Age: 4+

The book Embracing Autism: The Preschool Years Building Positive Behaviors at School with Visual Supports embraces the fundamental principles of Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA to address challenging behaviors. Decades of research point to the promise of focusing on antecedents to prevent challenging behaviors from interfering with all aspects of a child's development. Educators can support children through a variety of antecedent-based interventions that decrease stress and increase success through behavioral momentum. While it may take time, the gains of teaching desired behaviors, practicing and reinforcing those behaviors consistently is priceless.

Detailed in this book are multiple evidence-based strategies and visual tools that clarify expectations, increase communication, and build the executive functioning skills of self-regulation, memory, attention, and organization in young children. Educators have the great opportunity to teach these executive functioning skills that continue to develop throughout adulthood impacting behavioral, academic, and social emotional areas that serve as a foundation for lifelong success.

Objectives:

• Recognize the critical role of antecedents and prevention
• Prevent challenging behaviors through classroom organization and visual supports
• List ways to provide predictability and decrease student stress through structure
• Identify the most important ways to maximize the impact of schedules
• Develop visual cues and supports that teach desired behaviors
• Build a menu of positive reinforcement strategies and tools
• Identify strategies and tools to develop self-regulation and calming skills
• List strategies to support children to de-escalate when emotions get too big
• Empower children through choices and communication tools