Compassionate ABA

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Everything you need to know

Compassionate ABA

Practice

Takeaways

Client Dignity

Prompting

Pairing

What is it?

What does it mean to be compassionate?

- Empathizing with our clients - Being able to feel others emotions and take action - Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect

Compassionate ABA

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• Maintain Dignity through Least Restrictive Interventions

• Acquire Assent

• Emphasize use of Positive Reinforcement

How to Implement Compassion-Focused ABA

• Offer noncontingent compassion

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Conditioning ourselves as a positive reinforcer

• Following a client's lead
• Using items and doing activities that they find reinforcing

Pairing

• Autonomy - ability to make own decisions
• Least Restrictive Interventions
• Emotional Validation - offering empathetic statements, offering a hug
• Noncontingent support - "I'm here for you"
• Offering assistance - "I can help you"
• Wait patiently

Prompting

Respect

To respect our client's dignity, it is important to speak about our clients in a positive way, especially around them. It is also important to speak to our client's in a positive tone of voice

HIPAA

It is important that our clients information is protected. This means making sure to not discuss any identifying factors (name, address, etc.)

Confidentiality

Our clients have the right for their information to be kept confidential. This includes challenging behaviors

Client dignity

QUestion

Role PLay

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Question

Let's practice!

• While some interventions are designed to reduce challenging behaviors, we can still implement them compassionately
• The goal of ABA is to increase independence and create socially significant changes for our clients. We want to do this in a compassionate way and not by control or force
• Pairing is a great way to build trust with a client
• If your client is engaging in challenging behavior, you can offer empathetic statements or choices. It's also okay to wait!
• Keep side conversations limited and talk positively around clients

Takeaways

THANK YOU!

• Alleviates suffering
• Helps build rapport
• Builds trust
• Supportive atmosphere

Reasons to be Compassionate

• Have motivating items and provide them for free continously (NO DEMANDS)

• Engage in play with the client (i.e., imaginary play, sit near the client, comment on what they are doing)
• Narrate play (i.e., "wow look at you building that tall tower")
• Be FUN!!

Ways to Pair

You have a client who is really upset over denied access of taking a toy from a sibling. You can be compassionate by commenting or saying something like "I know how frustrating this is. Let's make a different choice between getting cars from the playroom or taking a ride in the wagon.

Example of Using Compassionate ABA