APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
Behaviors serve some type of purpose. If there is a behavior we
want to change, we have to first ask ourselves what the person is
trying to communicate; this will provide us with a more informed
manner to respond to the situation.
1. A Magnifying Glass represents Observation
A magnifying glass allows the person using it
to see something up close and personal. When
you place a magnifying glass near an object,
you will begin to see in more detail the charac-
teristics of the object. When you are with your
children, remember to continually observe
behavior to ensure they are the best people
they can be. This means that you should be
objective in how you view what they do and
the situations that surround them. Just like
with a magnifying glass, you might be able to
see things that you didn’t see before and dis-
cover how certain actions in the environment
might affect the children’s behavior (e.g., what
happened right before the behavior and what
happened right after).
2. A Question Mark represents Why a Behavior
is Happening
Behaviors serve some type of purpose. If there
is a behavior we want to change, we have to
first ask ourselves what the person is trying to
communicate; this will provide us with a more
informed manner to respond to the situation.
For a strategy to be successful, we have to make
sure it is appropriate to the situation. Once we
have identified the reason, we can then incor-
porate a strategy specific to that reason. The
representation of a question mark can create a
visual for what needs to be figured out.
3. A Reward Ribbon represents Reinforcement
of Desired Behaviors
Many times, we tend to react when we see
the more challenging behavior, which makes
sense because it’s usually the behavior that
can lead to undesired situations. But what hap-
pens when we only give attention to challeng-
ing behaviors? That’s all we will focus on, and
44 | Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 87
that is all we will get. Rather than solely focus-
ing on the challenging, let’s give attention to
the positive behavior, or the behavior that we
see little of, and praise! What will happen now?
The more we praise the wanted behavior, the
more we could potentially begin to see. The
Reward Ribbon can create a different manner
of approaching the challenging behavior and
thus shift a parent’s and caregiver’s perspec-
tive to attempt to focus on the positive.
4. Blueprints represent a Plan
What would happen if a house was built with-
out blueprints or if a journey was completed
without a map? This would affect the outcome;
we would probably take longer or make many
mistakes along the way. And while we may not
always be able to plan everything, we should at
least try. This means setting yourself and your
child up for success. Having a plan when going
into different environments (i.e., the communi-
ty, a family member’s home, school, the store)
ensures success by identifying what may trig-
ger certain behaviors and a goal for what may
be done about it.
5. Schedule represents Structure and Routine
Without a certain frame to refer to, we have no
idea what day it is or what we should be doing.
To ensure success within our days, we should
set up some type of routine to help with the
transitions between activities (e.g., a planner
or visual schedule that states activities to be
completed during the day). This means we
should set up a plan for children with autism to
engage in slowly; as they practice more, give
them more independence with it. This doesn’t
mean that we have to set everything up and
stick only to that, as this creates rigidity. In-
stead, have structure, but plan for flexibility.