Children with autism and related disorders often have severe communication deficits. This workshop presents an overview of the Verbal Behavior approach to teaching communication and language skills to children with autism. We will discuss language from a behavior analytic perspective and how to select the most appropriate mode of communication (vocal, signs, pictures). Some specific teaching methods for generating independent language and communication will also be presented. The critical elements of a home-based or school-based language program will also be discussed.  As a result of taking this online workshop the participant will be able to:

• Describe how the Verbal Behavior approach differs from traditional methods of teaching language
• Begin teaching basic language skills
• Describe the critical components of an effective Verbal Behavior program

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: None

Child behavior problems occur because they "pay off" for the child. Effectively dealing with problem behaviors first requires identifying  the specific payoff for each of the child's problem behaviors. Next, an intervention specific to the payoff must be selected and consistently implemented. This introductory workshop discusses some common reasons why children and adolescents display problem behavior, how to quickly determine the likely payoff and some proven methods for improving undesired behavior. This workshop is designed for parents and teachers of children with mild to moderate problem behaviors. As a result of taking this online workshop the participant will be able to:

• State the three most common reasons why children behave
• Determine the reason(s) for the individual's behavior
• Choose an intervention that is likely to be effective

Difficulty Level:Introductory
Continuing Education: None

The most common problem that parents reports about their children is a concern about behavior. Usually, the child is engaging in some undesired behavior or the child is not engaging in a desired behavior. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of inaccurate or misleading information available to parents about dealing with behavior problems. This workshop presents many proven and practical ways of avoiding these mistakes and gives specific strategies for dealing effectively with a wide variety of behavior problems.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: None

Available April 2009!

This workshop series will teach you proven and practical methods for dealing with common problem behaviors exhibited by children and adolescents. You will learn how to deal effectively with problem behaviors and make them less likely to reoccur again in the future. The methods presented in the workshop are based upon decades of scientific research and have proven effective with thousands of families. Moreover, these methods are practical – they can be used by anyone, anywhere. The workshop is broken down into several modules to facilitate downloading to your computer.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: None

In a typical teaching session, the learner may make many incorrect responses or may fail to make a response entirely. There are many negative outcomes from allowing the learner to make repeated errors including (a) increasing problem behaviors, (b) inadvertently teaching a chain of errors, (c) slowing the rate of teaching, and (d) increasing prompt dependency. This workshop presents state-of-the-art methods for ensuring the learner is successful on every trial leading to more effective and efficient learning.

Difficulty Level: Moderate
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

In a perfect world, all children would benefit greatly from all therapies or treatments. However, in the real world some children make great progress while others struggle. While it is easy to blame the "learner" for his or her failure to learn or otherwise benefit from therapy, the true reason for children not benefiting from therapy include (a) ineffective or inappropriate treatments or therapies, (b) ineffective or inappropriate measures of therapy or treatment outcomes, and (c) unqualified practitioners.

In this workshop participants will learn to identify treatments and therapies that are truly likely to produce therapeutic gains and how to work with the therapist in identifying meaningful treatment outcomes and methods to continually evaluate the child's progress towards meeting those outcomes. This will help ensure that resources are continually focused on obtaining positive outcomes for the child and that resources are not wasted on ineffective or inefficient treatment or therapy

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

Many children display problem behavior in public settings. In many cases, the child's behavior in public is no worse than his or her behavior at home--it is simply more noticeable to the parent and others in public places. In other cases, the child's behavior in public is actually worse than his or her behavior at home. This often occurs because the child is more successful in obtaining desired items or events in public situations. This workshop will present proven and practical methods for teaching children to behave appropriately in public situations. Strategies for dealing with many common everyday situations will be discussed presented including traveling, waiting in line, waiting for meals, being told "no," shopping, and others. Time will be reserved to address specific questions from participants.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: None

Non-compliance with others’ requests is the primary complaint of parents, teachers, and others about the behavior of children and adolescents. Non-compliance can range from relatively mild to very severe. Fortunately, there are several behavioral methods to improve compliance. Each of these methods will be discussed in detail. Focus will be placed on positive behavior change methods that result in the child wanting to follow directions.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

This workshop presents the skills necessary for a child to be successfully mainstreamed or included into general education classes. It addresses the specific skills needed for successful mainstreaming and inclusion, how to determine if the child has the required skills, how to teach the child who is not ready, how to fade supports to make the child more independent, and how to work with school staff to make mainstreaming and inclusion successful.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

This workshop discusses many common problems with home- and school-based educational programs for children with autism. Errors in the areas of assessment, motivation, reinforcement, prompting, generalization, fluency, monitoring and supervision are addressed. Emphasis is placed on how to improve these areas to benefit the learner.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

A large percentage of children with special needs experience sleeping problems. This results in many negative outcomes for these children and their families. This workshop discusses the current state-of-the-art methods for treating children who struggle at bedtime, do not fall asleep on their own, and/or do not sleep throughout the night.

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

Many children with autism have difficulty learning and working independently. Visual schedules are used widely to support children with autism who have such difficulties. However, they are often used in such a way that reduces their potential effectiveness. This workshop  addresses the essential elements of an effective visual schedule designed to foster independence in children with autism and related disorders. Participants will learn how to:

• Determine if a child will benefit from a visual schedule
• Determine if a child is ready for a visual schedule
• Prepare a child who is not ready
• Develop a schedule
• Teach the child to use the schedule
• Determine if the schedule is working as desired

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the document that guides a child's education. As such, it is the most critical element in determining whether or not a child receives a quality education. When developed and implemented properly, the IEP is the student's and parent's single best educational resource. Unfortunately, many IEPs are improperly developed and/or implemented. This prevents the child from receiving an appropriate education. In this workshop, participants will learn to:

• Identify common IEP errors and how to correct them
• Identify effective & ineffective goals/objectives
• Write effective goals/objectives that guarantee student progress
• Correct existing goals/objectives that are limiting student progress

Difficulty Level: Introductory
Continuing Education: Behavior Analysis

Coming in the Summer of 2009!

We currently do not have any live webcasts scheduled. Please send us an email and we will notify you as these events become available. webcast@behavior-analysis.org

Stay tuned for future dates.