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Bribery vs. Reinforcement: Understanding the Difference in Fort Myers ABA Therapy
Our Fort Myers ABA therapy providers at FOCUS know that the reinforcement strategies used in our sessions can sometimes be confused for bribery. Here, we break down the key differences – which can help parents understand why one is highly effective and the other is not.
If your struggling with a child displaying challenging behaviors, our ABA therapists offer behavior consulting for families whose child may not qualify for intensive ABA therapy services.
Fort Myers ABA Therapists Provide Behavior Science Strategies for Parents
Our Fort Myers ABA therapists use proven behavior science strategies to address difficult or dangerous behaviors and promote functional and safe behaviors. A big part of our efforts involve parent education. The more these skills are practiced at home and other environments outside the clinic, the faster they are learned/generalized. Check out a few of our common behavior science strategies for parents.
When It’s Time to Seek ABA Therapy in Fort Myers
Considering ABA therapy in Fort Myers for your child? Here, FOCUS Therapy behavior therapists offer insight into when ABA (behavior therapy) is typically recommended. Contact us to schedule an ADOS test or inquire about starting ABA therapy or behavior consulting.
Struggling With Aggressive Child Behavior? Our Fort Myers ABA Therapists Can Help!
Are you struggling with aggressive child behavior like kicking, biting, hitting, etc.? Every kid has moments now and then, but if it’s becoming a real problem and you aren’t sure what to do, our Fort Myers ABA therapists can help.
We are child behavior experts, and use evidence-based strategies and positive reinforcement to help parents address difficult and/or dangerous behaviors. We can do this in intensive ABA therapy, but we understand many parents run into roadblocks with insurance when their child doesn’t have a qualifying diagnosis, such as autism spectrum disorder or down syndrome. That is why we offer behavior consulting.
We can help parents figure out what is causing the underlying behavior issue and then generate a plan of action. Assessments can take place where you are most comfortable – at home or in the clinic. From there, we can follow up as much as needed – in person, over the phone, or through email.
Contact us today to schedule an initial consultation!
Practice These Behavior Therapy Strategies at Home!
Practicing Fort Myers behavior therapy strategies at home helps your child faster generalize the skills they’re learning in ABA therapy. Check out these tips for how to implement some of the approaches our behavior therapists (BCBAs & RBTs) use frequently in our daily sessions at FOCUS.
Fort Myers Speech Therapist Tips for Communicating With Concrete Thinkers
Is your child a “concrete thinker”? Lots of neurodivergent kids are. It means they have a tougher time thinking in the abstract and tend to interpret the world around them in a very literal way. This can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and confusion. Here, check out our tips from a Fort Myers speech therapist on how to better communicate with the concrete thinkers in your life!
Boys Talk Later Than Girls: True or False? Fort Myers Speech Therapist Has Answers
You’re concerned about your son’s speech-language development, but have been urged not to worry because, “Boys talk later than girls.” As a Fort Myers speech therapist, few phrases are quite as grating.
Here’s the thing: It’s true. Boys do tend to start talking a little later than girls. But it’s not by much – and not nearly as dramatically as you might have been led to believe.
Our issue as speech therapists with this oft-repeated saying is that it’s often used to justify putting off justified parental concerns about their child’s speech-language development. They may be convinced that they are overly-worried about nothing, when it’s actually something. (And sometimes, it doesn’t take much convincing because as parents, we’d prefer that there NOT be something to worry about.)
What The Science Says About “Boy Talk”
Kids naturally vary in virtually all aspects of development, and communication is no exception. Gender has been shown to be positively correlated with differences in language development milestones.
In a 1988 study published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, it was established that girls outperform boys in pretty much all linguistic aspects. Girls will generally:
- Understand the words spoken to her before a boy does.
- Begin talking two months earlier than boys.
- Continue building speech at a greater rate through toddlerhood. (16-month-old girls typically speak 100 words or so, while boys will say about 30.)
There are a few reasons for this. Part of it is that boys, on the whole, tend to gravitate toward play that is more physical than communicative. They may be less likely to engage verbally with their peers. If they’re content to play with their ball on their own, their parents may unintentionally engage them with less 1:1 talking than they do their girls. They may also expect less speech and language from their boys. In turn, they may not catch when there really is a delay.
That said, there is still a range that is typical for certain speech and language milestones. Girls just tend to fall earlier on that spectrum where boys tend to be on the end of it.
Rather than rely on this misleading saying, we’d rather parents be proactive if they have concerns about their child’s speech-language development. If you’re tempted to write off your son’s more limited vocabulary because it doesn’t match up to your daughter’s or some of the girls his age, maybe ask the question, “Is my son talking as much as other boys his age?”
What Are the Risks of Boys Being Late Talkers?
All children benefit from having a solid base of communication early in life. Without it, they may be at risk for academic and/or social consequences. There’s always been a strong connection between the communication skills a child acquires early in life and their effectiveness in using language later.
If a child is lagging behind in language development as a toddler, it can lead to a snowball effect that can continue into kindergarten, first grade and beyond. The longer we wait to intervene in a language delay situation, the more they’ll need to catch up on.
No parent should assume that just because their child is a boy that a speech-language delay is “normal.” The reality is that he may require intervention from a Fort Myers speech therapist.
FOCUS offers pediatric speech therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
Early Intervention, ASHA
More Blog Entries:
Identifying Speech Delays in 2-Year-Olds, Jan. 5, 2024, Fort Myers Speech Therapist Blog
“Let’s Do It Again!” Fort Myers SLP Explains Why Kids Love Repetition
Ever wonder why your kid INSISTS on reading the same bedtime story, singing the same song on repeat, eating exact same thing for breakfast morning after morning or playing the same game over and over? As a Fort Myers SLP (speech-language pathologist) can explain: It’s because that’s how they learn!
Repetition is a natural and beneficial aspect of child development. It offers comfort, aids in learning mastery, supports brain development, enhances language skills and fosters social interaction. When we embrace and encourage this repetition, it can actually provide a number of benefits for their overall growth and development.
As noted by child psychologists, children actually develop a preference for familiar things before they’re born. In the third trimester, fetuses can taste, hear, and smell. In so doing, they develop a preference for familiar foods their mother eats, as well as the familiar sounds they hear, such as their native tongue and their mother’s voice. There’s evidence that when they’re read to in the womb, they like hearing those same stories once they’re born. When they’re born, they quickly learn to prefer the familiar face of their mother (and later faces in general).
This trend only continues as they begin exploring the new and unfamiliar world around them. While they’re keen to learn now things, they often prefer to do so with things that are familiar. For example, one study published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology showed that kids actually learn better reading from a book over and over again, as opposed to reading it just once or twice.
Some of the ways kids thrive on repetition:
- Comfort and predictability. Repetition gives kids (young ones especially) a sense of comfort and security. They feel reassured when they know what to expect. Repetition offers a predictable pattern in their environment that can be calming and soothing for them. This is especially true of children with conditions like autism spectrum disorder. They often find the world chaotic and difficult to understand. Repetition is calming because they know exactly what’s coming next.
- Learning and mastery. Repetition is fundamental to learning. Any Fort Myers SLP can tell you kids can master a host of new skills – whether it’s words, sounds, or movements – through each repetition, which allows them to better understand and also to refine their abilities.
- Brain development. Repetition plays a critical role in a child’s brain development. Every time they repeat an action or word, those neural connections in their brain get reinforced – making it easier for them to recall and use that information in the future.
- Language Development. As your child’s Fort Myers SLP knows well, repetition is especially important for language development. Young kids are constantly exposed to different sounds and new words. Repetition allows them the opportunity to internalize it and understand language more effectively.
- Social interaction. Repetition happens ALOT in social interaction, whether during playtime or while reading that bedtime story. These interactions are bonding experiences, and they’re also chances for turn-taking communication. Kids enjoy the repetition of it because it helps them know what to expect – and what is expected of them.
Pediatric SLPs can harness kids’ natural love for repetition to effectively support their communication, socialization and overcome speech-language deficits in various ways.
We often use repetition-based therapy techniques as a foundational component of our speech therapy sessions at FOCUS Therapy in Fort Myers, FL. We often repeat target sounds, words, or phrases multiple times during structured play sessions. We do this because it’s an evidence-based technique that has proven to work with kids.
We mix it up with scaffolded learning, where we maintain the repetitive aspect of the game or activity, but increasingly challenge them a bit more – maybe with more complex vocabulary or social interactions.
Interactive storytelling and reading is also quite effective in speech therapy for kids, and using predictable storytelling is a great way to get kids engaged. They participate because they know what part or voice or words they’re expected to take on. We’ll often use the opportunity to provide visual supports, such as pictures, gestures, and visual schedules to enhance their understanding of these concepts. It’s more likely to “click” because it involves something familiar.
By integrating repetition into various speech therapy strategies, our Fort Myers SLPs can effectively leverage kids’ natural love of repetition to improve their overall language and communication skills.
FOCUS offers pediatric speech therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
More Blog Entries:
Pediatric Speech Therapy Service Needs Have Expanded Post-Pandemic, Jan. 5, 2024, Fort Myers Kids Speech Therapy Blog
5 Major Benefits of Our Fort Myers ABA Therapy
If your child has been referred to Fort Myers ABA therapy, you’re likely learning what a commitment it is and wondering if it will truly be worth it. At FOCUS Therapy, we answer with a resounding “YES!”
It’s not just because it’s our job. It’s because we see the tremendous difference that Fort Myers ABA (short for applied behavior analysis) has on the kids we work with and their families. Our processes are evidence-based, positive, and give kids opportunities to communicate, learn and grow in ways their families at one point that were not possible.
What is Fort Myers ABA Therapy at FOCUS?
ABA therapy is considered “the gold standard” for autism treatment, though it is sometimes used to effectively treat behavior issues of kids with other conditions, such as Down syndrome. It’s a specialized, evidence-based approach that focuses on improving specific behaviors that are (or will be) impediments to a child’s ability to be independent, learn and form healthy relationships.
The impact of what we do in ABA therapy extends far beyond the therapy session – or even the classroom. We teach children skills they will use in life, for life. It’s about setting a strong foundation that empowers your child with the skills they will need to thrive, both now and well into the future.
Key Benefits of ABA for Kids
Some of the most fundamental ways that our Fort Myers ABA therapy services help children include:
“Occupational Therapy for Babies? What Does That Look Like?”
At FOCUS Therapy, we heavily gear many of our occupational therapy efforts toward early intervention. That means for certain conditions and especially those with developmental delays, the sooner we start, the better – because we can more effectively “train” neural pathways the younger the child. But what about babies? What does occupational therapy for babies look like?
How we administer occupational therapy for babies depends heavily on the child’s condition and age. It’s also individualized to the child, addressing the unique needs and abilities of each baby while promoting growth and participation in daily activities.
Occupational Therapy for Babies
A babies’ occupations are:
- Eating.
- Growing.
- Moving their bodies.
- Learning to interact with their environment through their senses.
- Bonding with their caregivers.
- Playing.
As occupational therapists, our job is to assist when there is an issue that may prevent a child from reaching these milestones at an age-appropriate time. There are certain conditions a child may be diagnosed with at birth that are known to be associated with certain developmental delays. For example, a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome is likely going to have delays in balance and motor function. If we start occupational therapy for babies with Down Syndrome, we can often minimize the severity and impact of that delay.
Typically at 0-3 months, we’re going to be focused largely on parent education. Babies at this stage are just starting to visually track objects, begin exploring their own bodies with their hands and start holding their head up. We’re going to work with parents on ways to encourage their baby to meet those milestones with strategies like tummy time. We might also offer up certain toys or activities we know are going to be stimulating for the senses or oral motor exercises to help them improve their control while eating and verbalizing.
Between 3 and 6 months, typically-developing babies are going to be using their hands and eyes together to reach for things they want – their mom and dad, their favorite toy, a pet, etc. They’ll begin to roll from their tummy and back. In providing occupational therapy to babies at this stage, we’re going to be encouraging development of these skills by using especially motivating objects and toys and positioning them in a way that facilitates those movements.
Between 6 and 9 months, babies are going to be rapidly developing key motor skills – sitting up, crawling, moving items from one hand to the next, and picking up small objects. We’ll likely be working to strengthen the earlier skills we discussed, as well as finding ways to help babies promote independent movements with fun games, books, songs, and sensory toys.
From 9 months to 1 year, we start to see babies playing with purpose, understanding concepts like “in” and “out,” “up,” “down,” “behind,” “front,” etc. They are copying you starting to eat independently, and may even be standing and starting to walk. Occupational therapy is going to focus on helping kids develop and strengthen these skills. We’ll play games that exercise certain muscle groups (in the fingers/hands, core muscles, upper body, etc.).
No matter what specific skillsets we’re working on, one of our most important roles in giving occupational therapy for babies is educating parents. This is actually true for every developmental stage. We want to be supporting and empowering parents to work 1:1 with their own child at home. Not only does this help strengthen parent-child bonds, but the more practice the child gets at home, the faster they’re going to acquire the skills we’re trying to teach. OTs are also great at helping parents talk through developmental concerns and problems and formulating solutions that will work for both you and your child.
Aside from specific diagnoses like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or traumatic injury, other indicators that your baby might need occupational therapy:
- They tend to only use one side of their body, or one side is much stronger than the other.
- Baby becomes upset in new settings and is very hard to calm.
- Under/overreacts more than other same-age kids to new textures, sounds, touches, temperatures, sights, etc.
- Cannot play with their hands at midline or transfer objects from one hand to the other by 4 months or so.
- Seems to be weaker or have less endurance than other babies their age.
- Cannot grasp or hold small objects for several seconds by 6 months or can’t voluntarily release objects by 9 months.
- Regularly bumps into things without noticing things in their way.
- Is not visually tracking movement of objects or people the way other babies do.
- Isn’t meeting their milestones for gross motor skills.
If your baby has been referred to occupational therapy in Southwest Florida, FOCUS Therapy has OTs who are highly qualified, love children (and their grown-ups!) and are dedicated to providing the highest quality care for you and your infant.
FOCUS offers pediatric occupational therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
N/IICU Occupational Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
More Blog Entries:
Fort Myers Occupational Therapy Helps Kids Acquire Life Skills, Jan. 5, 2024, Fort Myers OT Blog