Natural Environment Teaching in ABA Therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at InBloom Autism Services incorporates several therapy methods, creating a holistic approach that can be adapted to the unique needs of each child. One of these methods is Natural Environment Teaching (NET), an effective teaching approach for children with autism.
What Is Natural Environment Teaching (NET)?
Natural Environment Teaching focuses on teaching children skills in a way that caters to their interests and takes place in a natural environment.
Principles of NET
The main idea of Natural Environment Teaching is in the name–natural. The goal of NET is for learning to take place in a natural, unforced way. You can incorporate NET into a child’s daily routine, playtime, or even during fun social activities!
Key Components:
- Child-Led: Your kiddo’s interest drives a NET session. For instance, they might express interest in playing with a specific toy car. This becomes an opportunity for a therapist to engage them in a teachable moment, where new skills are learned or existing skills are reinforced.
- Routine-Oriented: By building teaching moments into daily activities (i.e., snack time, playtime), our therapists give your child many opportunities to practice their skills naturally.
- Environment-Driven: Natural Environment Teaching in ABA uses cues that naturally occur in a child’s environment to prompt, or cue, them to complete a skill. For example, seeing a wastebasket may prompt a child to throw away their trash after a snack.
Benefits of Natural Environment Teaching for Autism
Natural Environment Teaching benefits children with autism in many ways. Here is just a sample:
Skill Acquisition and Generalization
Generalization refers to the ability to use a skill in a variety of social settings and situations. One example might be asking a peer to share a toy. Working on skills in many natural settings (i.e., at home, during therapy, at a playground) and during daily routines enables your kiddo to generalize their new skills.
Enhancing Motivation and Engagement
Learning is most effective when it is enjoyable. Because NET uses your child’s natural environment and interests, it helps engage them in the learning process. Catering to their unique interests also gives them greater motivation to practice their skills.
Supporting Individualized Learning
We understand that no two children are alike, and a cookie-cutter approach to therapy is not the most effective. Natural Environment Teaching is very flexible and can be made to work well for your child. The goal is to provide individualized therapy tailored to your kiddo’s needs, challenges, and strengths. The result is therapy that helps them meet their goals while growing in confidence.
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How Natural Environment Teaching Works
At our InBloom therapy centers, our experienced therapists use natural environment teaching throughout ABA therapy. One advantage of NET is that it is easily worked into a wide variety of daily activities and settings. As a caregiver, you’ll receive coaching on using NET at home to help your child grow in their skills.
NET: Natural Learning for Your Child
Natural Environment Teaching can truly enrich your child’s ABA therapy experience. Our excellent Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) use NET to create an enjoyable, comfortable learning experience for your child as they gain new skills and grow in confidence and independence.
Teaching Strategies
NET uses a variety of teaching strategies to help a child achieve results, including:
Behavior Momentum
By starting with practicing skills they are confident in, children have the momentum and motivation to launch into other exercises that may be a bit more challenging.
Incidental Teaching
This method takes advantage of learning opportunities as they come up throughout your child’s day. Stopping by the drinking fountain can become a spontaneous opportunity to reinforce the skill of waiting in line.
Reinforcement
Giving a child plenty of positive reinforcement is important in Natural Environment Teaching, and in ABA therapy in general. Rewarding them with an activity they enjoy or with words of praise encourages the development of positive behaviors and skills
Time Delay
Out therapists use prompts to encourage your child to practice or use a skill. A prompt is a cue or hint (i.e., a gesture or verbal prompt) to help them initiate a skill. Time delay involves gradually delaying a prompt each time your child practices a skill. Over time, your kiddo becomes able to initiate a skill independently using natural cues.
Fading
Like time delay, fading is gradually decreasing a prompt. For example, a therapist might start by demonstrating how to ask for a toy. As a kiddo becomes more proficient, the therapist will gradually switch to simply verbally cueing them to ask for the toy. Independence with their skills is the goal.
Data Analysis
Throughout NET, a therapist will continuously monitor your child’s progress and collect information, or data. Data collection and analysis help our therapists to ensure your child’s therapy plan is a good fit and to make any helpful changes.
Take the next step in your Autism Therapy journey!
If you are ready to start a journey of ABA therapy, we invite you to join us at InBloom Autism Services.
Our experienced, caring staff is ready to answer your questions and help you navigate your child’s therapy journey.
Contact us today, or give us a call at 888-754-0398.
Parent Reviews
Inbloom is the very best thing that has happened to my family this year our son has reached so many milestones with the help of the staff! Every staff member is so attentive to the needs of our son and so professional! These five stars are not enough to rate or appreciate them!
Raykeshia S.
Farmers Branch, TX
Raykeshia S.
Farmers Branch, TX
We are so grateful for finding InBloom! I was shocked when she made more progress in her first 3 weeks at InBloom than she did the entire time at the other facility. On top of that, the entire staff is so wonderful and communicates with us on every little step. I can't recommend them highly enough!
Christiana M.
Chandler, AZ
Christiana M.
Chandler, AZ
He’s only been going for 3 months and has already learned so much. Dad and I can definitely tell he’s learning and picking up on things he’s being taught. He’s always excited to go to “InBloom School.” He even asks on weekends. I highly recommend it.
Ebony F.
Colorado Springs, CO
Ebony F.
Colorado Springs, CO
Every interaction I've had there with anyone at all has been a pleasant one. It's always scary to leave my son somewhere the first time but the way he is eager to go back the next day instantly made me feel at ease. Everyone is so compassionate and I can already see slight changes in how he carries himself. I definitely recommend this Learning Center.
Nicole M.
San Antonio, TX
Nicole M.
San Antonio, TX
My son has made so much progress since he started there. Everyone there is so nice and good at their job! Would absolutely recommend!
Sara W.
Brookfield, WI
Sara W.
Brookfield, WI
Our son has made tremendous progress, and we as a family are beyond thrilled to see the love and care this team has for our son. He loves it there, his therapists, and his peers!
Emily B.
Jacksonville, FL
Emily B.
Jacksonville, FL
The most enjoyable part is seeing all of your effort paying off. When you can hear a child say something or even SING something, when they can't speak at all or in anything other than baby talk, is the most rewarding thing ever.
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
Norwich, CT
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
Norwich, CT
I’m beyond blessed to work for a company that is so supportive and generally cares for every student and employee's growth. I’ve been in this field for over 7 years and I’ve NEVER had a company provide so much assistance that betters my quality of teaching.
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
St. Petersburg, FL
Registered Behavior Technician (RBT)
St. Petersburg, FL
