Promoting Positive Behavior

Some children with developmental disabilities are slow to learn their daily living skills and others display challenging behavior.

Parents can often be helped to teach these children new skills and to promote positive behaviors by HRC specialists who are trained as “applied behavior analysts”.

These behaviorists help families to assess their children’s behaviors, and develop individualized plans for modifying behaviors and developing new skills. Specialized classes introduce behavioral principles and help children and parents using practical and individualized examples.

Course topics and strategies range from toilet training to managing problem behavior, developing daily living skills, promoting self-esteem, stress management, body awareness, safety, and sexuality. Parents attend an Orientation session, scheduled with their HRC Counselor, before being enrolled in training courses.

We recently visited two Body Awareness and Safety classes being led in English by Iris Owens, and in Spanish by Karine Paulan. During this session parents and teens got into some thoughtful discussion about safety and privacy on the internet.

While their parents and older siblings attended class, younger siblings played together in the child care room. Later everyone came together for some family craft time.

In these classes that bring parents and children together, they make sure to find ways to make learning fun.

To learn more about parent training in behavior management and to sign up for an Orientation session, contact your HRC Counselor.