Behavior Advocates

11/15/2025

Opal wants you to know we are in the office if you need anything today! 🐾💕

11/08/2025

🌟 Helping Your Child Communicate at Home: 9 Essential Skills for Daily Life 🌟

As families spend more time together at home, supporting your child’s functional communication is key to smoother routines and fewer meltdowns. A recent article in Behavior Analysis in Practice highlights nine critical communication skills every child should practice, with practical, jargon-free strategies to help families promote these skills in daily life.

Why Functional Communication Matters: Functional communication means your child can calmly and clearly express needs or respond appropriately to others. When these skills are weak or missing, children may turn to less appropriate behaviors like tantrums, screaming, or withdrawing. Building communication happens best in real, everyday situations—no special lessons required!

The 9 Critical Communication Skills

Asking for Wants (Request Reinforcers): Whether it's a snack, a toy, or extra playtime, help your child learn to ask calmly for what they want.

Requesting Help: Teach your child to ask for assistance before frustration or anger take over.

Requesting a Break: Everyone needs downtime! Show your child how to ask for a break before reaching their limit.

Rejecting Calmly (Saying “No”): It’s okay not to want something. Guide your child in saying “no thanks” or shaking their head.

Accepting (“Yes!”): From a treat to a suggestion, help your child communicate acceptance with a word or gesture.

Responding to “Wait” or “No”: Delayed gratification is tough. Practice with short waiting periods and clear signals to build this important skill.

Transitioning Between Activities: Change can be hard. Use pictures or “next reward” cues to make moving between tasks easier.

Following Directions: Start with simple instructions tied to things your child enjoys, then build up to trickier tasks.

Using a Visual Schedule: Let your child see what’s coming up with pictures or a basic calendar. This makes routines predictable and reduces anxiety about surprises.

How to Make It Happen—Tips from the Article ("Promoting Functional Communication Within the Home," Behavior Analysis in Practice, 13:321–328)

Assess which of these skills are challenging for your child. Prioritize the skills that will improve daily routines most.
Teach new skills when your child is calm—not in the middle of a meltdown.
Practice in low-stress, real-life situations: asking for a snack, waiting to play with a favorite toy, or requesting help opening a bottle.
Use visuals, prompts, and lots of praise as your child learns.
Expect progress in small steps! Gradually increase the challenge as your child succeeds.
Make communication part of everything you do—don't wait for a special teaching moment.
Remember: Every family and every child is unique. The most successful strategies are those tailored to your child’s needs, practiced across real activities, and adjusted as your child grows.

Let’s support our children to communicate confidently—at home and beyond!

Give Behavior Advocates a call to show you how! 201-300-3737

Send a message to learn more

11/05/2025

Wednesday Snapshot! Coffee and clients - the perfect way to cap off the evening! What is your preferred coffee style? We like indulging!

11/02/2025

Happy Halloween! Opal had a great Friday with her preschoolers!

Now she wants you to know we are looking for a part time BCBA (fully remote) and a few good RBTs!!!

Please reach out if interested! Comment below or email admin@behavioradvocates.com

10/27/2025

Come Join the family!

10/12/2025

Productive day in the office while we wait for this Nor’Easter to hit!

10/03/2025

What a great day visiting preschoolers!!! Opal loved the staff and students!!!

10/02/2025

🤣😂🤣😂

09/28/2025

I know my two! Answer in comment!

Choose wisely.

09/28/2025

Opal was excited to get back to work!!!! What a fabulous first day Friendship Circle of Central Jersey!!!! Add to it a Steelers win and she was one happy puppy!

08/21/2025

Definitely 2 and 4!!!

Choose wisely.

07/31/2025

Excited Opal got to ‘pay it forward’ Monday morning by visiting with amazing middle schoolers at Collier School! Thank you for having us!