Parent Training: An adjustment in perspective

Who should attend...?

This workshop is designed for parents, adult family members, and others who are responsible for the care and supervision of a child with a disability. While much of the content has been specifically tailored for parents of children with autism, it is applicable to parenting of children across the spectrum of disabilities.

Purpose of the workshop:

The purpose of this workshop is to go beyond typical “parent training” discussions of behavior techniques and instead develop or enhance a basic understanding of fundamental behavioral and teaching concepts. This focus will be applicable to both reducing or eliminating behavior problems as well as improving or increasing skill acquisition within the home and neighborhood.

Content and exercises are designed to first guide each participant in the examination of a sampling of his or her own behavior patterns in daily life as a means of understanding general behavioral concepts. We will emphasize important distinctions including:

• Issues related to patterns of reward
• Communication vs. speech
• What a behavior looks like vs. why that behavior is taking place

Multiple examples, some of a humorous nature, will be utilized to demonstrate the relevance of these distinctions when trying to develop or use alternatives to problem behaviors. By associating these examples with specific concepts, cues will be introduced to serve as catch-phrases to help recall.

This new understanding will provide the basis for a shift in parent perspective to one of an emphasis on parent behavior as a key to impacting child behavior and skill acquisition. Positive techniques that can be immediately applied in home and community settings will be presented, with practical examples of such strategies as the use of contrast, shaping, and establishing routines. Reviews of communication and generalization issues are also included in the context of this information.

Specific objectives for participants:

• To examine behavior in terms of sequences and functional outcomes
• To expand a “common language” that will assist in problem solving in home and community settings
• To recognize the effects of the interface of parent behavior with that of the child
• To develop or expand routines as a means of providing structure and consistency in home and community settings
• To enhance the coordination of home and school-based efforts

Workshop Schedule:
(Times can be adjusted to align with school day schedule of the host district)

Day 1

• 8:30 Introductory comments, rationale, and objectives
• 9:30 Group exercise…an assessment of perspective;
            How many times do I have to tell you?
• 10:30 Whose reinforcement is it, anyway?
             What can a soda machine teach us about tantrums…?

• 11:00 Lunch
• 12:00 Brief review of the morning’s content;
               Why time-out does not work….and when it does….
               What does a yellow light mean?
• 1:00 Alternative responses… there is more than one way to get the salt…
• 2:00 To catch them being good, you first have to catch them…
           The set-up;
           Homework assignment
• 2:15 Flex time and questions
• 2:30 Adjourn

Day 2

• 8:30 Brief review of Day-1 content;
           Review of sampling of parent homework experiences;
           Your ABCs revisited…what you missed in kindergarten.
• 9:30 And now its time to play? …. “Let’s make a deal….”
• 10:30 Sequences and radio waves … They are everywhere;
              Who sets your routines? …
              License to be in charge
• 11:00 Lunch
• 12:00 Consistency and routines:
              Learning Trials…consistency, and routines:
              Disruption can be a good thing…
• 1:00 Communication…
            What you want and what you need….
            Classrooms in your world…
• 2:00 Flex time and questions
           Evaluation
• 2:30 Adjourn

Contact our office to learn how you can host this training at your site!

888.732.7462 TOLL FREE

smoore@pecs.com

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