At FOCUS Therapy, our child behavior experts (BCBAs) get to the heart of WHY a behavior is occurring. As ABA therapists and behavioral health consultants, we must ask, “What is the child communicating with this act?”

From there, we can go on to teach kids safer, more successful ways to communicate & advocate for themselves. Because as adults, we can only respond effectively if we know the “question”?

Children in general do not yet have the social, emotional, cognitive, or physical capacity always behave in ways that are expected. Most of us take for granted that when a baby cries, they’re trying to tell us something. Yet somehow, we seem to forget that kids don’t automatically become master communicators just because they learn how to talk or have a few years behind them. Even if they know what they want or need (or don’t want), they don’t yet have the skills to communicate in ways we consider socially appropriate. And some kids take more time to learn this than others. As the adults in their life, it’s our job first to “hear” them – and then to teach them how best to communicate that in day-to-day life.

Both in Fort Myers ABA therapy sessions (in-clinic for kids with autism and some other diagnoses) & less-intensive behavior health consulting (in-home, in-clinic or virtual), we teach parents how to address behavior by first starting with the question, “What’s being said?”

FOCUS offers ABA therapy, child behavior consulting, and ADOS testing in Fort Myers, Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.

Additional Resources:

Behavior is Communication, The Florida Center for Early Childhood

More Blog Entries:

Understanding the ABCs of Behavior is Key to Addressing It