ABA Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Do you need help or support with a child with autism? Our Autism Behaviour Specialists support and guide each individual and child on the spectrum who have difficulties in social interaction, communication, play and self-help skills.

Autism, also known as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is regarded as a spectrum disorder that can range from mild to severe. Autistic people are able to learn and develop key life skills when provided with the right support and treatment plan. Early intervention is key for supporting children with autism and for managing challenging behaviour.

ABA Therapy for Kids
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that spans throughout a child’s lifetime.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts the functioning and development of the brain. The causes of autism are unknown. The effects of autism and the severity of symptoms are different in each person; which is why it is referred to as a spectrum.

With a range of abilities and characteristics, no two individuals appear to be affected in the same way.

Generally, ASD is diagnosed in childhood. About 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with autism according to the Centre for Disease Control and prevention.

ASD is three to four times more common in boys than girls.

How does Autism affect individuals?

Autism may affect:

• Interactions with others in social situations – they may have difficulty making friends, understanding relationships and social hierarchies and difficulty reading facial expressions.
• Communication with others – some children focus conversation on few topic areas, repetitive speech or some have none or limited verbal language.
• Repetitive body movements and behaviours – sometimes referred to as self-stimulatory behaviours such as hand flapping, spinning or finger flicking
• Behavioural presentation for example may exhibit behaviours that challenge
• Overall development for example children with ASD may be behind peer-levels, which can create complex challenges in school.

• Fine and gross motor difficulties
• Difficulties in acquiring new skills
• Emotional difficulties
• Narrow interests
• Rigid routines and behaviours
• Multi-sensory impairments
• Motivation/confidence to initiate activities
• Perspective taking and executive functioning skills may be impaired

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Autism Therapies : ABA & Positive Behaviour Support

With the right support and early intervention individuals with ASD can lead a full and purposeful life. However, without effective support they may have difficulties gaining independence, having a good quality of life, developing and maintaining appropriate peer relationships and sustaining employment.

The following evidence-based strategies can support individuals with ASD to have greater independence in life.

  • Applied Behaviour Analysis/Verbal behaviour (ABA/VB)
  • Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
  • Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)
  • Occupational Therapy (OT)
  • Bio-medical/nutritional support

How does a Behaviour Analyst support ASD?

Early diagnosis and intervention has been found to be effective in teaching children skills such as language, communication, play and social skills.

Behavioural Analysis principles have been found to be effective to support people with ASD to learn language, academic, social and play skills and also reduce behaviours that challenge. Behaviour Analysts examine the reasons for behaviours that challenge. They then develop interventions to address the underlying environmental cause of the behaviour.

A number of research studies have shown that ABA techniques can improve communication, social relationships, play, self-care and employment in individuals with ASD. Some studies have shown that children with autism experience significant improvements in learning, reasoning, communication and flexibility when they participate in ABA programs. Some pre-schoolers acquire sufficient skills to participate in regular classrooms with little or no additional support. Other children may learn important skills but still need additional support in the classroom.

We emphasise the use of proactive strategies to prevent behaviours that challenge rather than reactive strategies that often do not teach individuals how to get their needs met. We have a thorough assessment process to identify the function of behaviours that challenge and match interventions to reduce the likelihood of the behaviour happening rather.
Our early intervention programs focus on teaching skills is through play. We use the child’s motivations to ensure learning is fun and functional. This is commonly referred to as Natural Environment Teaching or NET.
We teach communication using the principles of Verbal Behaviour ensuring communication is functional, age appropriate and taught through play.
We promote independence by teaching self-help skills and age appropriate functional daily living skills. We plan for generalisation and work program to decrease prompts as early as possible to ensure individuals are being set up for success and to be as independent as they can be.
We teach skills and behaviours that are important for the individuals, their families and caregivers.
We provide individualised parent training programs that aim to teach parents and carers about positive behaviour support strategies while increasing confidence in their ability to help the child and improve relationship.
We run social skills groups which meet weekly during term-time only. Our aim is to support children to interact and use functional communication skills in situations by learning how their behaviour affects others.
All Behaviour Consultancy, currently offers services to schools, families CCGs, Independent care providers and charities which support children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

ADHD Behaviour Challenges

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition, defined by an impairment in executive functions, which can cause children and adults to struggle with inattentiveness, impulsivity,  hyperactivity or a combination. There are different types of ADHD, where some kids may struggle with following instructions due to a poor working memory, or perhaps an individuals with a diagnosis of ADHD may exhibit impulsive, challenging behaviour which could be dangerous to themselves and/or others. Children with ADHD children may find it difficult to concentrate in classroom settings, pay attention, follow instructions and may ask struggle with transitioning between activities and finishing tasks.

More Information:

NHS
 https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/

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How can All Behaviour Consultancy help?
  • We can provide personalised strategies to help children to engage in classroom learning, this might involve using visual schedules or token boards.
  • We can develop individual behaviour support plans after assessing the function of children’s behaviour.
  • We can provide advice and support for school staff and parents in implementing strategies to manage behaviour and to help children to follow home and classroom routines.
  • We can break down a wide range of skills and use naturally occurring reinforcers to help children develop key skills.
  • We can teach social skills such as turn-taking and conversation skills in a way that is natural and functional with peers and/or siblings.
Global Development Delay and Learning Disability

Behavioural Disorder - PDA

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is condition which falls under the ASD umbrella. Research into PDA is still at an early stage but individuals with a diagnosis of PDA are likely to display traits consistent with a diagnosis of ASD but with some additional characteristics. These characteristics include a desire to control situations and extreme avoidance of demands.

Children with PDA can find it difficult to follow instructions from adults, follow routines at home and school and develop and maintain social relationships.

More Information:

Pathological Avoidance Society
 https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/what-is-pda-menu/about-autism-and-pda/

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How can All Behaviour Consultancy help?
  • We can use Functional Behaviour Assessments to understand the meaning behind your child’s challenging behaviours and implement an individualised behaviour support plan to increase their positive behaviours.
  • We can find out what motivates your child and use this knowledge to increase their access to a range of preferred activities and settings.
  • We can break down relevant skills that children may have had limited opportunities to learn and teach using their motivation.
  • We can teach social skills in a natural and fun way, ensuring that these skills are functional and will be generalised across settings.
  • We can provide support and guidance to school staff and parents on how to support children with a diagnosis of PDA to access school, engage in routines at home and access other activities.
All Behaviour Consultancy PDA

Global Developmental Delay (GDD)

Children with a diagnosis of ‘global developmental delay’ (GDD) or ‘developmental delay’ take longer than their peers to reach two or more developmental milestones. These developmental milestones can include:

  • Cognitive milestones e.g. problem solving skills, remembering things, recognising letters, numbers or other items
  • Physical milestones e.g. sitting up, crawling, picking up items
  • Social and emotional skills e.g. playing with other children, recognising others’ emotions
  • Communication skills e.g. babbling, copying sounds or words, responding to instructions
All Behaviour Consultancy Global Development Delay

How can All Behaviour Consultancy help?

We can use Natural Environment Teaching to support communication skills within play.
We break down complex skills into small steps so that they are successful.
We follow your child’s motivations to teach.
We can teach your child appropriate social skills in school, home or the community.

MORE
INFORMATION

MENCAP – https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/conditions/global-development-delay

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CONTACT – https://contact.org.uk/advice-and-support/health-medical-information/conditions/g/global-developmental-delay/

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Learning Disability (LD)

A learning disability is any condition that impairs a person’s intellectual ability. Learning disabilities develop before birth or shortly after birth and will impact an individual’s ability to understand information and develop new skills.

Having a learning disability might effect a child’s behaviour in a number of ways:

  • Difficulty engaging in classroom learning
  • Problems following rules of games or school routines 
  • Difficulty in understanding information, learning new skills and carrying out functional tasks
Smiling kid with down syndrome using laptop

How can All Behaviour Consultancy help?

We can break down skills relating to a wide range of areas including daily living skills, academic skills and play skills.
We can advise and support school staff to implement strategies to engage children with classroom teaching.
We can develop personalised resources such as visual timetables to aid a child’s understanding of what is being communicated to them.

MORE
INFORMATION

MENCAP – https://www.mencap.org.uk/learning-disability-explained/what-learning-disability

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NHS – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/learning-disabilities/

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