Let's be honest: New Year's resolutions are kind of a setup. We set these big, ambitious goals in January when we're feeling motivated and rested. Then life happens. Work gets busy. Motivation fades. And by February, we're back to our old patterns, feeling like we failed at something we never had a realistic shot at succeeding with in the first place. Sound familiar? Here's the thing: as ABA professionals, we know better. We know how behavior change actually works. We know ab

The Social Performance Trap Let's talk about what happens at most holiday gatherings. Your child walks in and immediately gets swarmed. "Give grandma a hug!" "Say thank you for the present!" "Go play with your cousins!" "Tell everyone about school!" "Why are you being so quiet?" And when your child doesn't respond the way adults expect—when they don't make eye contact, or they walk away, or they need space—suddenly you're getting looks. Comments about manners. Suggestions abo

I attended Dr. Shane Spiker's webinar recently where he said something that stopped me in my tracks. He said: "Self-care isn't me first, it's me too." I hadn't heard it phrased that way before, and it landed differently—cleaner, truer, and far more compassionate than the standard "take time for yourself" advice that so often feels impossible. For years, I've coached parents on supporting their children, and almost always, part of that work includes encouraging parents to supp

The Sensory Reality of December Nobody talks about this part. Everyone focuses on magic and joy. But for families with sensory-sensitive kids, the holidays are an endurance test. Think about what December actually involves: Visual: Flashing lights everywhere. Bright colors. Screens playing holiday content on loop. New decorations change familiar spaces. Auditory: Holiday music constantly. Crowds. Loud gatherings. Excited voices. Tactile: Itchy sweaters. Tags on new gifts.

As I look back on 2025, the themes that keep rising to the surface—louder and clearer than anything else—are intentionality, community, and learning to let go. These aren't the polished, LinkedIn-ready reflections. This is the real version. The messy, honest, "I'm still figuring this out" version. And I think that's what makes these reflections on 2025 for ABA professionals worth sharing. Because if this year taught me anything, it's that the work of building a sustainable pr

The Holiday Routine Paradox Let me guess: you've been told that kids with autism need routine. You've also been told that the holidays are supposed to be magical, spontaneous, full of surprises. Here's what I've learned: it can actually be both. But it requires rethinking what we mean by routine and letting go of what the holidays are "supposed" to look like. Predictable holiday routines aren't about controlling every moment. They're about creating enough structure that your

Understanding Emotional Needs in Positive Parenting Your child throws their plate across the table. Or refuses to get dressed for the third morning in a row. Or hits their sibling over a toy. Your first instinct? Address the behavior. Stop the throwing. Enforce consequences. Make it clear that's not acceptable. But here's what positive parenting asks you to do first: look underneath the behavior to the emotion driving it. Because that plate didn't fly across the table because

When Basic Charts Aren’t Enough: Moving Into Advanced Precision Teaching You've mastered the basics of Precision Teaching and you're seeing great results. But now you're working with kids who need more complex interventions - multi-step behaviors, social skills, academic sequences that involve several different components. This is where advanced Precision Teaching techniques really shine. Tracking Multiple Behaviors Together Sometimes you need to see how different parts of a

The Thing Nobody Tells You Here's what most parenting advice skips over: your child's nervous system is constantly scanning yours for safety signals. This isn't conscious. They're not thinking "is mom stressed right now? Is dad upset?" Their body is reading your body - your tone, your breathing, your muscle tension, the energy you're putting out. When you're dysregulated, your child picks up on that. Even if you're using all the right words and doing all the right things, the

What Your Charts Are Actually Telling You Okay, so you've been collecting data for a couple weeks now. You've got dots on a chart and some lines going in different directions. But what does it all mean? Here's the thing - reading Precision Teaching data isn't as complicated as it looks. Your chart is basically having a conversation with you about whether your intervention is working or not. The Three Main Patterns to Know When Reading Precision Teaching Data Lines Going Up (A

Getting Your First Precision Teaching Charts Right Setting up Precision Teaching charts doesn't have to be overwhelming, but it does need to be intentional. I've seen too many ABA professionals get excited about the concept and then burn out because they tried to track too much too fast. Let's build your system the right way from the start. Choosing Your Target Behaviors for Precision Teaching The success of your Precision Teaching charts depends entirely on choosing the righ

The Day I Stopped Trying to Fix Everything I remember the exact moment I realized I was doing emotional support all wrong. My child was having a complete meltdown over something that seemed small to me - a slight change in the afternoon routine. I was doing all the "right" things: offering solutions, suggesting coping strategies, reminding them of their tools. And it was making everything worse. My child didn't need me to fix it. They needed me to just be there while they fel

What is Precision Teaching in ABA? If you've been in the field for any length of time, you know that data is everything. But let's be honest - sometimes our data collection feels more like checking boxes than actually understanding what's happening with our clients. Precision Teaching in ABA changes that completely. Developed by Ogden Lindsley in the 1960s, Precision Teaching is a method that focuses on frequency-based measurement and visual display of learning data. Think of

You're Already Doing More Than You Realize Let me guess - you've read the parenting books. You've sat through the parent training sessions. You're implementing strategies at home and trying to stay consistent with what the therapists are doing. And some days, you still feel like you're getting it all wrong. If that sounds familiar, take a breath. You're not failing. You're navigating something that's genuinely complex. Positive parenting for ABA families isn't about being per

After three weeks of explaining what Precision Teaching is and why it works, I know you're ready for the practical stuff. How we use Precision Teaching implementation at Precision ABA ? What does a session look like? Let me walk you through our approach and show you exactly what your child would experience. Our Initial Assessment and Goal Setting Process Setting clear and specific goals is an essential first step in Precision Teaching. We start by observing your child in diff

When parents ask me about the benefits of Precision Teaching, I always start with this: imagine your child not just learning a skill, but becoming so confident with it that they use it naturally, everywhere, without thinking twice. That's what sets Precision Teaching apart from other approaches. After years of implementing Precision Teaching at Precision ABA, we've documented benefits that go far beyond what we initially expected. Some are backed by decades of research, other

Precision Teaching Differences: How It Sets Itself Apart from Traditional ABA "We've tried ABA before, but the skills never seemed to stick." I hear this from parents more often than I'd like. Your child masters something in therapy, maybe even at home, but then struggles to use it at school or with friends. Sound familiar? This is exactly why Precision Teaching takes a different approach. Let me explain what makes it unique without getting lost in technical jargon. The Main

What is Precision Teaching in ABA Therapy: A Parent's Complete Guide When you first hear "Precision Teaching," it might sound like another complicated therapy term. Trust me, I've seen that look on parents' faces when we mention it during initial meetings. But here's what I want you to know - Precision Teaching might actually be the most straightforward approach your child experiences. Let me break it down in a way that makes sense for real families dealing with real challeng

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how parent involvement in ABA therapy plays a key role in building skills, boosting confidence, and strengthening the connection between home and therapy. From understanding ABA basics to supporting generalization and managing behavior, one theme has remained constant: when parents are engaged, children grow faster and feel more supported. As we close this series, let’s focus on the “big picture” — how to weave ABA into real life in sus

Think of working memory as the brain’s “sticky note.” It’s where we temporarily hold onto information so we can use it right away—like remembering a phone number long enough to dial it or keeping the steps of a recipe in mind as we cook. For children with autism, working memory challenges can affect everything from completing routines to learning new skills. They may forget instructions halfway through, lose track of what they’re doing, or struggle to hold onto rules in a gam