Fri 12 May 2006
MANDS = 10
Tony had a good day today. Although his session was cut short due to a trip to Myrtle Beach, Tony remained more focused than he has the past few days. We didn’t get through all of the activities because of our short time, but Parker and I managed to hit every category in the book.
We worked in Tony’s playroom this morning with his new house that he loves. We played with the different rooms in the house and would ask Tony to “put Mommy to bed” and to “let the dog out the door.” He followed direction well. We also watched Tony place the family near windows, going in and out of the front doors, and making barking noises for the dog. Who ever said autistic kids don’t have imagination? I think Tony not only understands pretend play, but he also loves it. Parker and I labeled the family members as “Mommy” “Daddy” and “Sissy.” I believe that Tony thinks these little people are representations of his own family. He would open the door and have “Sissy” doll walk out and Tony would say “Hi Sissy.” Other choice moments during our house play was when we introduced Tony to the little potties. Tony took one and tried to sit in it! He didn’t fit exactly because the little potty is only about 1″ wide, but its clear the connection is there (at least he knows what to do on the potty!). Tony also brought over some of his leftover waffles when our play family was having breakfast at the table. He stacked the waffles on the table saying “Eat.” I truly get emotional watching him play like this!
When we took our walk, Tony wanted to swing on the hammock and walk around with his crayons. He completed all of the motor imitations we asked without protest and we reinforced him heavily with a stop/go game that Parker started. Tony said “Go” and Parker ran around until Tony said “Stop.” He loved being in control and clever Parker was tacting her prepositions as she ran “over the branch” “around the tree” and “under the swing.”
That’s all for today. A pretty good day considering it was so short. I’m happy to see Tony in a better mood too!
May 15th, 2006 at 7:39 am
Hi:
I apologize for my less than agressive blogging recently. I’ve read some recent posts and things sound like they are on track in terms of Tony learning new, varied skills. I’m so impressed with the teaching abilities of our therapists (and Anton and Marlaina reinforcing skills outside of our ABA sessions as well).
We must remember to keep mands “front and center” (this is what Dr. Pat McGreevy stresses) in our ABA program as these are the “hinch pins” to other types of skills. Creative manding such as Parker’s stop and go game in which Tony mands actions is one good example. Another is the following scenerio by Whitney…………”I would say, “Tickle what?” and I prompted him to reply with a body part and say “tickle (body part).” He did really well with this. He echoed “neck” “feet” and “tummy.” This is a wonderful of example of expanding the mand repetroire.
Whitney asks about teaching “wait”. Well, here is one suggestion. Get a reinforcer that is not all that powerful (but he still wants it). Put it in front of him and say the Sd+ “wait”, if he briefly waits without problem behavior for 1 sec., reinforce (and give him a “bonus” reinforcer). Gradually increase the interval of waiting from 1s to 2s, then 3s, etc. while you also target different, more powerful reinforcers to wait on. If he engages in problem behavior during the waiting period, do not reinforce, rather wait until he is quiet for a few seconds, say “nice waiting”, then reinforce. I hope this is helpful.
A t.v. in the playroom might be a good idea since it will add to the reinforcing effect of the room. It might be a good idea to have it mounted with remote (so that we can provide small chunks of t.v. contingent upon the display of other skills). I’ve used this reinforcer to shape alot of skills with autistic kids. Also, it might be less distracting for mom/dad (since we all must remember that they do have to make a living to keep feeding us that good food!!).
Let me know when you guys would like to schedule another session.
Jay