Don’t Say “It can’t get any worse” or “It can’t get any better”

When the problem behaviors are out of control, everyone is unhappy, and people have been injured, someone is bound to say “well, at least it can’t get any worse.”  But they are almost certainly wrong. People are often surprised, that yes, it can get worse. Much worse. On the other hand, when things are going really well, someone is bound to say, “It can’t get any better.” That’s almost certainly wrong, too. Just because the clients are doing great and everyone is happy, it doesn’t mean dramatic improvement isn’t possible.

It is important not to think that, “it can’t get any worse” when things are going poorly because this type of logic is used to justify risky decisions. When, it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, it is time to slow down. Don’t worry about the long term right now. Make sure everyone is safe. Then, carefully evaluate your options.

It is equally important not to think, “it can’t get any better” when things are going well because it will prevent you from being on a Poogi. In all likelihood, that person is overconfident. No matter how well you are doing, dramatic improvement is possible as much as we hate to admit it. If you think you can’t get any better, trying to make improvements is worthless.

In ABA, the range of the quality of programming is large. Often, we think we might be at the extremes of one end or the other. That’s very unlikely. It is best to always assume you are somewhere in the middle, and you probably are. Just always be on a POOGI.

Behavior analytic services should only be delivered in the context of a professional relationship. Nothing written in this blog should be considered advice for any specific individual. The purpose of the blog is to share my experience, not to provide treatment. Please get advice from a professional before making changes to behavior analytic services being delivered. Nothing in this blog including comments or correspondence should be considered an agreement for Dr. Barry D. Morgenstern to provide services or establish a professional relationship outside of a formal agreement to do so. I attempt to write this blog in “plain English” and avoid technical jargon whenever possible. But all statements are meant to be consistent with behavior analytic literature, practice, and the professional code of ethics. If, for whatever reason, you think I’ve failed in the endeavor, let me know and I’ll consider your comments and make revisions, if appropriate. Feedback is always appreciated as I’m always trying to POOGI.

Today Rudolph Would Have Been Allowed to Play the Reindeer Games- But He Still Might Have a Hard Time Making Friends

Of course, bullying hasn’t been eliminated. But it has been greatly reduced, and when it occurs, it is much more covert than it used to be. In modern times, it is unlikely teachers would allow any child to be excluded from games. But a common mistake people make is that proximity and inclusion lead to friendships. Sure, it can happen, but it is still hard for people who are different to make friends.

Today, if you go into virtually any preschool, kindergarten, or 1st grade class, everyone is “friends.” In schools, the word “friends” is now used as a synonym for “classmates.” Teachers say things like, “Each friend will line up and take a piece of paper.” “When it is your turn, tell your friends what you did over the weekend.” Even outside of school, many parents do things like invite every “friend” in the class to birthday parties.

Now, it may be a lovely thought, but that’s not what we mean by having a friend. Young kids exposed to years of this type of language may not understand what it means to have a friend.

Developing meaningful friendships is difficult process for many children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Often, this friendship culture in the early years can sometimes fool us into thinking children are making meaningful friendships when they aren’t. Children may include others in recess games, but that doesn’t mean a real friendship is developing.

ABA had much to offer in the realm of teaching children the skills needed to develop meaningful friendships.  Over and over again we have learned that inclusion and proximity to peers does not necessarily lead to friendships. It may be necessary, but it is not sufficient. The work is much harder than that.

Behavior analytic services should only be delivered in the context of a professional relationship. Nothing written in this blog should be considered advice for any specific individual. The purpose of the blog is to share my experience, not to provide treatment. Please get advice from a professional before making changes to behavior analytic services being delivered. Nothing in this blog including comments or correspondence should be considered an agreement for Dr. Barry D. Morgenstern to provide services or establish a professional relationship outside of a formal agreement to do so. I attempt to write this blog in “plain English” and avoid technical jargon whenever possible. But all statements are meant to be consistent with behavior analytic literature, practice, and the professional code of ethics. If, for whatever reason, you think I’ve failed in the endeavor, let me know and I’ll consider your comments and make revisions, if appropriate. Feedback is always appreciated as I’m always trying to Poogi.

“We Tried That Already, and It Didn’t Work”

As BCBA’s, we are often called to help someone solve a problem. Frequently, after a brief time of analysis, the problem seems quite obvious. At that point, we are eager to start telling people how we plan to fix the problem. But when you start to describe the plan of action, you may run into tremendous resistance. This resistance can take many forms, but today I’d like to discuss “we tried that, and it didn’t work.” People who say that expect you to move on and give them a different idea on how to solve the problem. This can lead to friction when you continue to promote your plan instead.

Why is this so common? When things aren’t working, people become desperate for an answer, and try anything that seems plausible to see if it works. This is a strategy I call “Throwing Spaghetti,” and it rarely has long-term benefits. Even worse, when people resort to throwing spaghetti, they often think they have tried science-based interventions like functional communication training, applied behavior analysis, performance management, or verbal behavior, and conclude that those procedures just don’t work for him. But when people try these interventions, there are often a variety of errors in implementation. And even small mistakes in the implementation of these interventions can lead to very poor results. Understandably, it’s very hard to convince someone of this. Why would they buy into your plan if they believe they have already been “doing that for years?”

To move past “we tried that, but it didn’t work” resistance, you must first realize that from the other person’s perspective, your intervention has been tried and found to be lacking. They are looking for something new and different. I think this phenomenon can partially explain all the different branding we see in ABA. But I don’t think calling the same old interventions by a new name is really an answer.

The biggest mistake that we make here is telling people how to solve the problem too soon. As soon as we think we’ve done enough analysis, we are very tempted to jump right into how to solve the problem. But that’s almost always the wrong approach. It can lead to instant resistance as people think they have tried that approach already, or have another idea as to how the problem should be solved.

In my experience, the right approach is to first get agreement on the problem. Start by having a conversation with all the relevant stakeholders; parents, teachers, or administrators. Then discuss what is causing the current problem. Keep discussing until everyone is enthusiastically agreeing that you understand the problem. Once you reach that point, and not a minute sooner, you are ready to present the solution of how to solve the problem.

Being understood is a potent reinforcer for just about everybody. If people think you don’t understand them, they will keep arguing. I believe this is what leads to discussions where people are saying the same thing over and over again.

Sometimes even this isn’t enough, and there is more to learn about how to present solutions to problems in high resistance situations. But if you master this one thing, it will make a huge difference. I learned this a long time ago, by reading this novel. I don’t follow the procedures exactly like it is done in the novel, but I am convinced the general idea is an important social skill for most professionals.

Behavior analytic services should only be delivered in the context of a professional relationship. Nothing written in this blog should be considered advice for any specific individual. The purpose of the blog is to share my experience, not to provide treatment. Please get advice from a professional before making changes to behavior analytic services being delivered. Nothing in this blog including comments or correspondence should be considered an agreement for Dr. Barry D. Morgenstern to provide services or establish a professional relationship outside of a formal agreement to do so. I attempt to write this blog in “plain English” and avoid technical jargon whenever possible. But all statements are meant to be consistent with behavior analytic literature, practice, and the professional code of ethics. If, for whatever reason, you think I’ve failed in the endeavor, let me know and I’ll consider your comments and make revisions, if appropriate. Feedback is always appreciated as I’m always trying to Poogi.