What you’ll learn in Journey to Independence
Journey to Independence is parent training in Applied Behavior Analysis, written for families who are waiting for ABA services and want to start now. Six modules, twenty-seven short sessions. Here is what is inside each one, and what you'll be able to do when you finish it.
The six modules
Introduction
After this module: you know what ABA is, in plain language, and how to work through the rest of the course without it taking over your week.
- Inform: Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
- Educate: Making the Most Out of This Course
Understanding behaviors
After this module: you can look at something your child does and ask the two questions that change what you do next. What came right before it, and what happened straight after. You can pick which skill to work on first instead of trying to fix everything.
- Introduction to Behavior
- Antecedents: What Triggers Good and Problem Behaviors
- Consequences: What Maintains the Good or Problem Behavior
- Selecting Targets: What Do I Want My Child to Learn
- Functions: Why Does My Child Do That
- Reinforcement: A Positive Way to Successful Learning
- Empowerment: Using Your Workbook to Support Your Child to Independence
Teaching new skills
After this module: you have four ways to teach a skill and you know which one fits what you are teaching: how much help to give and how to fade it, how to break a long task into steps, how to build a skill up from a rough first attempt, and how to run a short teaching session your child will come back to.
- Supporting Our Kids Through Prompting and Guidance
- Chaining: Teaching Complex Skills to Independence
- Shaping: Helping Our Kids Learn a New Skill
- Discrete Trial Teaching: Teaching My Child the Way They Learn
- Behavioral Skills Teaching: Making Learning Fun
Decreasing unwanted behaviors
After this module: you can change the setting so a hard behavior is less likely before it starts, teach the behavior you want in its place. And if you choose to stop responding to a behavior, you know what usually happens first and how to prepare for it.
- Introduction to Decreasing Behaviors
- Antecedent and Proactive Approaches
- Differential Reinforcement: Teaching Appropriate Behaviors
- Extinction and How to Prepare
Communication and social skills
After this module: you can work on communication before words: pointing, imitation, looking and attending. Those early pieces are what lead into language.
- Introduction to Communication
- Nonverbal Communication and Pointing
- Building Imitation and Language Skills
- Eye Contact and Social Attending
Data collection: how do we know it's working
After this module: you can keep a record simple enough that you actually keep it, and read it well enough to tell whether what you are doing is working, including a lighter method for weeks when a full count isn't going to happen.
- Introduction to Data Collection and Why Do We Take It
- Frequency: How Often Does My Child Do That
- Sampling Data: Alternative Data Collection for the Busy Family
- ABC and Task Analysis Data: Using Data Collection to Understand Behaviors and Teach Skills
- DTT Data: My Child’s Progress with DTT
Which one to buy
Journey to Independence: ABA for Parents, $129
The video course above: six modules, twenty-seven sessions. $129 for 12 months of access, one payment.
Printable: Journey to Independence Curriculum Level 1, $79
The printable early-education curriculum that goes with it: play plans, a daily data and graph
system, fidelity-of-implementation and anecdotal report forms, and a video tutorial. Level 1 of 5,
written for approximately ages 2–3.
Journey to Independence: Parent ABA Training & Curriculum Bundle, $199
Both of the above together: the video course and the printable Level 1 curriculum.
The course and the printable curriculum are also available in Spanish, as Vídeo de formación: ABA para padres: Viaje a la independencia ($129) and Printable: Journey to Independence Curriculum Level 1 Spanish ($79).
Being straight with you about what this is not
It isn't therapy, and it doesn't replace an ABA program. It's training for you, so that the waiting time isn't empty time.
It isn't a credential or a qualification. Finishing it doesn't certify you in anything, and it isn't continuing education for professionals.
It won't make you a behavior analyst in a weekend. The sessions are short on purpose, but the skills are practiced with your child over weeks, not watched in an evening.