What should I do if my child is making slow progress in their training?

It’s natural for parents to compare their child to others, including among those raising a child with ASD. Many parents ask why their child isn’t making the same progress as other children, despite following the same intervention program. While we fully understand these concerns, we strongly recommend that parents avoid comparisons. Each child with autism is unique, and as a result, their programs, intervention strategies, and rate of progress will differ. Regarding these concerns, we should think about:

Why is my child making slow progress in their training?

Intervention is a long-term process, typically spanning 3 to 5 years, or even longer. Both the therapists and parents must dedicate considerable effort to help children on the spectrum reach their full potential and close the gap between them and their typically developing peers.

Progress is not always linear; it often involves making strides forward, followed by steps backward. This back-and-forth progression can be frustrating for parents. While it may seem counterproductive, setbacks often indicate that we are on the right path. They suggest we are tackling more complex skills that require additional time to master. In some cases, we may find that a child’s foundational skills are underdeveloped, requiring us to revisit earlier stages for a more thorough approach.

What should I do if my child is making slow progress in their training?

When a child’s progress stalls or regresses, it is crucial to analyze the situation carefully and adjust the intervention plan accordingly.

1. Analyze the factors influencing progress

  • The Intensity of Intervention: Ensure that children receive intensive intervention and professional supervision
  • Treatment Approach: Select a highly flexible, individualized approach that can be readily adapted based on the child’s ongoing progress.
  • Consistency: Maintain continuity and stability in intervention, avoiding frequent changes in treatment approach.
  • Parental Involvement: Parents should actively participate in the autism intervention process and closely collaborate with professionals.
  • Targeted Curriculum: The curriculum should focus on expanding students’ learning motivation and methods, not just teaching specific skills.
  • Other Factors: Consider whether the child has any other physiological conditions that may impact their development and seek professional clinical advice when necessary.

2. Observe the Behaviors of Children with Autism

  • Learning Motivation: Assess whether the child has sufficient external, social, and internal motivation to learn. Observe if the child can learn through feedback and observation.
  • Behavioral Problems: Observe if the child frequently exhibits disruptive behaviors that interfere with learning, such as tantrums, not following intrusctions, and excessive repetitive behaviors.
  • Learning Strategies: Examine whether the child demonstrates consistent learning strategies, such as calmness, initiative, and motivation of learning, across different environments.

3. Identify the differences between regression and stagnation

When a child exhibits regressive behavior, parents need to carefully analyze the underlying causes. If the child is struggling with more complex and challenging program compared to before, this is typically a normal progression. However, if it’s related to learning motivation and strategies, then in-the-moment adjustments to the intervention strategy are necessary.

In such cases, it is important to help the child cultivate stronger learning motivation, reinforce productive learning behaviors, break down tasks into small steps, and provide appropriate support to ensure the curriculum is both engaging and meets the child’s needs.

When a child with ASD is exhibiting slow progress, parents should maintain patience and confidence. They should thoroughly analyze the situation and work closely with the clinical team to collaboratively develop suitable intervention strategies for the child.

Maintain Patience, Proceed in Gradual

An essential part of this journey is carefully selecting the skill areas to target. We understand that most parents are especially concerned with their child’s language development. Our goal aligns with that of the parents: to help children communicate fully and become more verbal. However, it’s important to recognize that intervention is a gradual process that requires step by step.

Before focusing on language development, children need to master several foundational skills. First, we must address behaviors that may interfere with learning or hinder meaningful progress, such as repetitive behaviors, emotional meltdowns, and resistance to cooperation. Once these issues are effectively managed, we can shift our focus to building “learning how to learn” skills. For example, children need to learn how to remain calm, maintain focus, take initiative, engage in learning with effort, and respond appropriately to feedback. Without these essential “learning how to learn” skills, it is extremely difficult for children to become independent learners.

Children with ASD who lack motivation and these foundational learning skills, even with intensive intervention, will struggle to acquire other necessary skills. By focusing on developing these “learning how to learn” skills, we not only help children become more effective learners but also enable them to learn more efficiently, often picking up new skills on their own without explicit teaching. This highlights the importance of parents maintaining patience throughout this journey.

At Autism Partnership (AP), we adopt our very own treatment method called, Autism Partnership Method (APM™). AP Method™ is a progressive model of ABA and is a high quality treatment approach for ASD.

Learn more about APM™

Dr. Raymond Fung

Ed.D, M.S.ABA, BCBA, Training Director

Information provided by:

Dr. Raymond Fung holds a Doctor of Education from the University of Bristol, a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University. His doctoral thesis explored Progressive ABA, Autism and Technology. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has been teaching individuals with autism and training professionals for over 20 years.

Dr. Raymond Fung has been receiving ongoing training from Dr. Ron Leaf, Dr. John McEachin and their associates since he joined Autism Partnership (AP) Hong Kong in 2000. Since 2005, he has trained more than 500 behavioral therapists internationally. In 2007, he participated in the curriculum development for AP School, the first and only primary school for autistic students in Hong Kong. In 2014, he developed 6 mobile applications for individuals with autism. In 2016, he created a school-based social skill program for local secondary students. In 2018, he hosted a radio program on RTHK with a group of adults with high functioning autism. Currently, he is the training director of AP Hong Kong, and the voluntary consultant of AP Foundation. In 2023, he published his book “Teaching Children with Autism”. He consults in China, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea, South Africa, and Russia. Previously, he was the clinical director of 2 AP international offices, the conference chair of Hong Kong Association for Behaivor Analysis, and a part-time lecturer of a master program in autism in Hong Kong Metropolitan University.

Related Articles:

Parents seeking treatment for their children’s Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are faced with an overwhelming number of treatment options. Cutting through the noise to identify Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as the most effective treatment can be a difficult task. Unfortunately, even for the parents who have discovered that ABA has the most supporting research, the […]

When a child is suspected of having an ASD diagnosis, many parents find themselves navigating a sea of information, from ASD assessments to intervention methods, only leaving them feeling more overwhelmed, anxious, and uncertain. As a team of ABA clincians, we understand these challenges and are here to provide a guiding hand. Our mission is […]

Throughout my career, I’ve spoken with many parents who, after learning their child has ASD, find themselves under great pressure and often surrounded by a range of negative emotions. Many struggle with questions like, “Why my child?” “Did I do something wrong?” “Will my child have a meaningful future?” “Could this diagnosis be a mistake?” […]

Please share to let more people learn about ASD and ABA therapy:

Thank You!

The form was submitted successfully

Thank you for contacting us

All information received will always remain confidential. We will contact you as soon as we review your message. Thanks

Thank You!

The form was submitted successfully

This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.