Steps To Progress

We know it’s a little early to start planning for Halloween, but for some children, having extra time to prepare can be helpful. 🎃

Halloween can involve a lot of experiences that don’t happen every day, including costumes, decorations, doorbells, unfamiliar people, crowded events, and changes in routine. Introducing some of these things ahead of time can give your child a chance to become more familiar with what they may see and do.

You might practice walking up to a door, carrying a treat bag, seeing family members in costumes, or using your child’s preferred way to communicate while trick-or-treating.

A little practice now can help make Halloween activities feel more familiar when the day arrives!

October starts tomorrow! 🍂🎃

A new month brings plenty of simple ways to practice skills during everyday activities. Picking out a pumpkin can encourage making choices, decorating can practice following directions, and fall crafts can work on fine motor skills and completing steps in order.

ABA skills don’t have to stay in a therapy session. Some of the best practice happens while doing the things your family already enjoys!

Happy October from Steps to Progress! 🧡

🍂 Fall is here, which means pumpkin patches, festivals, school events, and plenty of opportunities to get out as a family!

If your child has a hard time with crowds, new environments, waiting, or changes in routine, a little preparation can help. Check out our latest blog for tips on preparing children with autism for fall festivals and community activities.

Read the full blog: https://www.stepstoprogress.com/blog/aba-therapy/fall-festivals-and-activities-with-aba-therapy-in-houston/

Preparing for Fall Festivals and Activities with ABA Therapy in Houston Make fall outings more manageable by preparing for crowds, sensory needs, waiting, and changes in routine with support from ABA therapy in Houston.

In Houston, a 30-minute drive can easily turn into much more depending on the time of day. So when families are choosing an ABA therapy provider, it’s understandable that location and commute time are part of the decision, but families are also weighing the quality of care and overall fit for their child.

When looking for ABA therapy in Houston, families may want to tour multiple providers and ask questions about BCBA experience and caseloads, therapist training and consistency, parent involvement, safety procedures, and how therapy is individualized for their child.

The closest center may be the best fit, and if so, that’s great! But if a little extra drive time leads to a provider that better meets your child’s needs, it may be worth considering the longer commute.

This blog shares questions families can ask when comparing ABA therapy providers and determining what matters most for their child.

🔗 Read more: https://www.stepstoprogress.com/blog/aba-therapy/choosing-an-aba-therapy-facility-quality-vs-drive-time/

Sometimes a child knows exactly how to do something in one setting, but has a harder time using that same skill somewhere else.

They might ask for help during therapy but not at school, or follow a familiar routine at home but struggle with it in a new environment. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve forgotten what they learned!

In ABA therapy, we call this generalization — helping a child use a skill with different people, in different places, and during different parts of their day.

At Steps to Progress, we work on helping children carry the skills they’re learning into everyday life, so they can use them when and where they need them. 💙

Practicing parts of the school lunch routine at home can help children feel more prepared for the cafeteria. Simple activities like opening containers, carrying a tray, asking for help, and gradually getting used to busier environments can build familiarity while respecting each child’s sensory needs.

Read our latest blog for more ways to support children with autism during school lunch: https://www.stepstoprogress.com/blog/autism/autism-sensory-challenges-school-lunch/

School lunch can create sensory challenges for children with autism due to loud conversations, scraping chairs, bright lights, food smells, and crowded tables.

Parents and school staff can help by identifying the specific source of discomfort and considering adjustments such as:

• Seating in a less crowded area
• Noise-reducing headphones
• A quieter lunch location
• A consistent routine or visual schedule
• Practicing lunch skills at home

Read more about making lunchtime more manageable for children with autism on our most recent blog: https://www.stepstoprogress.com/blog/autism/autism-sensory-challenges-school-lunch/

Navigating Autism Sensory Challenges During School Lunch Practical tips for helping children with autism manage cafeteria noise, crowds, food smells, and other sensory challenges at school.

Have you ever watched your child do something independently one day, only to need help with the exact same skill the next?

For children with autism, knowing a skill doesn't always mean they can use it consistently in every situation. This is where prompting, reinforcement and generalization can help.

A prompt provides the support a child needs to complete a skill, while reinforcement helps encourage them to use that skill again. Generalization focuses on helping the child use what they've learned with different people, in different places and during different routines.

The goal is to gradually reduce support as the child becomes more independent and able to use the skill outside of therapy.

At Steps to Progress, we use ABA therapy to help children build skills they can use at home, at school and in their community!

Supporting Self-Advocacy in ABA Therapy...

“No,” “stop” and “I need a break” are important communication skills that can help children express their needs and boundaries.

In ABA therapy, children learn ways to communicate when they don’t want something or when they need help or space. Depending on the child, this may happen through spoken language, gestures, visual supports or another communication method that works for them.

Teaching a child to communicate these needs supports self-advocacy and gives them an alternative way to respond when they are uncomfortable, frustrated or overwhelmed. For example, a child who becomes overwhelmed during an activity may learn to request a break instead of relying on behavior to communicate that need.

Our ABA providers can practice these skills during therapy while helping families reinforce them during routines at home and in the community!

Children receiving ABA therapy have opportunities to practice developing skills in many parts of their day, including at home and at school.

Communication between parents, teachers and ABA providers can help connect those experiences. Sharing observations, using consistent strategies when appropriate and creating opportunities to practice skills during everyday routines can help children use what they are learning with different people and in different environments.

For example, a child learning to request a break may practice using the same communication method at home and at school, while a child developing independence can practice those skills through different routines in each setting.

Our latest blog shares ways parents and teachers can work together to support ABA goals across home, school and therapy.

Read the full blog: https://www.stepstoprogress.com/blog/aba-therapy/and-school-working-together/