Meme Hieneman

Having a child with challenging behaviour can be frustrating and affect the entire family. This workbook will help you take a more positive attitude toward your child and carry out effective steps to improve behaviour. You will begin to feel more confident in your parenting skills and more optimistic about your child's future. The program outlined in this workbook will be tailored to your child's and family's needs and goals. It will teach you how to identify what sets off your child's problem behaviour, as well as what your child gets or avoids from misbehaving. You will learn strategies to prevent problems, manage consequences, and teach your child new skills. With the help of your facilitator you will design a behaviour support plan for your child. Finally, you will put the plan into effect and monitor the results. Throughout the program, you will be practising how to think more positively, which can help you be a better parent. In addition to working with your facilitator in session, you will be completing homework assignments using the workbook. Each chapter provides the information and forms you need to assess your child's behaviour, apply new strategies, and track your family's progress. As you support positive behaviour step by step, you will be working towards improving the lives of your child and your family.

One of the main concerns of parents of children with developmental disabilities such as autism is the management of problem behaviour. Frequent incidents of aggression, self-injury, and tantrums, among others, can be the most difficult obstacles to placing a child in schools or other community settings. Children are unnecessarily isolated and are not given the opportunity for socialization because parents feel it is impossible to avoid these problem behaviours. In fact, it is often the parents' attitude itself that is the greatest obstacle - by assuming the worst about their child's behaviour, they create an environment where change is impossible. In a study that followed children from age 3 to age 6, the most significant factor for predicting later behavioural problems was not the extent of the child's disability, or the severity of earlier problems, but the level of parental optimism. This manual is the result of an evidence-based program that teaches positive skills to parents of young children with disabilities. Many parents feel powerless in the face of their child's disability, and therefore give up on trying to change problem behaviour. This 8-week program teaches parents to identify these 'hopeless' thoughts, and provides optimistic alternatives. Sessions include how to identify behaviour triggers, and strategies for managing these situations, replacing destructive behaviours, and maintaining a positive outlook on the child's development. By the end of the treatment, parents will have created a behaviour management strategy to use in the future, and will have a more effective, optimistic attitude. A corresponding workbook provides forms for monitoring the child's behaviour, homework assignments, and positive reinforcement for parents.

This book is a practical, user-friendly guide for parents implementing positive behavior support (PBS) in their homes. It assists parents in understanding and resolving problems through proactive, effective, and research-based methods. PBS is accepted as a best practice within schools and this book makes this approach accessible to families. The book guides parents to better understand and solve their own problems by restructuring their homes and routines and addressing problem behavior effectively. The book contains detailed case examples and worksheets to encourage use by the readers, whether they are parents, teachers, or other professionals.