Articles

Let's talk about rules!Are they important?  They SURE are!  Our society is governed by rules - so it's important to start helping our young childr...

The early years are the time we set the stage for the adults that our children will become.  Think about all of the things you hope for your child...

It’s always going to be difficult to tackle some of the issues that our children are struggling with. Oftentimes, addressing those issues can seem overwhelming, and easier to push down the road to tackle later, when “things slow down.” However, those issues will continue to get worse if we don’t address them...

Many of the parents we have worked with were resigned to the issues their children exhibited because, “That’s just how they were born.” And though there is a LOT that our children come from the womb with, there is also a LOT that we can do to help address the problem behaviors and shape our children to be the best versions of themselves…

In the behavior world, we often talk about strategies that are proactive (things we can do to create an environment that promotes success) and reactive (what we do after a behavior occurs). The proactive strategies often get neglected, but they are sometimes just as important – if not more. FREE DOWNLOAD available!

The term “picky eater” can be used to describe someone with a wide range of food-related issues including aversions, limited consumption, snacking before meals, etc.  While some food-related issues will require the attention of a specialist, we’ve got four easy tips to get your picky eaters to eat healthier foods…

Bribes are typically resorted to out of desperation when your child’s behavior has already deteriorated. A bribe can sometimes improve your child's behavior in the moment, but they come with negative long-term effects. Using reinforcers effectively can SIGNIFICANTLY improve your child’s behavior…

It’s natural for parents to pay attention when their children misbehave. When your child pulls his brother’s hair, you must pay attention in order to address the problem. However, when you child picks up a book and quietly reads to himself, you silently cheer to yourself and continue making dinner or doing work…

A reinforcer is any item, activity, event, sound, etc. used immediately after a certain behavior to improve, strengthen, or increase that behavior. Reinforcement, then, is the process of delivering a reinforcer by presenting something that is desired or preferred, or removing something that is unpleasant or unwanted…

In another post, I talked about how we used a sticker chart to increase our daughter's book reading (Read: How to Use Sticker Charts to Effectivel...

Parents often consult with us on getting their children to go to bed – and stay in bed! – until a reasonable time in the morning.Every parent has ...

Do you think that you would have a more peaceful home if you could work on decreasing some of your child's misbehavior?  In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), we can intentionally reduce unwanted (or problematic) behavior by identifying what the current reinforcer is for the given behavior (i.e., why the behavior is occurring), teach the child a more appropriate means of getting their needs met (read more on how our children's misbehavior is communication), and then withholding the reinforcer when the unwanted behavior occurs, which eventually leads to a dying off of that behavior.