Therapist Bond - Aug 12, 2019
I feel like there is certain mystacism that exists with families who watch ABA therapy taking place. Their usually "headstrong" "noncompliant" child does what the therapist asks, the moment the therapist asks - that's magic right? Wrong.
The bond that therapists create with children is critically important. Having it all set up well from the beginning, having mutual respect, and being a therapist who can think ahead will make the difference.
In ABA this bond results from a process called "pairing". I use process loosely, as I believe that pairing is necessary throughout service to ensure that the therapist is still fun (even when they're not being fun). Pairing requires the therapist to play with the child without placing demands. Demands can be as small as "look" or as big as "do the same" (I'm sure these don't seem like demands but they are). In pairing it is important to provide things, and avoid taking things, do as the child does, and don't interrupt their play. Gradually as service winds on and the child is comfortable, manding (requesting) can be built in quicker and quicker, but it is certainly a fine line, especially for early learners, or learners new to service. It's not always easy to see whether pairing is "working" but is AMAZINGLY easy to see when pairing has not been effective, or is not being done nearly enough. I would argue that without pairing, therapy is absolutely nothing. No one wants to work for someone who offers them little to nothing. Therapy is about a balance.
Instructional control is what we call it when the instructor (therapist) can readily ask the child to perform tasks and they do so pretty quickly. In fact, sometimes a child may cry as they comply, knowing that prompting will be offered because we see they're working hard and unable to be successful and/or once complete the task will be over. It looks worse than it is in most cases (if it's being done under the supervision of a BCBA and someone with enough experience). Instructional control is excellent because the child will perform tasks the parents otherwise don't see. The hope is always that this skill, once made confident will transfer over - and thats what therapist bond is important for.
Sometimes I get asked if a new therapist can just start, or just fill in a session - and my answer is always a resounding: no. While that would be great (days of no therapy are twice as long for parents, and they feel like they're losing time) one day without a therapist bond could mean either a) a lack of progress or b) problem behaviours from a lack of this relationship c) a session spent pairing because the child isn't familiar. It's just not that easy to get kids to do things just "because you're a therapist" - it is the bond between the therapist and the child that makes this possible. It's not something that can be held in ones hand.
