· Children with developmental disabilities are blessings, not curses. · Children with developmental disabilities are best served in the family home whenever possible and appropriate.
IN PARENTS
· Parents are a child's first and best teacher. · Parents want the best for their children, but often lack the skills necessary to do what is best. · Because parents have an established relationship of love and trust with their child, if properly trained, they can implement behavioral changes more rapidly and effectively than an outside professional alone.
IN CONSISTENCY
· All behavior has a purpose if properly understood. That purpose may lie in understanding the social, psychological, and biological dynamics of the child. · The more a child can participate in shaping/changing his or her own behavior, the more successful the process will be. · All behavior is sustained by a combination of negative and positive reinforcements. Once those negative and positive reinforcements are changed, behavior will change.
IN A POSITIVE APPROACH
· The most effective agent for behavioral change is positive reinforcement. · The most effective reinforcement are “the natural reinforcers” that arise from the mastery of developmental tasks. · Small incremental changes, positively reinforced, are more effective than large, negative, or dramatic changes. · A preventive behavioral management program is more effective than trying to change behavior on a reactive basis.
IN LOVE
· Love should not be used as a reinforcer. Love is unconditional, the foundation upon which all effective reinforcers are enforced.