CEnter for social DYNAMICS (csd)
About myself |
About csd |
My name is Chloe Kehm and I am a senior at Portland State University. I will be graduating in the Spring term of 2023, with my Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a minor in Child, Youth, and Family Studies. This page is a portfolio of the work I chose to do as my Senior Capstone Project, and is a starting point in my career working with children and families.
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Center for Social Dynamics is a therapy service that is offered in a variety of spaces and settings, and can provide specialized therapy such as speech or counseling for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or other developmental conditions. CSD’s approach to behavioral therapies address challenges in cognitive learning, social, emotional, communication, motor, and adaptive skill development through compassion and humility utilizing ABA therapy practices.
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What is aba therapy?
ABA is a therapy that is based on the science of learning and behavior. It is considered to be a medically necessary treatment for people with autism. It is also a convenient therapy in that it can be performed at home, school, or out in the community because it helps to develop socially significant behaviors. At CSD, we’re implementing ABA therapy to teach communication, flexibility, socialization, and daily living skills.
About my work at csd
I implement behavioral interventions through ABA practices that help children to better function independently. Currently, I am working with some young kids who are nonverbal. Some ABA techniques that we utilize in sessions are:
Discrete Trial Training (DTT): A structured technique that is meant to break skills down into smaller, “discrete” steps. These steps are taught one at a time, and eventually they are brought together to complete a task. Reinforcement and praise are given to the child so they are more likely to perform the behavior again. Examples of DTT tasks can include: brushing your teeth, making a sandwich, or completing a math problem. Simply, they are tasks that can be broken down into smaller steps.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET): This technique teaches a child in the natural environment, or real-life setting, by maximizing motivation for the child to learn new and important concepts.
Reinforcement Systems: There are two types of reinforcement techniques. The first is positive reinforcement, meaning that you are adding something to the situation to increase a behavior, versus a negative reinforcement that is taking something away to increase a behavior. An example of positive reinforcement in this practice could be giving the child a toy when they complete their homework. A negative reinforcement would be turning off your alarm in the morning to get rid of the noise.
These techniques are beneficial in that we are able to help kids with ASD who may have difficulty with social interactions or communication, sensory issues or have difficulty with processing sensory information, they may have repetitive behaviors or routines, executive functioning issues such as planning or organizing, and/or difficulties with transitions or changes in routine. What’s great about working for CSD is that we use positive language, so we don’t ever tell the child outwardly, “no.” We redirect them to a more desired behavior. An example of this would be saying something like, “we’re going to play inside right now,” instead of, “no, we’re not going outside.”
Discrete Trial Training (DTT): A structured technique that is meant to break skills down into smaller, “discrete” steps. These steps are taught one at a time, and eventually they are brought together to complete a task. Reinforcement and praise are given to the child so they are more likely to perform the behavior again. Examples of DTT tasks can include: brushing your teeth, making a sandwich, or completing a math problem. Simply, they are tasks that can be broken down into smaller steps.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET): This technique teaches a child in the natural environment, or real-life setting, by maximizing motivation for the child to learn new and important concepts.
Reinforcement Systems: There are two types of reinforcement techniques. The first is positive reinforcement, meaning that you are adding something to the situation to increase a behavior, versus a negative reinforcement that is taking something away to increase a behavior. An example of positive reinforcement in this practice could be giving the child a toy when they complete their homework. A negative reinforcement would be turning off your alarm in the morning to get rid of the noise.
These techniques are beneficial in that we are able to help kids with ASD who may have difficulty with social interactions or communication, sensory issues or have difficulty with processing sensory information, they may have repetitive behaviors or routines, executive functioning issues such as planning or organizing, and/or difficulties with transitions or changes in routine. What’s great about working for CSD is that we use positive language, so we don’t ever tell the child outwardly, “no.” We redirect them to a more desired behavior. An example of this would be saying something like, “we’re going to play inside right now,” instead of, “no, we’re not going outside.”
Why this work is important and my goals with it
This work is important because it offers extra necessary tools for learners who need more assistance, specifically for students who have ASD or other developmental conditions. This work provides hope for parents who don’t know how to help their child, to know that their child can be successful and leaves them rest assured that we will try our best in working with their kids to maximize their potential.
CSD’s identity is based on the promotion of two goals: diversity, equity, social justice, and ethics, agency, and community. As well as communication and critical thinking, but those former goals are more at the core of what CSD is doing. Ethically providing a service that is equitable and offers agency and community, but is reliant upon communication and consist critical thinking with the families and clinical directors in order to be effective.
My goal here is to be able to effectively implement these programs that promote autonomy for these kids that allow them to grow to their fullest potential. I’m excited to see where this work eventually takes me and these kids. In the little time I have worked with them, I have already noticed them fulfilling some goals in our workbook program, which has been incredibly wonderful to see. It encourages me to know that I am there with a purpose and the work I am doing is important.
CSD’s identity is based on the promotion of two goals: diversity, equity, social justice, and ethics, agency, and community. As well as communication and critical thinking, but those former goals are more at the core of what CSD is doing. Ethically providing a service that is equitable and offers agency and community, but is reliant upon communication and consist critical thinking with the families and clinical directors in order to be effective.
My goal here is to be able to effectively implement these programs that promote autonomy for these kids that allow them to grow to their fullest potential. I’m excited to see where this work eventually takes me and these kids. In the little time I have worked with them, I have already noticed them fulfilling some goals in our workbook program, which has been incredibly wonderful to see. It encourages me to know that I am there with a purpose and the work I am doing is important.