Self-Management In ABA
Self-management is a dynamic and important principle that can enrich your child’s ABA therapy. In combination with many other therapy and teaching methods, helping children with self-management skills can benefit them in many ways.
Understanding Self-Management
Self-management in ABA means empowering children to manage and take ownership of their progress toward their goals. As a result, they can celebrate their success along the way and achieve more independence and autonomy.
Key Components of Self-Management
Under the umbrella of self-management are several key strategies.
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring involves a child observing and tracking their own progress toward their goals using tools like checklists or journals.
Time Management
Learning how to make efficient use of time is a vital life skill. As part of ABA therapy, time management instruction can help your child make the best use of their time as they pursue goals and learn skills.
Self-Instruction
Self-instruction is really what it sounds like. Children are encouraged to use self-talk and cues to prompt themselves through new skills. Rather than relying on reminders from a therapist, your child can learn to cue him or herself to use a new social skill, for example, at the appropriate time.
Goal Setting
With the help of a therapist, setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals for themselves can help your child work incrementally toward concrete goals, increasing the potential for success.
Benefits of Self-Management in ABA
Self-management is a vital part of ABA therapy at InBloom Autism Services, and it can offer children some amazing benefits:
Independence
By learning to manage and track their own progress toward mastery of new skills, children become less dependent on supervision and prompts, helping them develop independence. They also benefit from recognizing their success, which can fuel even more learning.
Generalization
As part of self-management, a child can learn pivotal skills, which can carry over into a wide range of contexts. A skill practiced and mastered in therapy can benefit them at home, with other peers, and ultimately at school and beyond.
Implementing Self-Management Strategies
So, what does putting self-management principles into practice look like in ABA therapy?
Assessment and Data Collection
These terms may sound clinical, but they simply refer to figuring out what a child’s needs are and tracking their progress as they work toward their goals. Let’s apply the idea to self-management in ABA. Your child’s BCBA may see that they could benefit from learning to initiate asking a therapist for a favorite toy. Self-monitoring their progress toward this goal might be the self-management piece.
As their therapist helps your child toward this goal, they will gather information about your child’s progress. This helps ensure that the best approach is being used and that a child is benefiting from a particular approach. Sometimes, a therapy plan may need to be adjusted.
Role of Reinforcement Systems
Reinforcements simply help ensure that a positive, effective skill gets repeated in the future. To return to our previous example, as a child works on asking for a favorite toy, a therapist makes sure to reward them by allowing them to play with the toy. Moving forward, this type of practical reinforcement helps a child repeat this effective skill.
Another type of reinforcement is somewhat reversed. For example, a child may revert to a verbal outburst to ask for something rather than raising their hand to be called on. Prompting the child to raise their hand and waiting to fulfill their request until they do is a way of gently reinforcing a positive behavior and discouraging a less effective one.
An Evidence-Based Intervention
Research shows that incorporating self-management into ABA therapy can have positive outcomes for children with autism. Areas of benefit include social, play, self-help, and communication skills.
Based on evidence, other benefits of self-management include greater awareness of behavior, taking ownership of completing a task, and effectively working together with others.
Challenges and Considerations
A child with autism may struggle with relying on input or initiation from others to navigate daily life or use appropriate skills in different situations. Implementing self-management strategies—which encourage them to rely more on themselves and take initiative—can be challenging. It is essential, however, that a child grows and develops in independence and autonomy. Our experienced therapists can come alongside and use self-management strategies to help them.
Start Your Autism Therapy Journey with InBloom Autism Services
Our dynamic therapy team is equipped to help children with autism grow in the independence and autonomy they need. To take the next steps toward a journey of life-changing therapy for your child, contact us today.
