Behavioral Therapy for Children

Behavior Therapy Has 3 Basic Principles  Set specific doable goals. Set clear and reasonable goals for your child, such as staying focused on homework for a ­certain amount of time.  Provide rewards and consequences. Give your child a ­specified reward (positive reinforcement) every time he or she shows the desired behavior. Give your child a consequence (unwanted result or punishment) consistently when he or she has inappropriate behaviors.  Keep using the rewards and consequences. Using the rewards and consequences consistently for a long time will shape your child's behavior in a positive way.

 There are many forms of behavior therapy, but all have a common goal—to change the child's physical and social environments to help the child improve his or her behavior.

Behavioral Therapy Techniques Positive Reinforcement: Complimenting or providing rewards or privileges in response to a desired behavior. Example: A child completes their assignment as is rewarded with time on the computer.

Response Cost: Removing access to desired activity because of unwanted behavior. Example: Child loses television time for not completing their homework.

Token Economy: Combines rewards and consequences. The child earns rewards and privileges when performing desired behaviors. The child loses rewards and privileges when he or she engages in inappropriate behavior. Example: The child earns points when completing an assignment and loses points for reports of inappropriate behaviors from their teacher. The points are “cashed in “ at a specific point in time in order to “buy” a specific reward.

Tips to help manage your child’s behaviors Keep your child on a daily schedule. Try to keep the time that your child wakes up, eats, bathes, leaves for school, and goes to sleep the same each day. Cut down on distractions. Loud music, computer games, and TV can be over stimulating to your child. Make it a rule to keep the TV or music off during mealtime and while your child is doing homework. Don't place a TV in your child's bedroom.

Organize your house. If your child has specific and logical places to keep his schoolwork, possessions, and clothes, he or she is less likely to lose them. Save a spot near the front door for your child’s school backpack so it can be grabbed on the way out the door. Reward positive behavior. Offer kind words, hugs, or rewards for reaching goals in a timely manner for good behavior. Praise and reward your child's efforts to pay attention. Set small, reachable goals. Aim for slow progress rather than instant results. Be sure that your child understands that he can take small steps toward learning to control himself or herself.

Help your child stay "on task." Use charts and checklists to track progress with homework or chores. Keep instructions brief. Offer frequent, friendly reminders. Limit choices. Help your child learn to make good decisions by ­giving only 2 or 3 options at a time. Find activities at which your child can succeed. All children need to experience success to feel good about themselves.

Use calm discipline. Use consequences such as removing the child from the situation or distraction. Sometimes it is best to simply ignore the behavior. Physical punishment, such as spanking or slapping, are not appropriate responses. Discuss your child's behavior with him or her when both of you are calm. Develop a good communication system with your child's teacher so that you can coordinate your efforts and monitor your child's progress.

Set clocks and timers. Placing clocks with alarms throughout the house may help. Then, establish times for key activities — when your child will have dinner, start homework, catch the school bus, stop watching TV, and get ready for bed and set an alarm to signal each one. This way you don’t have to stand over your child and nag. Also, you are being clear and consistent about your child’s schedule, rather than saying, “We’ll do this in a few minutes”.

Plan for problems. Many parents can predict when their child is likely to be off task or disruptive. If you can anticipate problems, use it to your advantage. Develop a plan for what you will do if your child misbehaves, and share your plan with your child. Making the child aware of what may happen may lessen the likelihood that it will. If your child does misbehave, remember your plan and follow through.

Focus on the positive. Emphasize the things that your child does right. For example, if he or she is given a multi-part task, say “good job” when he or she has completed the first part. Focusing on the positive, rather than berating him or her for not finishing the entire task, is more effective. This helps build confidence in your child’s abilities. Make sure to refrain from giving false praise. Always be realistic because your child knows that not everything he or she does is not good.

Be consistent. Consistency is key to getting your child to change negative behaviors to more positive or productive ones. You need to react the same way every time your child behaves in a way that you like or dislike. Also, be persistent. You may want immediate results, but that’s not likely. It can take months to see significant progress.

Provide frequent feedback. Children require feedback for their behavior. When your child is behaving well, praise or reward him exactly as promised in an appropriate time frame. If your child is not behaving appropriately, apply the consequences you previously discussed with your child.

 Taking care of yourself also will help your child. Being the parent of a child with such classifications as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Emotional Disturbance or Autism can be tiring and trying. It can test the limits of even the best parents. Parent training and support groups made up of other families who are dealing with similar circumstances can be a great source of help. Learn stress-management techniques to help you respond calmly to your child. Seek counseling if you feel overwhelmed or hopeless.  Ask your pediatrician to help you find parent training, counseling, and support groups in your community.  Be persistent. You may want immediate results, but that’s not likely. It can take months to see significant progress. Final Thoughts