Social Skills Series: 3 Games That Teach Kids To Cooperate

Applied Behavior Analysis is a way to teach children with autism to learn basic skills that are important for everyday life. This article lists 3 games to help improve your child's social and emotional learning.

What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a science that helps us understand how behavior works. Behavior analysts study how people learn, think, and behave. They then use what they have learned to help people with problems interfering with their ability to do things. The goal of ABA is to increase desirable behaviors while decreasing inappropriate behaviors. It is always used positively. Applied Behavior Analysis is a behavior-change methodology designed to make life better for people with autism and their families. 

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is a strategy of teaching that helps students learn to work together. They can discuss topics, raise their hands, listen respectfully to others' ideas, and share their thoughts with the whole group. Games are one-way children can be introduced to cooperative learning. Through collaborative learning, children learn to work with others and solve problems independently. 

How to Play Collaborative Games With Kids

Collaborative games are designed to help kids learn to work together in an activity. This type of game will usually have several parts that players need to work together to accomplish. Any number of people can play the game, but it is best when played with four or more participants. Collaborative games can be used for any age level, but the best results come when playing with children between six and ten years old. Choose a game that is appropriate for the age level of the children you will be playing with. Younger kids can play some games, but other games will be too complicated for young children.

3 Easy Games That Teach Kids To Cooperate

The power of teamwork is vast, and working together can help kids in school and beyond. Here are some easy games that teach kids to cooperate. Many easy games teach kids to collaborate. You can find them online or create your own. These are just a few ideas that can help kids learn to work together in a fun way. 

1. Waiting in Line Game 

This game is an excellent choice for the school cafeteria or any line. Choose a kid to be the leader. The other kids will wait in line behind them. When it is their turn, they will go up to the leader and say, “I would like an apple.” The leader will then respond, “Yes, you may. You may have one .” The kid will then respond, “Thank you.” And the leader will respond, “You’re welcome. ” That person will then get their food and take a seat at another table. The following person in line then steps forward to repeat the same process.  

2. Barnyard Call

Each person is given the name of an animal, with approximately three-five people having the same animal. Spread the group across a field, court, classroom, etc. No one is allowed to tell another which animal he is. At the signal, each person makes the animal's noise that he has been given. The winners are the first group to find all of their animals and sit down.

3. Hop off The Boat

Use a large sheet and a small ping pong ball. Form two sides. The object is to get the ball to fall off the other team's side for a point. Each group holds an opposite end of a bedsheet.

Place the ping pong in the middle of the sheet. Instruct teams that they can raise and lower as needed, but remind the players to be careful not to “launch” the ball (as they will be very inclined to do so). Place until the first team reaches 5 points or any number you choose.

Conclusion

The best way to teach our kids cooperation is to provide them with opportunities for it. The games in this article are perfect for teaching cooperation, even if they are competitive. They can also be made cooperative by changing the rules.

I hope you found this blog informative and the information helpful. If you are interested in learning more about Applied Behavior Analysis and the services Behavior Matters, LLC provides, please send an email to info@behaviormattersllc.com

Social Skills Series: Teaching Children How to Share

Social skills are an essential part of being a happy and healthy child. This article will explore how you can use Applied Behavior Analysis techniques to teach children the social skills they need to succeed in sharing, connecting with others, and cooperating with their peers.

Principles of Sharing

    Sharing is a complex process, and every person shares their personality and personality style. Some people do not share more often than others; most people do share most of the time. But there are different motivations for sharing, different methods of sharing, and different thoughts on how one should go about sharing. Children do not automatically know how to share. It is essential to teach them the principles of sharing and negotiating conflicts with their peers. The principles in include:

1. Children should take turns with toys, meaning they shouldn't play with something unless it's their turn. 
2. Children shouldn't take someone else's toy without asking first. 
3. The third principle is that children can't break another child's toy.

Applied Behavior Analysis for Sharing

    Teaching children about sharing is an essential social skill. When children understand how to share, they are more likely to learn other important skills, including empathy, cooperation, and problem-solving. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) teaches children how to share. This type of therapy encourages adults to praise and reward the child when they share. It also gives them plenty of opportunities to practice and learn how to share in a safe environment.

Teaching Basic Sharing Concepts

    One way to teach kids how to share is by presenting them with a set of two items, one that they want and the other that someone else wants. This should be done in a way that makes it clear that both children can have what they want, but only if they both give up something. Parents need to remember that this lesson may not come easily or naturally, so it may take some time for children to grasp the concept.

    Children are taught how to share from a young age because it's an essential life skill. The best way to teach sharing is to show children how other people use the material they're trying to access. In this way, children can learn to share without feeling like they are giving up something of their own. For example, if a child is trying to get a toy out of another child's hand, the parent can say something like, "Oh, that's a cool toy. Does it make music?" If the child holding the toy then says, "Yes, it plays a song," the first child can respond with, "Cool! I love that song! May I have a turn?" In this way, the parent can help teach children how to share without stepping in and taking the toy from the other child.

    Kids tend to watch their parents closely and model their behavior after their parents. In addition to teaching kids what sharing is, it's also important for parents to model the behavior. There are many ways that parents can do this, from sharing the responsibility of cleaning up to offering toys to a crying baby.

Activity Ideas for Teaching How to Share

Here are four activities:

1. Use shoeboxes to make a "sharing station" for children to put their toys in. When they come across an item that another child wants, they can ask the other child if they want it.
2. Have one child find five treasures throughout the room and hide them in different places. Have the rest of the children search for them; once found, the treasure is shared with whoever finds it.
3.  Draw a picture of what you shared today on a large piece of paper and hang it up in your classroom.
4. Make a "sharing garden" out of cups and spoons using pipe cleaners and markers; when everyone is finished, take the garden home for your child to share with their family!

Conclusion

This blog discusses the importance of social skills training for children. We have to teach our children how to play well with one another and share. Social skills training also helps a child's personal development, physical growth, and academic learning.

I hope you found this blog informative and the information helpful. If you are interested in learning more about Applied Behavior Analysis and the services Behavior Matters, LLC provides, please send an email to info@behaviormattersllc.com

Teach Social Skills to Children With Autism

In this blog post, we'll be talking about how you can teach your child social skills with the help of ABA therapy. We'll also discuss what social skills are and why they're essential to learn.

Why is it essential for children on the autism spectrum to learn social skills?

Social skills are the non-spoken communication skills we use in our day-to-day lives. This includes greetings, appropriate topics of conversation, and knowing when it is appropriate to touch another person. Children on the autism spectrum find social skills complex for various reasons, such as sensory processing differences, difficulty understanding social cues or facial expressions, and difficulty regulating emotions.

What is ABA therapy?

ABA therapy is a behavioral method of teaching different skills to autistic children. It has many benefits and is tailored to the individual child's needs. For example, it may involve working on social skills, such as saying hello or playing with others. ABA therapists work with parents or teachers to develop a curriculum for individual children that helps them learn how to behave appropriately in different situations.

With daily practice, the child will feel more comfortable in their environment, which will improve their overall quality of life. Social behavior is often a problem for children with autism spectrum disorders, and it is one of the focus areas of ABA therapy. An ABA therapist will use repetitive teaching and positive reinforcement with the child to teach social skills, like looking someone in the eye, shaking hands, and accepting or giving a hug.

Ways to use ABA therapy to teach social skills.

ABA therapy is often used to teach social skills to children with autism. It can be done one-on-one or within a group setting. First, two essential concepts must be earned before the therapy begins: "chaining" and "cueing." Chaining is where you link together certain behaviors to form a sequence. Cueing is when your child's behavior allows you to praise them for doing something correctly. Once the child masters these two concepts, it's time, to begin with, the therapy.

For example, let's say that you want your child to look at you before saying "Hello" when they greet someone. First, you would teach the child to look at you whenever they say, "Hello. " This is the chaining part. Then, you will praise when the child does this correctly a few times, which is the cueing part. Finally, you would have the child do this behavior in a varvarioustions and with various people.

Conclusion

The techniques taught in this blog are essential for children with autism to know for successful functioning in society. Teaching these skills will help them develop independence, reduce anxiety, and make friends with people different from themselves.

I hope you found this blog informative and the information helpful. If you are interested in learning more about Applied Behavior Analysis and the services Behavior Matters, LLC provides, please send an email to info@behaviormattersllc.com

Age Appropriate Chores

 AGE 2-3

Put toys in toy box, fill pet’s food dish, place dirty clothes in hamper, wipe up spills, put books and magazines in a pile.

AGE 4-5

Make the bed, empty wastebaskets, put toys and art supplies in storage containers, clear table, pull weeds, water flowers, unload utensils from dishwasher.

AGE 6-7

Sort laundry, sweep floors, set and clear table, help make and pack lunch, pull weeds and rake leaves, keep bedroom tidy.

AGE 8-9

Load dishwasher, put away groceries, vacuum, help make dinner, make own snacks, clear and wipe table after meals, put away laundry, dust tables and entertainment center with microfiber, take pet for a walk.

Unload dishwasher, fold and put laundry away, clean bathroom, clean inside windows, give pet a bath, cook simple meals with supervision, clip shopping list coupons, vacuum, clean kitchen, change bed sheets.

 AGE 10+

Unload dishwasher, fold and put laundry away, clean bathroom, clean inside windows, give pet a bath, cook simple meals with supervision, clip shopping list coupons, vacuum, clean kitchen, change bed sheets.

Taken from www.MollyMaid.com

Sesame Place Is Now the World’s First Autism-Certified Theme Park

"Exciting news for all fans of Elmo, Big Bird and the gang: Sesame Place is officially autism-certified."

"Working with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, the Sesame Street–themed amusement park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, is actually the first theme park ever to bear the “Certified Autism Center” qualification."

WOW, this is really exciting news for our community. 

Check out the link below to read the complete story.

https://www.purewow.com/news/sesame-place-certified-autism-center?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=main&utm_term=fastpub


And this is a link to the Theme Park... https://sesameplace.com/philadelphia/help/autism-resources/

Summer fun at Behavior Matters Eagle River

We are looking to enriching your child's summer.  Every summer we plan for activities to help our clients retain skills they learned during the school year while building more group activities and social skills.  We take walking field trips to practice safety and social skills within the community.  Our Eagle River community has so many great places to eat and play.  We have more plans for this summer.  Every week is a different theme.  It is really fun for the kids (and staff)!

We look forward to working with your child.

Summer Fun at Behavior Matters

Name of Child_______________________________    Age_______________

Social Group Sessions at the Eagle River Clinic

Ages 3-6	🗹 9am-12pm	🗹 12pm-3pm	🗹 9am-3pm
Ages 7-9	🗹 8:30am-11:30am
Ages 10+		🗹 12:30pm-4pm

My child will attend social groups on:

🗹 2 day (Tuesday & Thursday)

🗹 3 days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

🗹 5 day (Monday-Friday)

🗹 I would like services for My child in the community: _______________ (location)

🗹 I would like services for My child at home _____ days a week for _____ hour(s) session(s).

🗹 We have vacation(s) planned for _______________________________. (dates)

🗹 We are moving this summer.  If you would like a referral to another agency, please let us know.

*Schedules are First Come First Serve

**We may have to request additional units through your insurance company, please return no later than April 13.

***Due to schedule changes, your child may work with a different technician.  This is a great opportunity for generalization of skills.

****Every week is a different, fun theme.  We will also walk to parks and other local community locations.

Our Autism Story

A friend of mine shared their "autism" story, so I thought I would share ours. Our oldest had a pretty normal birth but spent a week in ICU due to high billy ruben levels. (no playing the what if game.. but i hate that his eyes were covered for a whole week for long periods of time). CJ loved to be in the sling I used. I carried him around in that until I was too pregnant with Nola to carry him. He also loved to sit quietly and look a books. (I think he may have be hyperlexic) He was such a quiet well-behaved guy. I was a "baby wise" mom and he took right to the schedule (now I think he needed that and it probably helped alot.) i remember my friend Angie use to tell me all the time what a good baby I had. He smiled alot and really did like to get his picture taken. As we moved along, his development was "normal". As a toddler he had some issues with biting but I thought it was probably just "toddler behavior". We had the darnest time toilet training him and I was sure he would not be in Kindergarten (he was by 4 ish). He went to ABEKA PK4 and his teacher talked about how smart he was, but that he was always moving. He had a hard time sitting to do work and writing, but he was fine at home. Out in public he was always a little hyper but it didn't phase me. CJ was born in late July but we decided to put him in K the fall he was 5. That was a bad decision and by Oct we had to pull him out of school. He was upset and having behavior issues. I took him home, put him back in PT PK and let him grow and mature for a year. 

We tried a private school the next year in a K,1,2 multi age class. ANOTHER bad idea. the school insisted I put him on ADHD meds. That was a hard decision and one I still regret. He needs them now but he didn't then. It seemed like every week we were at the doctors either increasing or changing the meds. My little guy didn't act like himself, sometimes put his head in his backback and would trhash around. It was hard for me. So once again I pulled him out of school (actually the school requested it but told me Nola could stay!) 

The next year we went back to our public school. I met with them in the spring and was able to meet CJ's teacher for the next year, Tin. Jett was born late April and by the fall of CJ's second 1st grade year, I put Jett in half day daycare, so that I could get a PhD in CJ. 

I went to Sensory workshops, ADHD conferences, read countless books, worked with therapist (for me and him), got him in OT and PT. The year earlier I started to question if it was Asperger's but everyone told me "No Way", he made eye contact, he wants friends!! so we keep going down the ADHD road. That school year was a good turning point. I told Tin that I didn't care if he "learned" anything that year, I just wanted him to love school. I went up to school and brushed him 3 x's a day, and started all the therapies (except ABA, I didn't even know what that was). We met an amazing Nueropsych there Dr Audrey Don and she did one on one therapy with CJ. I still have her notes. I learned so much from her. 

We then moved to GA and CJ started 2nd grade. Another horrible year. My guy would all but fall out of the car everyday when arriving at school, he had what seemed to be no executive functioning skills. He lost everything and his teacher (although) sweet was not equipped to help him. I felt like I lived in the move Groundhogs day" b/c everyday we would have the same conversations on the way to school. Somedays I wanted to scream. No one would even consider a IEP b/c he was just too smart!! We had meeting after meeting. The school psych even told me that if I would concentrate on my other children and stop perseverating on CJ, he would be fine!! (Yes folks there was about 10 other people int he room including a state parent advocate I brought). But b/c I would not give up, he agreed to sent out the GADS (Gillian's Asperger's Diagnostic Scale). A probable score is 100. His teacher's scores were 125 and ours were around 120. So off we went to have more psych testing done. The results came back that he was on the spectrum. Funny but I am probably the only person that was relieved to hear it. I knew my guy was different but everyone had us going in different directions. 

Next I had to fight for a IEP, b/c he was "so smart". (Being smart does not mean you don't have deficiencies!!) within the first semester of his 3rd grade year, I once again pulled him so that he could go to a school closer to my where I worked. THANK GOODNESS. it was a good fit. but at the end of that school year we moved to TX. 

My TX story is too long to tell but the best part of all of the TX Randolph ISD drama was that CJ began getting ABA with a amazing BCBA. Ashley (and several others Anissa) helped us in so many ways. (and got me stated on a new career path). 

Over the years we have had amazing ST, OT , PT and BCBA's. I am so thankful for everyone that helped (including grandparents). He is now 17 and it is still hard but he has come so far and that is easy to forget when you are in the middle of it. It really does take many hands to make light work. Thank you to everyone that encourages and prays for us. Through it all we have been so richly blessed!!