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Naturalistic Approaches: Behavioral Management

Autism Parent Seminar, Rubin Center Psychiatry

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Understand how approaches Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) can support families in guiding individuals with autism towards healthy behaviors.

Explore Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) behavior motivation concepts through a relationship-based lens

TOPICS FOR TODAY

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What you will

learn today

Gain foundational knowledge of Relationship Development Intervention (RDI)

KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Develop strategies for working through cycles of negative thoughts

Recognize the importance of shared regulation and communication repair within family dynamics

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Relationship-based intervention

Focuses on promoting social and emotional development through authentic dynamic interactions between you and your child.

RDI

It emphasizes the importance of establishing a robust and collaborative relationship.

Goal is using this relationship as a foundation for learning and development.

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LOTS OF FACTS WITHOUT EMOTIONAL MEANING

Remembering the capital of France and the rules for playing football uses semantic memory

SEMANTIC MEMORY

EPISODIC MEMORY

GRABS AT EMOTIONS, MORE EXPERIENTIAL MEMORY

AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS MAY STRUGGLE MORE WITH THIS- most noticeable when asked very open ended, unsupportive questions.

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BASED ON MAXIMIZING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENT/ CHILD

BASED ON THEORY RELATIONSHIPS ARE INHERENTLY REINFORCING, SELF MOTIVATING

GOAL IS TO ADD SMALL BITS OF NOVELTY, PAIRED WITH PREDICTABLE ELEMENTS, IN WAYS THAT ARE EXCITING AND TEACH CHILD NEW SKILLS

TAKES GREAT PAINS TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS SOME VALUE AND MEANING FOR EVERY SKILL BEING TAUGHT

Involves a lot of nonverbal speech, preferred activities, SLOW IT DOWN activities, taking time TO PROCESS the THING we’re doing

RDI- PARENT LED INTERVENTIONS

THERE ARE 6 LEVELS- NOVICE, APPRENTICE, CHALLENGER VOYAGER, EXPLORER, PARTNER

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ABA 101 RDI ADD ON

Reinforcement refers to any consequence or event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again in the future.

Positive reinforcement is a key component of ABA and involves providing rewards or praise for positive behavior.

Reinforcement IS the positive relationship between the child and the parent. For example, you can use positive reinforcement to praise your child’s efforts and progress, which can help build your child's self-esteem and motivation to learn.

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ABA 101 RDI ADD ON

Motivating operations (MO)s are environmental factors that can increase or decrease the value of a reinforcer and influence behavior. MOs are critical in ABA because they can help therapists and caregivers understand the underlying reasons for behavior and adjust the environment to enhance the effectiveness of reinforcement or punishment.

Motivating operations can be used to create a positive emotional mindset for the child. For example, you can use sensory strategies such as deep pressure or weighted blankets to create a calming environment for your child, increasing their motivation to learn and engage in positive behaviors.

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Behavior modification is the application of behavioral principles to change behavior in a socially significant way.

This is done by analyzing the antecedents (what comes before the behavior), the behavior itself, and the consequences (what follows the behavior), known as the “ABC’s,” and then applying specific interventions to modify the behavior.

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) also focuses on developing meaningful relationships, enhancing social communication skills, and promoting emotional regulation

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How do we navigate negative thought cycle as parents?

SELF AS CONTEXT

DEFUSION

RADICAL SELF COMPASSION

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THOUGHT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

Self as Context

Concept that people are not the content of their thoughts

Pause and reflect on different roles that you hold

You are the context of your life.

Loosen up attachment to our thoughts

one of the core principles in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), is the concept that people are not the content of their thoughts or feelings, but rather are the consciousness experiencing or observing the thoughts and feelings

Throughout our day, we have different roles we play , these roles change

Pause and reflect on different roles that you hold

Notice its the same you that is there, the same you that is spouse, parent,

Consider how many different roles

What it does it feel like to realize you have different roles and picturing idfferent situations

We tell ourselves stories we believe to be true about who we are. These can be long-standing narratives adopted from a young age, that came out of abuse, or that we’ve heard from others in our adult years. These stories about ourselves dictate our actions in response to a thought, memory, emotion or urge.

Self-as-context is one’s perspective of the ever-changing content of one’s life (one’s thoughts, feelings, life experiences, memories, evaluations, labels, social roles, identities, behaviors etc.) You are the context of your life. Your perspective of these things, and everything else in your life, and how you choose to respond to them influences how they affect you. By changing your perspective, you can change how an experience affects you, enabling you to view yourself and your life with flexibility

Rather than overidentifying with your thoughts or other internal experiences, self as context requires you to view yourself through the lens of an observer who sees all parts of you, not just the one you’re experiencing right in this moment. Who you are is not the same as your fleeting feelings, urges, physical sensations, memories, or thoughts.

You can look at your thoughts, feelings, and other internal experiences from the perspective of an outside observer to see other perspectives on what you might be going through,

What might someone else be thinking if they could listen in to what’s going on in your head? If you were talking with a friend and they shared this with you, how might you respond to them? What would you be feeling or thinking about them?

Allowing yourself to explore various different narratives about yourself rather than limiting yourself to one definition that may or may not be true can help you release the limitations you feel

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Your movie of your life

“Out of an entire lifetime of experience—literally hundreds of thousands of hours of archival "film footage"—our thinking self selects a few dramatic memories, often our worst moments, edits them together with some related judgments and opinions, and turns it into a powerful documentary, entitled "This Is Who I Am!"

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Cognitive

Defusion

Thought Management

Techniques

I’m having the thought that…

Allowing yourself to explore various different versions about yourself rather than limiting yourself to one definition (that may or may not be true) can help you release the limitations you feel

OBSERVE THE WORKINGS OF YOUR MIND AS IF FROM OUTSIDE

Negative thoughts as nothing more than ideas — passing comments that don’t mean anything about your worth or ability to succeed

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Radical

Self Compassion

Thought Management

Techniques

Embrace ourselves

with SELF

COMPASSION

WITH A SENSE OF HUMOR AND PLAYFULNESS, WE CAN TALK TO THE MIND

Thanking the mind FOR SHARING

HOOKED ON THOUGHTS VS UNHOOKED

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Time for Questions

LET'S DISCUSS THEM NOW!