Myth: ABA uses “Bribery” Bribery often includes a negotiation in which something desirable is used as leverage in order to influence or change an undesirable outcome. Bribery involves criminal and illegal activities. Reality: ABA uses Reinforcement Reinforcement is a concept studied and backed by scientific research. Referring back to what we learned about the “consequences”...

First, let’s discuss what an SMO is. SMO stands for supra malleolar orthosis – a brace designed for the foot and ankle that stop just above the malleoli or the prominent boney aspects on either side of the ankle. SMOs are designed to provide support to the foot and ankle for children with low muscle...

Does your child sometimes use phrases or long sentences he has heard from a movie? Do they use “movie scripts” when speaking or seem to echo phrases? Then, your child may be a gestalt language processor. Language is typically learned in two ways: analytic or gestalt. Analytic language processors learn single words at a time...

A key milestone that marks a baby’s progression is head control. In this blog post, we will learn how babies develop head control during the first six months of their lives. Month 1: Building the Foundation In their first month, babies are still adjusting to the outside world. Their neck muscles, which were relatively underdeveloped...

With a hot Arizona summer upon us, water play is a great way to target many different skills with your child!  First, it is a fun sensory activity to be splashing in a water table – who doesn’t like a fun way to cool off! You can change the sensory experience by adding ice cubes,...

What is a food jag? Many children, especially those with feeding sensitivities, tend to find a preferred or “safe” food and will get stuck in a pattern of only wanting to eat that food for every meal possible. This pattern is referred to, in the world of feeding therapy, as a “food jag”. Why do...

Nothing even happened and they just started having a meltdown”. There is always a reason why a child is engaging in challenging behavior, we just have to figure it out! Every instance of behavior has 3 common components, Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. The ABCs of behavior are beneficial when determining the functions of behavior. There...

Parents are very good at predicting their child’s needs. After all, YOU are the expert on your child. Nobody else can know them better. You know if they want the blue ball or the red ball. You know which cup is their favorite. You know if they like the original goldfish crackers or the rainbow....

What is a sensory diet? A sensory diet is a set of strategic sensory activities implemented in a child’s day to proactively meet their sensory needs. The purpose of a sensory diet is to provide sensory input that organizes the central nervous system and regulates a child. What types of sensory activities are included in...

When exploring a new food with your picky eater, it is easy to fall into the trap of simply wanting your child to eat what is placed in front of them. This expectation can easily lead to frustration and negative feelings surrounding food and meal time for all involved. Let’s take the pressure off and...