We all want our children to have joyful childhood experiences and then grow up to be healthy happy adults. Sometimes however, our children need help reacting to situations, adversity, and challenges faced in life. That is where we come in. STS offers behavior therapy to teach children different methods of responding to situations more positively. As a result of our behavior therapy methods, your children will learn the skills necessary to become resilient and then have the behavior tools they need to succeed in life and respond appropriately to various situations.
The behavior therapy we offer, can benefit a wide range of children. People most commonly seek behavioral therapy for their children to help with depression, anxiety, panic disorders, anger, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, phobias including social phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, self-harm, substance abuse, and many other disorders that may preventing their children from succeeding in the classroom and in life. In addition, behavior therapy also helps children with autism. Studies have shown that behavioral therapy has successfully been used to treat a large number of conditions and it’s considered to be extremely effective.
One effective behavior therapy approach we offer at STS is Applied Behavior Analysis. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the use of techniques and principles to bring about meaningful and positive change in behavior. From toddlers to adults, these techniques can be used in structured situations such as a classroom lesson as well as in “everyday” situations such as family dinnertime or the neighborhood playground. Some ABA therapy sessions involve one-on-one interaction between the behavior analyst and the participant. Group instruction can likewise prove useful. One common technique of ABA is positive reinforcement. Say a child is extremely angry in the classroom setting, avoids doing work, and is often disruptive at school. This child’s behaviors in this situation, prevent them from accessing their education which then leads them to fall behind in classroom instruction. In this situation, positive reinforcement could be used to give the child an incentive for on-task behavior. The goal of this would be to reduce the negative behaviors and increase positive behaviors. If the child likes basketball, introducing a 5 minute basketball break when the child finishes answering a few questions, provides an incentive for the child to engage in on-task behaviors. The important thing with ABA is to make sure that the ABA therapist understands the child, builds rapport with the child, and is then able to individualize a plan to help the child increase desired behaviors and build positive social skills.
Whether it is Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), or other behavior therapy methods including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Discrete Trial Training, STS can help your child with behavior therapy that is right for them. We are here to help so that your child does not give up in class, feel frustrated, or miss out on a meaningful childhood experience. Behavior therapy is proven to create positive changes in children and we are ready to help.