August 26, 2014

Preparing for the School Year

Time to go back to school! It is a very exciting time of year, full of possibilities for all of our young students. This time of year can also be a little stressful, as schedule changes tend to be. Here are some tips for making the beginning of school awesome!

Label everything with your child’s name or initials (clothes, backpack, lunch boxes, etc.)
If your child is going to a new school or new class, schedule a meeting (in-person or phone) with the school personal to talk about your child and specific strategies that will help make the beginning of the year successful
Keep open communication with the school support staff throughout the first several days of school to see how you can help your child
If you know ahead of time, take photos of your child’s new classroom, teacher, support staff, playground, office, etc. and make your child a photo book

Here is an example of a photo book you could name and label for your child to review:

View Our Previous Blog Posts

October 7, 2026

The 4 Functions of Behavior in ABA Therapy: Understanding Your Child’s Behavior

In ABA therapy, understanding the functions of behavior help clinicians (and you) uncover what your child is trying to communicate through their behavior. And once we unlock the “why,” we also reveal the pathway to teaching new ways to communicate that same need (thus reducing challenging behaviors like tantrums, aggression, or throwing things) and setting up your child for success.

October 7, 2026

Differential Reinforcement in ABA: The Most Powerful Tool Behavior Therapists Use

Differential reinforcement is a behavior-support strategy that strengthens one response while reducing another. It has two moving parts: reinforcing the behavior you want to see more of, and reducing reinforcement for the challenging behavior that isn’t meeting your child’s needs in the best way.

September 8, 2026

7 Famous People with Autism Who've Shared Their Diagnosis

An autism diagnosis never determines your success. For many of the most creative, driven, and groundbreaking minds in history, it may have been the very thing that fueled it. An intense focus, pattern recognition, and a willingness to see the world differently are not limitations. They're superpowers. And when a person with autism is given the right support and space to grow, truly incredible things can happen.

September 8, 2026

What Is DRA in ABA Therapy? (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior)

Every time your child wants to play with a toy, they have big emotions until they get it. At school, when presented with difficult work, they might run away. These are all examples of behaviors your child might exhibit to serve a communicative purpose. They might need something or want your attention. Or maybe they just want access to an opportunity. Whatever the behavior might be—it works, so it continues. Sometimes, we as adults may reinforce these behaviors without realizing it.

September 8, 2026

The 7 Dimensions of ABA Therapy (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968)

What guides every intervention in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy?The 7 dimensions of ABA.Think of ABA therapy like a multi-dimensional figure. It has many angles, perspectives, and ways to evaluate it. That is exactly what the dimensions do. They give clinicians and families a complete way to see how well an intervention is working, from every angle.

September 8, 2026

Errorless Learning in ABA: How and Why Behavior Therapists Use It

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, errorless learning is a way to teach new skills by giving the right amount of support from the very beginning.When your child with autism is learning something new, mistakes are part of the process. But for some kiddos, too many mistakes too quickly can feel uncomfortable, frustrating, or discouraging. The last thing we want is for your child to shut down, guess, avoid the task, or lose confidence before the skill has a chance to grow. That's where errorless learning can help.