Ben Franklin once wrote, ”An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In context, his comments were about fire safety, but the concept applies directly to managing a child’s behavior.
Today's post is focused on preventative strategies, also known as antecedent strategies. The basic concept is simple-to consider the environment or situation and what you know about the child so you can make alterations as necessary before a behavior occurs.
For example, we know from experience that Adventure Boy strongly dislikes loud sounds. However, his brother plays drums in the school band. We could avoid the situation altogether by not bringing AB to concerts, but that doesn't teach him coping skills so he can participate with the family. Our plan to prevent a public meltdown triggered by the concert is threefold:
1) We use noise-canceling headphones to make the sound less overwhelming.
2) We sit in the back and on an isle to reduce the number of people around and to allow for a quick escape if AB starts to show distress.
3) We drive separate vehicles in case one parent needs to take AB home if he is too overwhelmed. That allows one of us to stay and support his big brother as well.
Planning ahead for as many eventualities as we can helps us immensely as a family to prevent meltdowns and other behavior problems.
Antecedent strategies can be implemented at home, at school, and in public. Other examples we use with Adventure Boy include:
*A ”bag of tricks.” Miss Lona and I know it can be hard for AB to transition in the halls. She carries a little bag filled with some of his favorite fidgets to make it easier to coax him to change environments. This has proved an effective way to prevent the ”stop and drop” maneuver in the middle of the hall that we used to see frequently.
*AB has a ”sensory diet.” This a routine established with the assistance of our OT to provide regular sensory input. We have found that this reduces the chance that AB will engage in self-injury or aggressive behavior to meet his sensory needs.
*Visual schedules help Adventure Boy know what will happen next in his day. This reduces his stress with transitions and improves the likelihood he will do well with the next activity.
*Using first-then language helps AB know that something desirable is coming if he follows an instruction.
There are many more antecedent strategies that can be adapted to nearly any situation. They are most effective when personalized to the child’s needs.
I could use your help to determine the direction of my next few posts, so please feel free to comment below! We can explore sensory diets, visual schedules, first-than language or even what is in Miss Lona’s “bag of tricks” if there is interest. Otherwise, we’ll move on to other adventures!
Have a great week!
Comments