Courses

Challenging Behavior

During this course you will be learning about why challenging behavior occurs, what you can do to reduce challenging behavior, and how to teach alternative appropriate communication. One of the objectives in this course is to identify the cause (or function) of a challenging behavior by conducting a functional assessment. In addition to understanding why appropriate communication is important, we will explore different forms of communication and how to determine which one is appropriate for your child. One of the interventions that you will learn to implement is functional communication training (FCT) which will help you teach communication and ways to respond to challenging behavior.

Who would benefit from this module:

Learners who have difficulty communicating in any setting (home, educational, community) because of interfering behaviors.

Learners who act-out when they are unable to communicate.

ADOLESCENCE & Adults

This course is designed to help you plan the transition from adolescence to adulthood with your child. Following high school, transitioning to employment or post-secondary education can take some planning and involve difficult decision-making. You will learn the laws that support guardianship rights and support services for your child. In addition to learning about the three major skills sets of Transitioning—we will discuss the importance of Person-Centered Planning (PCP) and how to to help tailor this process for your child in order to be successful in reaching their post-secondary goals. We will also guide you through identifying independent-living skills, self-management strategies, as well as employment skills.

Who would benefit from this course:

Learners who are 13 or older.

Learners who need assistance transitioning to the community.

Learners who need assistance with daily living skills (such as hygiene, brushing teeth).

Learners who need assistance learning practical skills (cooking, washing, cleaning, etc.).

Learners who are ready to transition from high-school to post-secondary setting or employment.

Academic and adaptive Skills

Every learner is different so on this module we want to provide you with strategies that will help you teach new skills to your learner. Essential to this module is bringing together what your learner considers “work” and what your learner finds motivating in the same environment or workspace. We will explain how to help your learner remain motivated through the use of reinforcement and preference (or reinforcer) assessments. An important technique taught in the Academic and Adaptive Skills modules is prompting. While learning to prompt your learner you will evaluate how much or how little help they need from your when they are learning a new skill or sharpening a pre-existing skill.

Who would benefit from this course:

Learners who have difficulty remaining on-task.

Learners who need to learn a new skill (e.g., potty training)

Learners who struggle with motivation.

Learners who may need additional help to sharpen skills.

Communication SKills

It is important that communication with your learner is individualized so throughout this module we hope to help you learning to communicate with your learner and help your learner express themselves using a communication form. We will explain the following forms of communication: vocal speech (talking), manual sign (sign language), picture exchange, and using a vocal output device (speech-generating device). We will explore the importance of capitalizing on opportunities when your learner is motivated by something to use language or communication to obtain it. Specifically, we will guide you through a strategy known as Incidental Teaching to recognize when your child is motivated by something, how to encourage and expand their communication, and when it is appropriate to help (or prompt) them use communication to get something they want.

Who would benefit from this course:

Learners who are learning to communicate or no longer communicate.

Learners who struggle to communicate their needs.

Learners who use an alternative form of communication.

Social Skills

The Social Skills modules focus on promoting social skills with your learner. You will learn to gradually introduce skills in a sequence using a strategy known as Task Analysis. Task Analysis is basically like teaching your learner a social behavior using a recipe. In addition, you will learn about the use of Social Stories to introduce and guide your learner for situations that may involve a change in routine or a complex social behavior (ex. Visiting the Dentist). You will also learn how to use video modeling to break down a task by teaching a sequence of steps.

Who would benefit from this course:

Learners who have difficulty approaching or interacting with others.