Psychminds and Behaviour Change Nicole

Episode 2 of our series, "Working with a Client Blueprint" is finally here! It's been a busy couple of months but I have finally found my way back to podcasting.

In this episode, I talk about what to focus on during the initial sessions when you start working with a client. I'll give you a hint as to what that is: building rapport!

While parents, caregivers, therapists and BCBA's may be keen to jump in and immediately start skill building, teaching and implementing behavior reduction strategies, the thing that we actually need to focus on is the relationship between yourself and the client.

Click the link to access the free resource library: https://psychminds.com/document-library/

As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on the episode! To get in touch you can reach me on the below platforms:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay 

Welcome to the New Year and a new series over here on the Psychminds and Behaviour Change Podcast. In this series, I will be walking you through the process of working with clients from signing on a new client to exiting them when the time is right.

In this episode, I will detail all the steps involved when deciding if ABA services are right for an individual. I will take you through the process of coming up with the initial questionnaire, intake assessment and writing up the intake report for a potential client.

While this episode is directed more towards therapists and BCBA's working in the field, parents may also find it useful to know what exactly therapists are looking for when working with your child and how they are assessing certain skills.

Click the link to access the free resource library: https://psychminds.com/document-library/

As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on the episode! To get in touch you can reach me on the below platforms:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay 

Does your little one share things willingly? Or does sharing evoke a meltdown within minutes? Do you catch yourself saying, "Sharing is caring" on repeat to no effect?

While sharing might be a sign of caring for adults, this isn't quite the case for babies and young children. From a developmental perspective, a child's Theory of Mind (ToM) has not yet developed. Theory of Mind encompasses the ability of an individual to understand that other individual's have inner emotional states different from one's own. In the context of sharing, not only is it important to be aware that other children have different perspectives and feelings, they also have to care about those perspectives and feelings. This requires ToM, which does not typically develop until ages 4-5 years old.

Until that age, sharing can actually be an aversive and threatening situation for young children. The "sharing is caring" mantra can also be very confusing for young children who are receiving mixed messages - one message being the adult trying to prompt the one year old to share and the other message being from the one year old who is having a tantrum over the situation. 

It could actually be more appropriate to teach the child who does not want to share an appropriate refusal response, such as, "No thank you," or something in their repertoire. Subsequently, it would be important to teach the other child in this scenario appropriate choice making skills and prompt him/her to tolerate the denied access to the item and choose between other fun activities/toys.

When it comes to developmental preparedness, there is no point pushing against a closed door. In the context of sharing, this door typically opens between ages 4-5 years old.

As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on the episode! To get in touch you can reach me on the below platforms:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay 

Teaching individuals to tolerate denied access to items, activities, places or people is an essential skill. It helps the individual learn and implement coping strategies, appropriately select available alternatives and communicate their emotions. Not only does teaching them this skill build up toleration to denied access but it also helps them cope when situations or events do not go as planned or if circumstances occur outside of their control which are potentially disappointing or aversive.

I have worked with individuals who were rarely told "no" growing up and it reached the point where they were teenagers or adults in the clinical setting and it was downright dangerous to tell them "no" due to their extreme responses and dangerous behaviours. This not only put staff and clients at risk of injury but does a disservice to the client. By never being denied access to anything, it creates a false reality where there's the illusion that you can get whatever you want, when you want it, which simply cannot be the case. 

This episode is full of tips on how to gently ease in denied access to things which is child-lead and focuses on reinforcement as a key strategy to encourage individuals to accept denied access. I talk about taking gradual steps and constantly pivoting and shaping your teaching style based on how your child or client is responding.

As always, I'd love to hear your feedback on the episode! To get in touch you can reach me on the below platforms:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay 

Have you ever wondered how certain people are able to fit more and more tasks, activities, to-do items into an already jam-packed schedule? Do you think they are just some kind of productivity genius or secretly have superhuman powers?

In this episode, we talk all about how to create a habit that you are able to stick with. We all have hobbies, something we like to do just for ourselves. However, cultivating those hobbies and turning them into something we do regularly and consistently is something else entirely.  Most of us think we don't have the time to add a single additional item on our plate of things to do - and perhaps that is true! But for those who are interested in taking their hobby further, keep listening!

Here I make it personal and talk all about how I want to transform my writing hobby into a regular practice, why I haven't been able to up until this point and how I am going to start doing this. Moreover, I tie in plenty of ABA principles as well as scenarios I have experienced in the clinical setting working with individuals with autism, learning difficulties and maladaptive behaviour. Some principles include:
Schedules of reinforcementBehaviour momentumCompeting contingenciesResponse effortAccountability partnersGoal settingIs there a habit you are trying to cultivate? Reach out and let us know :)
To access similar content, check out Psychminds platforms below:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay 

This episode is a wrap up of the Challenging Behaviour series over here on Psychminds Podcast. We discuss tangible maintained behaviour which is challenging behaviour maintained by access to tangible items such as toys, food items, places etc.

We also talk about a less discussed function which I believe is worth noting. Give the episode a listen to find out what it is ;)

While it is helpful to identify different functions of behaviour, it is also important to note that human behaviour is extremely nuanced and these functions are generally operating in combination with each other. For instance, a child usually engages in certain behaviours to access escape from a task (escape maintained behaviour) but it is also likely to be maintained by access to tangible items as well since it is unlikely that the child would just want to escape the task and sit and do nothing.

For this episodes freebie, you have access to a Verbal De-escalation Procedure  which involves problem solving with your child to help de-escalate potentially fractious situations. To access this procedure, all you have to do is head on over to www.psychminds.com. Once your on the website, click the resources section and subscribe. You will then have access to the ENTIRE resource library. 
To access similar content, check out Psychminds platforms below:
Instagram: @psychmindspodcastFacebook: PsychmindsWebsite: www.psychminds.comTo connect with Nicole:
Instagram: @authornicoleplumridgeWebsite: www.nicoleplumridge.comTo purchase Nicole's books:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X64LRL3/ref=rdr_ext_tmbIf you enjoyed this episode, I would be so grateful if you left a rating and/or review. Thank you for listening!

Music Credit
ZakharValaha from Pixabay