Event

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have varying degrees of behavioural problems, such as tantrums, out of the seat, and even self-harm. These behavioural problems seriously hinder children’s learning, and many parents reported that they do not know how to deal with these problems. In order to enhance the knowledge and ability of parents in home training, therapists of the APF Parents Resources Centre provided a training session earlier for parents of children undergoing our treatment programmes, teaching parents skills and tools for handling behavioural problems of their children, and encouraging them to use effective ways to improve the situation of their children continuously.

Most of the parents thought that scolding their children is a punishment. Mr. Isaac Wong, our Case Coordinator broke the myth. At the beginning of the training, he explained the theory of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and explained the definition of reinforcement and punishment, emphasising that we should observe children’s behavioural changes after reinforcement and punishment. Sometimes, scolding children may also be a kind of “reinforcement” which increases the frequency of the occurrence of a particular behaviour. He specially reminded parents to use rewards appropriately.

At the second half part of the training, parents were divided into groups to discuss different behavioural problems and tried to develop strategies. They learnt skills and tools to manage behaviours through the therapists’ demonstration. Parents also practised using different behavioural systems and received on-site guidance from the therapists directly. Parents asked questions very actively, hoping to work out the most suitable behavioural system for their children.

A parent said, “The speaker’s hands-on demonstration made it easier for us to understand. I also knew that which types of reward and punishment are suitable for my children.” Some parents liked the practices. “Parents can practise different skills, and the therapists would give us suggestions.” Isaac hoped that there will be more opportunities to share with parents about the skills of using reinforcement to improve children’s behaviours in the future, so as to reduce the stress of caregivers in the long run and increase the children’s learning effectiveness.