School Years 5-18yrs

“Adam is great fun to be around,” says his Beam supervisor. “When we met, his complex behavioural needs meant school work was falling a little behind expectations. He was finding classroom instructions difficult to follow and his peer interactions were limited.” Mum and Dad wanted Adam to be confident to deal with the new social setting of a school, as well as enjoy their active home life and interaction with his two younger siblings.

Following observation at home and school shadowing, consultation with the SENCO and in collaboration with his parents, the Beam supervisor created an individual service plan of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to fit Adam. Sessions were set around his school day with either his supervisor or a Beam behaviour support therapist spending up to three hours per session in the family home.

“It’s key that he remain confident in different situations when neither Mum, Dad nor us are not there to support.”

Along with raising his academic performance, increasing Adam’s independence was a key outcome for his ABA programme. “Adam had difficulty remaining on task, found adjusting to changes in his routine challenging and was somewhat ritualistic during activities,” explains his supervisor. “We used visual schedules and self-monitoring techniques to facilitate independent on-task behaviour, and created a programme with alternating routines to encourage flexibility.” Fast forward to today and Adam started the new school year on par with his peers and is confidently preparing for each school day with minimal help. “Adam passed all his educational milestones and we have high aspirations for him to continue to achieve throughout his academic life,” says Dad. “He looks forward to his sessions and enjoys the time he spends with his supervisor. We all work as a team, ABA is part of that and we are happy with the progress Adam has made since he started the programme.”

“It’s key that he remain confident in different situations when neither Mum, Dad nor us are not there to support,” continues his Beam supervisor. “We always look to generalise behaviours and skills across settings, people and context.” With his Beam supervisor and behaviour support therapist, Adam is currently learning to tell jokes. “Jokes provide a scripted way for Adam to engage with his peers. Something he can practice with us, then use at school to interact with children with roles that Adam can predict and feel confident about. It’s a tool to help socialisation, and for Adam it’s a good approach. When creating an ABA programme we always see the individual with their own abilities and likes and dislikes.” The first joke Adam will be trying at school is “Why is 6 scared of 7? Because 7, 8, 9!”