", "Ramp It Up", and "Burn It Up".  The workouts get progressively longer, more involved, and higher intensity.  Hopefully starting slow will make it less likely for me to give up before I start seeing weight loss results.  My relationship with food is already changing.  I have made small changes to eat healthier for as many meals as possible during the day, indulging when I crave it but not overdoing it.  Keeping track of my calories and sugar intake on a food diary helps greatly!

I'm starting with small goals and will reward myself for meeting those goals.  My ultimate goal is to lose 30 pounds, engage in at least 1 hour of exercise daily, and eat 3 well balanced meals (and a small snack) including appropriate portions following the USDA food pyramid guidelines.  My initial goals are to eat healthier alternatives for at least one of three meals, exercise 30 minutes daily, and lose 5 lbs.

*Since April 2012 I have lost 10lbs by using a food diary to track my sugar and calorie intake.  I'm now commited and upping the ante to include an exercise program "Slim in 6" and an "eating clean" diet plan to lose 20lbs.  You can follow my journey here.

Adventures in Toddler Potty Training - Revisited

A while back, we attempted to begin potty training with our then 16 month old daughter.  We had big girl panties, a potty chair, chocolate candy reinforcers, and a strategy (a modified positive practice method).  Our girl had been interested in sitting on the potty for months and going into the bathroom with mommy so we finally decided to crack down and get started with a potty training method.  Unfortunately, she quickly lost interest and began saying "NOOOOOO" everytime we prompted potty.  Not wanting to push the issue too much as to make the potty aversive (and thinking maybe she's just not ready) we discontinued.  We attempted again several weeks later and again several weeks after that.  Still no luck.  All of a sudden our now 23 month old started requesting panties and the potty.  Since SHE is the one who initiated this time, we figured we'd try again.  This time we took a more relaxed approach.  While wearing panties, we just let accidents happen and took her to sit on the potty when they did.  Her potty was wherever she was playing at the time so her activities were close by and she could continue to play (to an extent) while on the potty.  Within the first week she was requesting potty independently, holding it in until getting to the potty, and urinating in the potty seat.  Of course, we went through several outfit changes, loads of laundry, and paper towels along the way.  Then, a turn for the worse!  She started holding it in ALL DAY LONG, despite the amount of liquid she was consuming and despite wearing a diaper at naptime.  We worried that she would develop an infection if she didn't go so we resorted to (rather unpleasantly) placing her in the bathtub in order to get her to go and then placing her on the potty to finish.  She screamed!  She was so mad that we put her in the tub (I think she knew that it would make her go).  I don't know if it was a "fear" or a "control" thing for her.  Now she doesn't want to take baths at all.  NOW WHAT?!  It's a full on tantrum to sit on the potty or to get in the bathtub.  Nothing but the bathtub will "make" her go potty.  Running water?  Tried that.  Playing in a water bucket while sitting on the potty? Tried that.  Loading her with liquids?  Tried that.  Going back to diapers?  Tried that.  "Bribing" with candy and stickers?  Withholding favorite activities?  Oh yeah, tried that!  She's a stubborn one, she is!  TODDLERS!!!!  She holds it all day until she either naps or goes to sleep for the night.  Now I'm asking YOUR advice?!!  See, professionals need advice too;)  We have discontinued potty training for now and it seems she's back to going in her diaper (sometimes).  Guess we'll start again soon.  She's physically ready and capable, but maybe emotionally or mentally not quite there yet.   

Token Economies - Using sticker charts as reinforcement

To follow-up my reinforcement post, I thought I would talk about token economies (i.e. sticker charts, token boards, etc.)  This strategy can be helpful both for parents and teachers.  A couple examples might be to use sticker charts at home for performing chores or at school for completing homework.  Stickers could be traded for reinforcers, with each reinforcer having a different "cost" (i.e. number of stickers needed to trade in for the item).  The ultimate reinforcers don't have to be tangible items and don't have to cost you any money.  Maybe your child likes to watch TV or play on the computer.  These activities don't have to be "free" - they can be EARNED!  Imagine that, right?! 

Parents and teachers can easily create a chart using cheap items from the Dollar Store or the $1 bins at Target.  These stores often have sections with cheap school supplies, including chore charts, calendars, stickers, etc.  You can even make your own chart using your computer (WordArt, Clip Art, Tables, etc.)  It's helpful to make your stickers/tokens removable (I LOVE velcro dots and foam shape stickers).  For one thing this allows you to reuse the chart, but you may also set up contingencies that stickers can be removed if your child engages in certain behaviors.  For example, if your child is a big "complainer" then maybe they lose a sticker for complaining about how many chores they have to do.  Google is filled with ideas of sticker charts - take a look for yourself!    

Schedules of Reinforcement

There are so many ways to use reinforcement!  It can be overwhelming when trying to determine what will work best for the situation at hand.  I will do my best to explain various schedules of reinforcement and when to use them.

Immediate and Delayed:  Reinforcment can occur immediately after a behavior or it can be delayed.    When teaching a new behavior or when initially trying to increase a behavior, it is best to reinforce the behavior immediately (and also continuously but we'll get to that in a bit...).  Once your child is pretty consistently engaging in the behavior, you can move to less immediate reinforcement.  Delayed reinforcement is pretty difficult for very young children, though preschoolers (3+ years) can adapt pretty well with practice.  It often helps to have some form of reinforcement in between the behavior and the ultimate (delayed) reinforcer.  You might think of token boards or sticker charts in this way.  The ultimate reinforcer (i.e. cookie, playtime, etc.) comes after earning a set number of tokens or stickers.  The older the child is (and the more practice the child has) the less likely you are to need the tokens/stickers and you can begin to fade these out. 

Continuous and Intermittent:  As stated previously, when teaching a new behavior or when initially reinforcing a behavior, it is best to use continuous (and immediate) reinforcement.  In other words, reinforce EVERY time the behavior occurs.  As your child masters the new behavior (will engage in the behavior without prompting, in a variety of settings, and across different people), then you can begin to move to intermittent reinforcement.  Schedule thinning is the term used to describe how you would transition from continuous to intermittent reinforcement.  At first, you may reinforce every other time the behavior occurs, then every third time, every fifth time, every tenth time, and so on.  The best way to ensure that this intermittent schedule will sustain the behavior long term is to use a variable ratio schedule (which I will get to soon).

Fixed and Variable:  You can reinforce behaviors on a fixed schedule (for example, always every 2 minutes) or on a variable schedule (for example, on average every 2 minutes - meaning sometimes 1 minute sometimes 3 minutes).  Fixed schedules are easy for children to figure out therefore variable schedules have the advantage in most cases.  For example, if your child knows you are going to deliver reinforcement only every 3 minutes, then he/she will likely wait until it's just about time for reinforcement delivery to start engaging in the behavior you want to see.  If you child knows you are going to deliver reinforcement only after every 5 behavior occurences, then you are setting a ceiling on how often they will engage in the behavior.   

Ratio and Interval:  To go along with the fixed and variable schedules, you have to determine if you will provide reinforcement based on a time schedule (interval) or based on the number of behavior occurences (ratio).  Ratio has the advantage here as you are reinforcing a certain number of occurences, rather than a minimum of one occurence in a certain time frame (as seen in interval schedules).  With regard to maximum performance, the variable ratio (discussed above) has the advantage over all other combos (variable interval, fixed interval, or fixed ratio).  The reason is that it is not predictable (due to its variability) and it is based on a certain number of behaviors.  Predictability is important because if a child can predict the schedule, he/she is likely to manipulate it and you will see minimum performance.   

Punishment:  With all of these schedules in mind I find it important to say that with regard to punishment, the least effective techniques are intermittent and delayed.  When using punishment techniques ALWAYS use IMMEDIATE and CONTINUOUS schedules.  In other words, provide the punishment for every occurence of the problem behavior with the least amount of time delay as possible. 

Understanding these schedules seems to be one of the most complex components of reinforcement.  If you are confused, don't worry!  I'm a professional and I had to reread this post several times to make sure I stated these schedules correctly.  If you'd like further discussion, feel free to comment.

"Idle Hands..." - Active Engagement as a Behavior Reduction Technique

Grandma always said "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop" and I, for one, agree!  Active engagement of our children is an excellent behavior reduction technique.  When children are not actively engaged they can get into a world of trouble.  Keeping them actively engaged in preferred activities can go a long way in avoiding problem behaviors.  While independent play is an important skill for children to learn, it also gives parents and teachers an excuse to not actively supervise.  This lack of active supervision (a key component for active engagement) can often lead to children engaging in problem behaviors. 

Take, for example, when you leave your toddler or preschooler in the living room while you are cooking dinner in the kitchen.  You may initially set them up with activities (coloring, puzzles, books, etc.) and walk away.  Since you are cooking dinner, your full attention is not on your child.  The next thing you know, your child has colored on the wall!  In my daughter's words (hands on cheeks) "Ah nah!"

A classroom example might look like this:  You have instructed your Kindergarteners to play freely (i.e. "free play") prior to morning instruction.  While your students are engaged in "free play", you continue to plan the morning lesson.  Your can see and hear all of your students; however, your full attention is not focused on the children.  The next thing you know, someone is crying.  Why?  Because they are Kindergarteners and when left to their own devices they will likely not engage in sharing behaviors (or a multitude of other behaviors).  The likely scenario?  Someone took someone else's toy resulting in that someone hitting the offending child who is now crying. 

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT!  Yes, it requires much more from us as parents and teachers.  But it also reduces the chances for our children to engage in problem behaviors.  With active engagement, we can stop the behaviors before they start and teach appropriate behaviors in the moment.                  

The High Price of Negative Reinforcement

In his book, "Bringing Out the Best in People", Dr. Aubrey Daniels points out that the dominant management style in today's workplace is based on negative reinforcement.  It's no wonder we tend to employ the same strategy in our personal lives.  Below, I've summarized his chapter on "The High Price of Negative Reinforcment" in the context of the parent-child relationship. 

Dr. Daniels says that "doing things because you have to do them is a sure sign that negative reinforcement is the consequence at work".  In case you don't remember, negative reinforcement is the removal of an aversive stimulus or condition following a behavior which serves to increase the likelihood that this behavior will occur again.  You might think of it as the "do it or else" tactic.  At work - "You need to improve your performance or I will have to let you go."  At home - "Please do your homework now or you're on restriction for a week."  The person will likely engage in the appropriate behavior immediately in order to avoid the aversive condition (i.e. being fired or put on restriction).           

While using such tactics will likely result in the behavior you were asking for, Dr. Daniels asks us to think about this:  If both positive and negative reinforcement get results, why should it matter which we use?  First, people like positive reinforcement.  Second, positive reinforcement maximizes performance while negative reinforcement often produces just enough to get by.  In the above example, your child might have completed his homework, but did he provide his best performance?  Did he complete the assignment correctly?  We're warned that negative reinforcement serves us well in circumstances where all we need is compliance or minimum performance: going to the dentist, paying our taxes, using an umbrella in the rain.  But if the goal is excellence, attaining such requires much more than minimum performance. 

Dr. Daniels points out another problem with using negative reinforcement.  Often, in order for negative reinforcement to work, the "punisher" or "enforcer" must be ever present either in person or by representation (i.e. video cameras to monitor performance, programs that monitor computer or phone use, etc).  Under negative reinforcment, you can't trust people to monitor themselves.  This is highly time consuming for managers, teachers, and parents!  What happens when a subsitute teaches your class?  What happens when mommy is the enforcer and daddy if left in charge for the day?  Also, negative reinforcement cannot occur without some degree of fear, which leads to an environment filled with stress where short tempers, hurt feelings, and hostile interactions occur daily. 

Dr. Daniels points out that negative reinforcement does have it's place in management.  If you have to look hard for something to reinforce (i.e. "you sure do have a neat, clean desk") then you may have a performer in serious need of negative reinforcement.  Negative reinforcement may be the way to start some behaviors that you can positively reinforce.  He warns that we often wait too long to employ the "do it or else" tactic, get disgusted with the poor behavior, and therefore lose the desire to positively reinforce the right behaviors when we see them.  You may be required to reinforce some very small improvements at first - which is often difficult when you have a performer who has been the source of problems.  But if we do not positively reinforce even small improvements, then the improvments will soon disappear and past problems will resurface.  So, forget the problems of the past and focus on improvements (however small) in the present!  "Negative reinforcement can start a poor performer moving in the right direction, but only positive reinforcement can keep that person going."

So why do we continue to use negative reinforcment as our first and often only tactic?  Turns out that our own behavior of using negative reinforcement is reinforced far more immediately than if we had used positive reinforcement.  Let me explain:  When we use positive reinforcment, we have to wait until the behavior occurs again before we know whether or not the positive reinforcement worked.  However, when we use negative reinforcement we are likely to see results right away.  So, the question is this:  Do you want immediate, minimum performance or long-term, excellent performance?  If your answer is the latter, then the best strategy is positive reinforcement.  Starting today, let's all make a concentrated effort to use positive reinforcement to bring out the best in our kids!   

Keep Your Cool!

Anyone seen the video Father Teaches Daughter Lesson About Facebook?  Of course you have, it's gone viral.  I see no need to post it here - you're welcome to Google it if you so desire.  Basically, his teenage daughter posted a rant on Facebook about how her parents treat her like a slave - insert several expletives.  The father, in turn, went to Youtube and posted his own video rant ending with placing 9 rounds from his handgun into her computer.  As someone said, we're likely to see their story on Dr. Phil soon!

I do not condone the behavior of this father.  While he was justifiably upset with his daughter, this was not the adult way to handle the situation.  He basically did the same thing his daughter did - went on a public forum to rant about someone who made him mad.  The difference?  Instead of using expletives, he used a gun (a lethal weapon) to get his point across.  Now I don't know about you, but I would avoid placing such a weapon into my own hands while upset.  He lost his cool.  He did not control his impulse to act on his angry thoughts.  As adults, it is important that we do this!  I guarantee you that in the face of an angry teen or grumpy preschooler when you keep your cool you will avoid further escalating your child's behavior.  It's not easy and it takes practice - lots of practice!     

Warnings: Not a Consequence for Misbehavior

I recently read this blog article and it got me thinking...

As parents (and teachers), we give warnings ALL DAY LONG!  We warn our children "If you do that, then you're going to be in big trouble!"  "This is the last time I'm going to tell you!"  There is nothing wrong with gentle reminders ("Remember, if you hit your brother again you will have to put that toy away" or better yet "Remember to keep your hands to yourself and you can play with the spiderman toy"); however, we must be consistent with consequences.  Meaning, we must actually follow-through with what we say.  A warning cannot continue to be followed by more warnings.  A warning only works by it's association with consequences.  If a warning is only associated with further warnings, our children will have no reason to change their behavior. 

It seems our reasoning behind so many warnings is likely avoidance of tantrums that occur when we do follow-through with consequences.  Or, on occasion, we don't know what consequence to apply so we just keep hoping that the warning will do the trick.  The problem with this logic is that warnings followed by warnings don't change behavior.  The behavior you are warning against continues to occur until you apply a consequence.  And while I admit that applying consequences may lead to tantrums, in the end the tantrums will decrease because the warning will have worked (after being consistently paired with actual consequences).  Don't forget the positive consequences as well.  When your children respond appropriately to warnings such as "Remember to keep your hands to yourself and you can play with the Spiderman toy" then please remember Spiderman!

As I've said before, ABA is hard work up front but well worth the results in the end!

Does your child accept "no"?

Telling your child "no" is something we all must do from time to time.  When you have a toddler "no" tends to roll off your tongue every other word!  And often results in a tantrum.  So, how do you teach your child to accept "no"? 

Dr. Vincent Carbone is a leader in the Behavior Analysis field. He has coined the "Accepting 'No' Program" for use with children with developmental disabilities. However, my staff and I use this program at our preschool with typically developing children and it usually works like a charm. It goes a little something like this:

1) Before denying access to items, activities, etc. (or just plain ol' saying "no"), have an approved alternative in mind.  Offer that alternative when you say "No, you can do that but how about you play with this instead."

2) If your child accepts “no” without problem behavior, deliver the alternative reinforcer and social praise.

3) If problem behaviors occur, do not provide access to the alternative reinforcer and do not provide any attention to the problem behavior.

*Initially you should offer an equally preferred reinforcer.  For example, instead of mommy's keys offer your child a set of play keys.  Gradually fade the preference level of the alternative reinforcer (i.e. equally preferred, slightly less preferred, neutral stimulus) and the frequency of its delivery until no alternative reinforcer is offered.  Your child is now expected to accept no without an alternative offered. 

Speaking of telling your child "no":
After cleaning up cheerios for the 5th time this morning I had to tell my daughter "no more cheerios" despite her constant "more", "more", "more" and instead gave her one animal cracker for each hand.


Spillproof:  designed to prevent spilling.
The Gyro Bowl is spillproof.

Gyroproof: possessing the ability to spill the unspillable.
My kid is Gyroproof.

Adventures in Toddler Potty Training

Any moms out there potty training?  We started this weekend (with our 16 month old daughter) and so far no wet pants.  Wow, right?  Well, I didn't mention the pee pee in the freshly drawn bath water (just 3 minutes after sitting on the potty) or the little puddle in the middle of my bathroom floor (just 5 SECONDS after sitting on the potty).  Oops!  Still, it has been a good first day.  Our timing is just a tiny bit off but I'm confident we'll get the hang of it and finally get the pee pee inside the potty.   

For anyone interested, we're using a modified Positive Practice technique. 

1. Don't make any plans.  Stay at home and keep your full attention on potty training. 

2. Wear regular underwear - with Pull-ups and diapers for naps/bedtime.
 
3. Give lots of liquids but don't give them foods to make them thirsty.  The idea is to be well hydrated, not overhydrated. 

4. Tell your child "let's go potty" (you can also simultaneously use sign language if you anticipate teaching your child the sign for potty).  Sit on the potty once every hour.  If the child voids on the potty, reset your timer for 1 hour.  If the child does not void, reset the timer for 15 minutes.  (We are only sitting from 1-5 minutes so as to not make this process aversive).  FYI: the sign for "toilet" is fairly simple - make a fist, place thumb between your index and middle fingers (ASL for the letter T), and twist your wrist back and forth so that you are kind of shaking your fist.  You do not need to require your child to use the sign or say "potty" at this time.  This will come when they begin to self-initiate.

5. If the child voids on the toilet, reinforce with a tangible item (miniature M&Ms work well) as well as verbal praise (you could even do the "potty dance" and sing "pee pee in the po-tty"). Help the child to pull up their pants.

6. When your timer rings, do a dry check.  Guide the child's hand on their pants to feel if they are dry or wet.  If dry, provide reinforcement and verbal praise. (We've been skipping this step for now as I don't think a 16 month old would truly understand this part.)

7. If during a "dry check" the child is wet, have them touch the wet pants and tell them where they should void ("Pee pee in the potty.  No pee pee on the floor".) Bring child to the bathroom right away, help them pull down their wet pants, sit on the potty, and then pull up their wet pants and bring them back to where they urinated.  Follow this routine of positive practice 5 times. After the fifth time, change the child and have child help clean up the wet spot.  Do not provide a lot of attention at this time. While this practice is not suppose to be fun for the child, you should not use punishment but also do not reinforce any problem behaviors.

8. When your child begins to "self-initiate" or independently tell you they need to potty, stop scheduling the child for potty time. If you continue to run this schedule the child is likely to become dependent on a schedule rather than initiate on their own.

9. Continue to keep child's bladder filled with fluids. At this time more accidents are likely to occur, but continue to use the positive practice procedure when this happens.

10.  If the child stops self-initiating and continues to have accidents, start scheduling again. 

11. Once the child has several consecutive initiations (over multiple days) without accidents, stop forcing fluids. 

12. When you are ready to go to public places, make sure you fill your child's bladder before you go.  When you reach your destination, show your child the bathroom (not just where it is but go in and see the potty) and see if your child will self-initiate.  Use some prompting if necessary. 

13.  The child will likely not master bowel training just because they have mastered bladder training. It's important to NOT go back to using diapers.  There is no need to use positive practice but you should have the child help you clean up.  Always reinforce for going on the potty!  Many children have a pretty regular schedule for bowel movements so it's a good idea to have them sit on the potty at that time. 

14. If you have a boy, wait until he is both bladder (sitting down) and bowel trained to begin teaching them to stand while urinating.  And just a heads up, get a shield for your child's potty and teach them to "tuck" or you're going to get wet! 

15. Once the child has mastered self-initiation, it's a good idea to start teaching them to request for the potty.  You can use simple words - pee pee, potty - or even sign language.  When the child self-initiates and begins heading for the bathroom, stop them and prompt them to use their new word or sign. 

And there you have it.  Happy training!

Reinforcing New, Appropriate Behaviors

I’ve written several posts on reducing problem behavior (it’s a pretty popular topic) but in this post I want to focus on increasing appropriate behaviors.  By definition, in order to increase behaviors one must reinforce those behaviors.  If you are reinforcing a new behavior, you should be sure to reinforce the behavior EVERY time it occurs (in the appropriate context).  In ABA, this schedule of reinforcement is called continuous reinforcement.  Obviously this is time and labor intensive on your part!  Don’t worry, the next step is called “schedule thinning”.  This involves decreasing the schedule of reinforcement by increasing the number of times the behavior occurs before you provide reinforcement.  In other words, at first you reinforce every time the behavior occurs, then every other time, every third time, and so on.  Eventually you will be reinforcing the behavior on a rather random schedule.  This intermittent schedule of reinforcement will help maintain the behavior for the long run.    

Just to provide an example, let’s go back to when I began teaching my toddler to ask for “up” when she wanted me to pick her up.  Every time she said “up” I picked her up because I wanted her to understand the correlation between her behavior (saying “up) and my behavior (picking her up).  Obviously I can’t pick her up every time she says it for the rest of her life.  She’s going to get heavy for one (she’s already pushing 30 lbs)!  And sometimes it’s just not feasible for me to hold her – cooking dinner with hot oil, taking the dogs for a walk, etc.  Now that she has really mastered and understands what the word “up” means - she uses it in a variety of contexts, such as “help me get up in my highchair”, “pick me up”, and so on - I can start reducing the number of times I reinforce that behavior.  When I am cooking dinner and she asks “up” I tell her “not right now” or “wait”.  This has not by any means reduced the number of times she asks to be picked up; if anything it has increased the number of times she asks (which is very tiring by the way so be careful what you ask for!)  To my daughter, it may seem pretty random as to when her behavior is reinforced and when it isn’t reinforced.  That’s what “intermittent reinforcement” is designed to do.  Since she doesn’t know when her behavior will be reinforced, she tries again and again and again until she receives the reinforcement.  When you use this intermittent schedule it is pretty unlikely that your child will ever stop engaging in that behavior.  With that in mind, be sure to reinforce behaviors in the correct context so that your child will learn when it is appropriate to engage in the behavior and when it is not.  It’s not a good idea to ask mommy to pick you up when she is cooking with hot grease; therefore, I should never reinforce that behavior under that condition.

By the way, this intermittent reinforcement schedule is exactly the reason that you must be sure (when using punishment techniques) to punish a problem behavior EVERY time it occurs.  If you are only punishing intermittently, then you must also be reinforcing intermittently.  And as we just discussed, if you reinforce something intermittently then it is pretty unlikely your child will ever stop engaging in that behavior!! 

Well, I almost made it through a post without talking about decreasing behavior, ALMOST.             

Escape-Driven Behaviors - Why?

All to often we find ourselves caught up in trying to get rid of behaviors without thinking about the whys.  Why does my child want my attention?  Why does my child want to escape this activity? 

Let's take homework, for example:
Antecedent:  "Time to do homework"
Behavior: "No, I don't want to"
STOP
Before applying a consequence, assess why the child doesn't want to do the homework.  Does the child simply want to continue playing with toys?  Then the consequence must be to put away the toys and do the homework.  BUT, maybe the homework is too much or too hard.  Of course, the consequence must still be to complete the homework, but maybe you provide help.  In this case, what you may need to do is teach your child to ask for help when something is too hard instead of refusing to do the activity and engaging in problem behaviors to avoid it. 

There are lots of things our kids want to escape:  homework, chores, the grocery cart, crowded areas, and the list goes on.  When we ask ourselves "why?" then we are able to take some antecedent steps (before the behavior happens) to help avoid those problem behaviors in the first place.  For example, we can make activities more pleasant.  Instead of 20 items on the homework list, maybe they do 10 items then they have a chance to play.  Instead of doing the dishes alone, maybe you can do them together.  And for that cold, metal, boring shopping cart maybe you could bring some toys along to the grocery store (and a cushion to sit on).

The next time your child engages in a problem behavior the first step is to ask why is the child engaging in the behavior (to escape, to gain attention, to get access to a toy/food, etc.)  and then why does the child want to escape, gain attention, etc? 

Do diets really help control behavior?

The short answer is...there is no short answer.  While in graduate school, we kind of glossed over diets as a "fad," defined as an intense but short-lived fashion.  There is no real data to say without a doubt that complicated diets work.  True data requires experimentation with a control test.  During control NO OTHER METHOD can be used.  It is often too difficult to have a true control.  Also, behavior occurs on an individual level and to test whether or not a diet will work in your particular case it must be tested for the individual not some experimental group.  In my opinion if your child is receiving the nutrition he or she needs and is gaining weight (or maintaining) appropriately for their age then trying complicated diets can't hurt.  The problem I often see is that diets restricting gluten, casein, and certain dyes often lead to spending lots of $$$ and very limited meal options which your child may not eat - thereby reducing their nutrition.

Now, with that being said, I've seen children whose behavior skyrockets after eating certain foods and I've seen their behavior reduced when certain foods are removed from their diet - with no other changes involved (behavior plans, life events, medication, illness, etc).  One thing we did learn in graduate school is that sometimes you have to rule out medical problems first.  With that in mind, some people do have actual allergies and sensitivities to certain foods and ingredients in foods.  If these allergies and sensitivities make you feel like crap, your behavior is likely to reflect that.  All I can recommend is to create your own experiment and find out.

When you decide to try one of those diets, you're probably gonna need a little ABA help!  If your child has never been big on fresh fruits and veggies (a likely staple when trying such diets) then you're going to need some reinforcement to help them eat.  First of all, try to make it fun to increase the likelihood that they will even try it in the first place.  If you have one child (or husband) who is willing to eat, you can reinforce their behavior while the other child observes.  In the beginning, you may have to revert to some of their old favorites to use as a reinforcer - "First eat one bite of carrot, then you can have one teddy graham".  There are lots of strategies to try to get kids eating non-preferred or new foods.  There are also tons of cookbooks out there that are kid friendly and actually make these foods taste good.      

http://www.amazon.com/G-Free-Diet-Gluten-Free-Survival-Guide/dp/1599951886
http://www.doitdelicious.com/cookbooks/deceptively_delicious
http://www.amazon.com/Allergy-Cookbook-Gluten-free-Casein-free-Nut-free/dp/0979754208

We've All Been There - The Public Meltdown

Have you ever found yourself in the cookie aisle with a screaming child looking around at all the other normal people (you know, the ones without kids) and think to yourself "What? That's not my kid!"  For a second you think about actually saying that phrase and walking away (c'mon, we've all been there).  But, of course, you can't walk away so you stand there, embarrased, pleading with your child and inevitably you give in just so the tantrum will STOP!  I see it happen at the grocery store ALL THE TIME!  It makes me cringe because I know that the same scenario will just happen again the next time.  I feel bad for the mom (or dad) and do my best to pretend like I didn't see anything so I don't add to their embarrassment.  So what are you supposed to do if you find yourself in this situation?  To spare yourself the embarrassment and nasty looks from those "normal people" I suggest you scoop up your child and walk right out of the store.  Will the tantrum continue?  OF COURSE because your child has not gotten what they wanted - those darn cookies!  What now?  This insomnia induced mini-post is about antecedent manipulations (i.e. what happens before the behavior) to avoid those tantrums in the future.

You are the walking, talking, breathing functional behavior assessor now and you need to assess the situation.  Review the data in your head:
Antecedent - You went down the cookie aisle, your child asked for oreos, you said "Not today."
Behavior - Your child screams "But I want cookies," and falls to the floor in an all out tantrum (screaming, kicking, crying)
Consequence - You left the store, or maybe you didn't but PLEASE tell me you didn't get him the cookies!       

The data tells us that the cookie aisle and you saying "no cookies" are the source of the problem.  So, you have some options:
A) Avoid the cookie aisle like the plague
B) Prepare your child by saying "We're going to go on the cookie aisle but we're not buying any today.  But if you are a good boy then when we get to the check-out line I'll get you a candy bar - or a soda, gum, tic tacs, whatever (reinforcement people!)
C) Why the heck did you bring that kid back to the grocery store?!  Oh sorry, I mean endure a tantrum (and the embarrassment) while you continue to shop
D) Go down the cookie aisle, throw some oreos at your child, and finish your shopping in peace

I hope you chose option B.  It was the only serious option.  And maybe next time you could bring some cookies in your purse.  'Cause sometimes a kid just needs a cookie:)

Let's develop a simple behavior plan...

So we last discussed that the first step before creating a behavior plan was to assess your child's behavior and take some data.  Behavior typically has 1 of 4 functions: attention, tangibles, escape, and sensory.  This week I'm going to create 3 sample behavior plans for a tantrum - one with the function of attention, one with the function of access to tangibles, and one with the function of escape from non-prefered activities.  These are very simplistic plans using only reinforcement and extinction. 

ATTENTION
Antecedent:  Mommy is cooking dinner in the kitchen.
Behavior:  Child comes into the kitchen and begins tugging on mommy's leg.  When mommy doesn't attend the child begins crying then falls to the floor kicking.   
Consequence:  Mommy stops cooking dinner and picks the child up saying "stop crying".   
Result:  The child stops crying. 
Function:  The child's tantrum successfully gained mommy's attention - both in the form of acknowledging the behavior "stop crying" and in the form of mommy stopping her current activity to pick up the child.
Plan of action:  First, decide on a replacement behavior.  For instance, the child wanted to be picked up so you may teach the word "up".  Try to do this during play time when the child is happy and not engaging in tantrum behaviors.  Tell the child to say "up" and immediately pick the child up to reinforce that behavior.  Practice this several times.  For young toddlers, their closest approximation may be "uh".  Next, when the child engages in tantrum behavior to gain your attention you should apply extinction - meaning that if the child wants attention then you do not provide any attention and do not pick the child up.  When the child becomes calm, prompt the child to say "up" and immediately reinforce this behavior. 

TANGIBLE
Antecedent:  Sister is playing with a toy that brother wants to play with.
Behavior:  Brother tries to take the toy away, unsuccessfully.  Then the brother begins to cry and hit his sister.
Consequence:  The sister gives the toy to her brother.
Result:  Brother's tantrum stops and he begins to play with the toy.
Function:  The child's tantrum successfully gained access to the toy (tangible).
Plan of action:  First, decide on a replacement behavior.  For instance, the child wanted the toy from his sister so you may teach the child to ask his sister to "share" or to say "please".  Again, try to do this when the child is engaging in appropriate behaviors and having fun, not when the child is in the middle of a tantrum.  Prompt the child to say the key word then immediately reinforce that behavior.  It helps if the other child is willing to do this but if not then mommy or daddy can share the toy.  Next, when the child engages in the snatching away and tantrum behavior to get access to a toy apply extinction - meaning DO NOT allow the child to have the toy.  When the child becomes calm, prompt the child to say the key words - "share" or "please" - and immediately reinforce the behavior.  Thank the child for asking nicely and have the other child share the toy.

ESCAPE
Antecedent:  Daddy says "time to do homework".
Behavior:  The child immediately says "No" and begins throwing toys, crying, and kicking.
Consequence:  Daddy says that we can do homework later. 
Result:  The child's tantrum stops and he continues to play with his toys. 
Function:  The child's tantrum behavior successfully earned escape from the homework activity plus the child continued to engage in the preferred play activity. 
Plan of action:  First, teach the child a replacement behavior.  For instance, the child did not want to do homework and wanted to continue playing so you may teach the child to ask for "5 more minutes, please".  This may not be acceptable in all situations but it is important that the child learns that sometimes you can delay non-preferred tasks.  It also leads us to preparing the child before transition.  It often helps to tell a child "In 5 more minutes, we're going to do homework", then "One more minute", and finally a 10 second countdown before putting away the toys and doing homework.  When the child engages in the tantrum behavior when told "time to do homework" you should apply extinction - meaning do not let the child escape doing his homework.  Hold the demand and put away the toys.  Inevitably the child will continue to tantrum and it will be impossible to do the homework under this circumstance.  This is why it is important to clean up the toys so that while the child is temporarily escaping homework, he does not have access to fun activities.  When the child becomes calm, prompt the child through the homework activity reminding them that when it is done he may go play.  "First homework, then play." 

Keep voting for the next topic: tantrums, diets, or eat your veggies!

The Good Behavior Game

For the teachers out there:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1310853/pdf/jaba00065-0063.pdf

This is a research article describing the "Good Behavior Game".  Basically you divide your classroom into teams.  Set specific rules and when any rule is broken by a single student their group recieves a point.  The group with the least points at the end of the day gets a reward.  If multiple groups have the same number of points then both groups get the reward.  It sounds very interesting!  The rewards can be pretty simple:  going to recess a little earlier than the other group, a special project, class helpers, etc.

So you've taken the data...now what?

Once you take some anecdotal ABC data you need to carefully look over the information.  What are you looking for exactly?  Consistencies and recurring themes.  For example, if your child always has a tantrum in a room full of people, chances are that room full of people is likely aversive (i.e. not pleasant).  When you move away from that crowd of people, does your child consistently stop tantruming?  Your child has just escaped an aversive stimulus (large crowd) and his tantrum behavior has been reinforced (i.e. it will likely occur again under the same set of circumstances).  Remember, one common function of behavior is escape (from homework, chores, people, etc).

Here is an example of what ABC data might look like:

Antecedent

Mommy says "time to put away the toys" 

Behavior

Child has a tantrum, crying, yelling "no", throwing toys     

Consequence        

Mommy says "okay, 5 more minutes to play"

What just happened?  Your child's tantrum stopped - success, right?  Not so!  Your child's tantrum behavior has just been reinforced and the next time you ask him to clean up his toys, he will tantrum again because he has learned that when he tantrums you will then allow him more time to play.  The function here is access to tangibles (i.e. toys) or it may be escape/delay of whatever activity comes next.  Here's what should happen: 

Antecedent

Mommy says "time to put away the toys" 

Behavior

Child has a tantrum, crying, yelling "no", throwing toys     

Consequence        

Mommy repeats the demand "time to put away the toys" and prompts the child through the task until complete. 

Did your child continue to tantrum?  Probably so.  Did the toys get put away?  Yes, though you may have helped your child by putting toys into his hand and moving them to the toy box.  Success?  YES!  Will your child tantrum the next time you ask him to put away the toys?  Well, that depends on how long his tantrum behavior has been reinforced.  Remember that extinction burst - where behavior may get worse before it gets better?  Just be consistent - keep the demand.  Eventually you won't have to help your child clean up.  Eventually your child won't complain while they clean up.  Eventually your child will comply with your demand to clean up the first time you ask.  

ABA is no easy task.  It is time consuming, it requires you to constantly assess your child's behavior, it is sometimes difficult to be consistent between parents and teachers.  The list goes on and on.  Is it worth it?  DEFINITELY!  I've seen these strategies work with toddlers, preschoolers, young children, teenagers, and adults.  I've seen these strategies work with children with special needs, children with attention deficit disorder and typically functioning children.  I've used these strategies with my dogs, my toddler, my husband, my coworkers, and that rude cashier at the grocery store.  ABA is an invaluable tool in everyone's life!        

Functional Behavioral Assessment and The ABCs of Behavior

The ABCs of behavior, often refered to as the "three term contingency" are the Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences.  Antecedents are what occurs before the behavior.  Behaviors can be described by topography (what it looks like) and function (the maintaining consequence).  Consequences are what occur after the behavior.  Maintaining consequences are those that reinforce the behavior (i.e. increase the future probability of that behavior’s occurrence).  We have to look at each of these things in order to determine our plan of action for getting rid of unwanted behavior. 

If your child is engaging in a behavior that you would like to decrease, the first step is to define the behavior so that everytime you, your husband, your child's teacher, and anyone else involved sees that behavior you can all agree that it happened.  For sake of consistency, I will continue with the example of my daughter.  She "hangs on my leg and whines" when she wants me to pick her up.  What I really mean is that she wraps her arms around my leg and makes an unintelligible crying sound without producing tears.  I have just defined the behavior according to topography (what it looks like).  I have determined the function of that behavior to be attention - specifically for me to pick her up. 

Behavior typically has 1 of 4 functions: access to tangibles (toys, food, etc.), escape (from homework, chores, people, etc.), attention (including when you sigh out of frustration - yes some kids like to get under your skin), and sensory (the behavior appeals to one of their senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, smell).  To determine the function we should implement a functional behavioral assessment (FBA).  Start with collecting anecdotal data on the behavior.  When an unwanted behavior occurs, write down exactly what happened before it, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.  You should also write down exactly what the behavior looked like and anything that happened after the behavior.  This will include naturally occuring consequences and anything that you or others did.     

Keep in mind - sometimes a behavior may have the same topography but a different function depending on the environment.  Think in terms of a baby (i.e. my 15 month old).  She has limited communication and sometimes when she hangs on my leg and whines it means "pick me up and hold me" but other times it means "Mommy, I'm really tired and want to escape all this interaction".  She has not yet learned to say "night night" so she resorts to the only communication she knows.  It's important to always assess the environment to determine the function of a behavior.  YOU should be a walking, talking, breathing functional behavior assessor.   

Reinforcement (and other stuff)

Reinforcement is one of the most important principles of behavior and is a key element to behavior change programs.  The addition of a stimulus following a behavior that serves to increase the likelihood of that behavior is termed positive reinforcement. The removal of a stimulus following a behavior that serves to increase the likelihood of that behavior is termed negative reinforcement.  In short, when a behavior is reinforced (either positively or negatively) then the behavior occurs more often.  This is not always a good thing.  We frequently and inadvertently reinforce problem behaviors.  For example, when my daughter hangs on my leg and whines I usually pick her up.  Do I want my daughter to hang on my leg and whine? NO!  But I have just effectively reinforced that behavior because what she wanted was for me to pick her up.  Now, she is only 15 months old and I can't expect too much; however, she is learning to say "up" and this is the behavior I should be reinforcing.  So what should I do?  Well, that leads us to the next principle of behavior: extinction.

Extinction is the technical term to describe the procedure of withholding/discontinuing reinforcement of a previously reinforced behavior, resulting in the decrease of that behavior.  In the example above, when my daughter hangs on my leg and whines, the reinforcement for that behavior was picking her up.  Instead, I should use extinction - meaning that when she does this behavior I should not pick her up.  If she does not recieve reinforcement (picking her up) when she engages in the hanging and whining behavior then she will eventually stop that behavior.  It's important to remember 2 things:  First, when you extinguish a behavior you must provide/teach an alternative behavior.  I have taught my daughter to request "up" which provides her the same reinforcement (i.e. picking her up).  Second, the extinguished behavior is most likely going to get worse (i.e. occur more often) before it gets better.  This is called an extinction burst.  Be consistent (i.e. NEVER reinforce the behavior) and the behavior will eventually decline and even stop completely.  If you find yourself occasionally reinforcing the behavior, do not fret!  It does not mean you have failed and it does not mean that you cannot continue using extinction.  It just means it may take a little longer to get rid of the behavior until you can train yourself to stop reinforcing the behavior you don't want to see.  

Sometimes reinforcement and extinction just aren't enough.  When you find yourself in this situation, it often leads to the use of the least desirable behavior principle: punishment.  The addition of a stimulus following a behavior that serves to decrease the likelihood of that behavior is termed positive punishment. The removal of a stimulus following a behavior that serves to decrease the likelihood of that behavior is termed negative punishment.  In short, when a behavior is punished (either positively or negatively) then the behavior occurs less often.  Punishment gets a bad rap for a lot of reasons.  Punishment can result in undesirable emotional responses, may cause escape and avoidance responses, and may lead to aggressive responses.  However, there are many advantages to using punishment: results are rapid, behavior that may be resistant to other forms or treatment may respond to punishment, there may be positive side effects such as generalization, and it may lead to complete suppression of the unwanted behavior.  With these things in mind, here is what you should consider before using punishment:  use only after other less restrictive procedures have failed, punishment is more easily justified when the behavior can cause injury (to themselves or others), and it may be necessary when the behavior is maintained by strong reinforcers that we cannot control.  To use punishment effectly you must punish EVERY instance of the behavior immediately, when possible provide instructions about the contingencies (i.e. when you do this then this will happen), and identify appropriate alternative behaviors and reinforce them if they occur.  In the example above, if I were to use punishment to decrease my daughter's hanging and whining behavior I might add a firm "No" whenever my daughter engages in that behavior.  Be careful - we adults often think of the word "no" as an aversive (i.e. something we don't like); however, many children will see this as a form of attention to their behavior which is often HIGHLY reinforcing.  It is often hard to determine exactly what is reinforcing an unwanted behavior.  And with that comes the next post: Functional Behavioral Assessment and The ABCs of Behavior.  Stay tuned...  

What is Behavior?

Behavior is the activity of living organisms - the interaction between an organism and its environment. Human behavior includes those that we cannot directly see - thinking and feeling.  If you're unsure whether or not something is a "behavior" then you should apply the "Dead Man's test":  If a dead man can do it, it's not behavior. And if a dead man can't do it, then it is behavior. 

Behavior can be thought of in two ways: operant and respondent behavior.  In short, operant behavior "operates" on the environment and respondent behavior is "in response" to an environmental stimulus.  In order for a respondent behavior to occur, some environmental change must happen first.  For example, when I open a jar of jalepenos and get a whiff (environmental change), my salivary glands go crazy (respondent behavior).  In essence, a respondent behavior is a reflex.  When an operant behavior occurs, a change in the environment happens after the behavior occurs.  For example, when my daughter says "done" (operant behavior) at the dinner table, I remove her dinner plate (environmental change).

Behavior Analysis deals with both operant and respondent behavior; however, applied behavior analysis is most often concerned with operant behavior and this will be the focus of my blog.