Introduction:
What is parent coaching vs. just therapy? For families and caregivers, early parental involvement is highly important for early intervention for children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). If you are interested in parent coaching it is wise to understand what it entails. Parent coaching involves attendance, adherence, or participation during and after sessions as well as engagement in applying interventions and strategies learned by the ABA provider within and after sessions. Telehealth coaching offers a powerful resource for families in Toronto and Durham, where waitlists and costs often delay access to formal services. Studies show that caregivers trained online can achieve 95% implementation accuracy, with medium to large improvements in their child’s engagement and behaviour goals.
The goal of ABA therapy is to change behaviours associated with ASD by using psychological principles of learning theory. Interventions and goals are carried out by a BCBA, with the family, parents, or caregivers’ involvement. An ABA therapist supervised by a BCBA typically carries out the programs that the family agrees upon, and parents can get coaching from the BCBA or ABA therapist. Parent coaching is an important piece of the puzzle so that parents can learn strategies and engage with their children across various settings.
The Ripple Effect: How parent coaching improves everyday behaviour
Not only does Parent coaching in ABA benefit your child, it can trigger a cascade of positive change from within the home to many other environments. These benefits include changing everyday behaviour by:
- Enhancing learning and generalization of skills – As parents gain insight into interventions and practice throughout various settings, this helps both parent and child to achieve the goals of the family. This helps in managing behaviours out at the grocery store or even just taking a walk.
- Reducing caregiver stress & improves well-being of the family and child – With more understanding of your child’s behaviours and learning to manage these behaviours better through coaching, this relieves a lot of pressure on the family. By building a better relationship with your child, this creates more positive outcomes when managing and encouraging your child through learning skills. This helps to develop a better family dynamic when stressors are minimized.
- Enhancing collaboration between home, ABA provider, and school – with parent training, it is easier to communicate what works between different community settings. As parents and families become more involved in ABA therapy and the programs, it is easier to explain across school, ABA centres, and home.
- Broader consistency, and long term skill acquisition – With coaching, it is easier to implement strategies at home as well. More consistency means better outcomes for your child and family to obtain and retain these skills through practice in various settings.
- Positive shifts in interactions and expectations – With parent coaching, the expectations of your child can be better understood at home and in the community. This creates a more positive influence on your mood and mental health as well as your child. When there is a positive shift this makes it easier for taking your child into the community and sets better expectations for your child to feel and be successful.
Types of support offered in coaching sessions
There are different kinds of support offered in coaching sessions. Functional communication training (FCT) helps to identify the function or purpose of a challenging behaviour, teaches an alternative response, provides reinforcement for the response as well as withholding reinforcement after challenging behaviours. A group-based parent training intervention could improve a child’s behaviour, skills, and socialization while also addressing the health needs of parents. Support can come from the BCBA who implements your childs programs as well as an ABA therapist. They can help you feel more confident in carrying out, managing and supporting your child’s needs. Coaching can be done through guidance of a BCBA or therapist in a step-by-step way to implement strategies in real-time. The support given to you by ABA providers are to help with positive communication, reinforcement or to effectively apply various strategies at home and in the community.
How it builds confidence and reduces burnout for parents
According to the Journal of Social, behavioural, and Health Sciences (2022), parents of children with ASD, are the most stressed out population of parents depending on the severity of ASD and the challenges these children present. As a parent with a child with ASD, you may not have time to care for your personal needs or other family needs. With Parent coaching, it is used to empower you, the parent, with tools, knowledge, and confidence to support your child’s development at home and in the community. As parent coaching helps you garner these skills, it reduces burnout to have a community of people who understand the struggles you face.
For communities in Ontario facing service gaps, parent coaching offers an immediate, effective solution. It equips families to weave therapeutic strategies into daily routines, ensuring consistency, generalization of skills, and stronger collaboration between home, clinics, and schools.
ABA Academy has a unique and tailored-to-you and your family approach to parent coaching. The company’s goal is to become an effective partner in your child’s growth and development and to provide you, the parent, with the foundation and principles of ABA to effectively apply ABA strategies at home. The coaching strategies ABA Academy looks at addressing includes common challenges, such as managing tantrums, improving communication, and fostering independence which can be taught as each step is crucial to the next. These strategies are broken down to guide you in a positive manner to become successful and more confident in each part of the process. For example if you are teaching your child to independently put on his/her jacket, the process is broken down into tolerating just touching the jacket, and then picking up the jacket, and reinforcing the tolerance of being around the jacket to eventually putting on the jacket.
The therapists at ABA Academy want to guide you on understanding the triggers of your child’s behaviour and to develop positive reinforcing strategies to help minimize challenging behaviours and adapt to more positive interactions. These strategies are implemented to adapt and surround your therapy goals. The coaching often implements effective communication strategies as your child’s language development is crucial. Our therapists will help create and show you how to create opportunities through everyday interactions, whether they are using verbal speech, sign language, or alternative communication methods (iPad, PECS, etc). Coaching at ABA Academy involves working on independent and social skills in which the therapists can show how to teach self-care skills, such as dressing, grooming, and following routines as well as developing strategies for play, sharing, turn-taking, and understanding social cues.
ABA Academy ensures collaboration between therapists and families. Your child’s progress is monitored, concerns are addressed, and strategies are adjusted as needed by ABA Academy. As part of their ongoing support process, they provide regular check-ins, group workshops, and resources to help you feel confident in your role as a parent managing and supporting your child through their challenges.
Conclusion & CTA: Book a parent coaching consult
Parent coaching in ABA is not only a support service, it is a catalyst for lasting change. When caregivers learn to implement strategies like functional communication training, prompting, reinforcement, and data collection, they create a ripple effect that resonates throughout their child’s everyday life which include playtime, social outings such as going to the grocery store or park as well as going to school and other community events.
Telehealth coaching offers a powerful resource for families in Toronto and Durham, where waitlists and costs often delay access to formal services. Additionally, parent coaching significantly reduces stress, boosts confidence, and enhances family togetherness, which lays an emotional foundation for progress and attunement to familial needs.
When you have a child with ASD, burnout somehow seems inevitable. In Durham Region, The Insight Clinic has many therapists who can help you through both in-person and virtual services. At The Insight Clinic, we can help you manage burnout, depression, anxiety, and financial burdens, as well as provide resources for Autism & ABA therapy. If you are a parent struggling with managing the behaviours of a child with autism, are anxious, or are struggling with finding options, The Insight Clinic can provide you with a therapist to cope with the anxieties and struggles.
You can reach out today to book an appointment with our skilled and trained therapists to help you gain understanding and develop healthier coping strategies when you are feeling anxious or developing these maladaptive thought patterns. Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation.
In collaboration with The Insight Clinic, ABA Academy leads with a focus on excellence and focuses on providing individual ABA Interventions for your child’s growth in social, cognitive, emotional, and physical developmental growth and milestones. ABA Academy provides high-quality, individualized, and effective services to help your child grow and learn from a fully licensed and qualified BCBA. Parent coaching helps parent feel confident in managing their children’s behaviours and this is an important part of success for your child’s treatment.
ABA Academy can provide this training and coaching. By embracing parent coaching, you’re not just engaging in therapy, you’re supercharging your child’s development, strengthening your family, and becoming a proactive advocate. Ready to amplify the ripple effect in your home? Contact ABA Academy today for a free consultation and begin the journey toward everyday transformation.
FAQ Section:
FAQ 1: How does parent coaching differ from standard ABA therapy?
Answer: In standard ABA therapy parents do not engage in formal training and observes therapy passively, parent coaching actively involves caregivers in treatment. Through methods like behavioural Skills Training, functional behavioural training and more, families learn to implement ABA strategies directly in everyday routines. This empowers parents to reinforce learning consistently at home, school, and in the community, creating a more effective and personalized therapy experience.
FAQ 2: Can telehealth effectively deliver parent coaching?
Answer: Yes! Studies show telehealth parent coaching with many children showing medium to large developmental gains. Additionally, telehealth improves access, especially for families facing barriers like geographic distance and limited services, while also reducing stress and increasing engagement among caregivers.
FAQ 3: What real-world benefits can families expect from parent coaching?
Answer: Research shows parent coaching in ABA delivers broad benefits:
- Communication & language growth: Coaching strategies in daily routines lead to significant vocabulary gains and improved conversational skills
- Decreased challenging behaviours – As parents get more coaching they are able to identify triggers for their children’s behaviours and implement skills and strategies to replace challenging behaviour with a more positive outcome.
- Parental well-being: Families report lower stress, enhanced confidence, and stronger bonds with their child after parental coaching.
