As a BCBA, the most important thing I want parents to know is that I am not here to change who your child is. I am here to learn how to see things from your child’s point of view in order to better understand how he interprets the world around him.

Your child’s behavior is a direct result of the environment. The environment is made up of all the people, places, and things that surround him. At the core of ABA is what we call “environmental manipulations”- looking at what goes on around us, how we react to those things, and what can be changed to produce better outcomes for us. So, as a BCBA, I closely observe your child and how he reacts to his environment. Then I try to pinpoint certain parts of the environment that we can change in order to promote verbal communication and decrease problem behaviors. 

For example: You have all of your child’s favorite foods on the bottom shelf of the pantry so that he can get a snack whenever he is hungry since he can’t say that he is hungry. Once he brings you a pack of Goldfish crackers you open them immediately because you innately know he is hungry. While we do want to promote independence and self-help skills, this teaches your child he is able to have whatever he can reach, but it has cut verbal communication out of the picture.

So, how can we use “environmental manipulations” to work on your child’s verbal behavior skills in this example? There are two really great options I see here. One, when your child brings you the package of Goldfish crackers that he was able to get on his own but needs help opening, work on him telling you “open” or “help” by saying it, signing it, or using a picture exchange system. A second option is to move the snacks up one shelf and to place them in clear bins so that he can see what is available to him, but he is no longer able to access them on his own.

Now he needs you in order to get his snacks and he has to communicate which snack he wants so that you can get it down for him. A great option no matter if your child is saying it, signing it, or using a picture exchange system to tell you what snack he wants is to provide a “visual menu” inside the pantry door. This can take the guesswork out of figuring out which snack he wants and reduce any frustration associated with not understanding each other.

Your child can simply point to the picture of the snack he wants and you can then help him practice saying it/signing it/ or using a picture exchange system to verbally communicate it to you. After a little practice your child now knows to come find you and tell you what snack he wants, or to ask for help opening it,  instead of simply getting it on his own and handing it to you.

I hope this helps you better understand that ABA is here to help you understand how your child perceives the environment so that you can then make small changes that will help promote communication and reduce problem behaviors in everyday life.