Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

■ ASK THE EXPERT Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

By Janessa Dominguez, PhD, BCBA, LMFT, QBA, LMHC

Now that the school year has started, we all need to get back into the swing of things. And after the summer break, this can be hard for the entire family. There is so much that goes into planning and organizing for the school year, that it can be a little overwhelming. There are a couple things you can do to help get back into the swing of the school year:

Establishing a Routine

Establish a routine early on and discuss it with your kids, family, and anyone else that will be helping out. A routine helps to know what is coming and when. This can be done for daily activities, weekly, or even monthly. I like to use a monthly calendar for important family events, errands, vacations, and a daily routine chart. This is something you can make on the computer and print out or use a dry erase board. Write the routine in a way that is easy for your kids to understand. Think about making the schedule interactive, where your kids can check off when things have been completed. This can also help promote independence.

Homework Time

Establish a routine and a place for homework. Having a designated space with the materials that are needed can help to make homework time go more smoothly. This also helps to avoid kids saying they need to get up multiple times to get something they need and end up disappearing. Keeping this consistent makes it easy for kids to learn the routine and maintain it. Think about the designated space for homework—distractions, materials, supervision. Homework can be chunked into shorter amounts of time with break opportunities. This can be a good idea for kids with a lot of homework or those that may have a hard time with focus. You can use a timer to indicate when it is time for a break and when it is time to return to homework. You can also incorporate rewards when homework is completed to increase motivation. This can be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis depending on what works.

Try to put things in place early and be consistent. Consistency is key to learning routines and then being able to follow them more independently. Promote independence as much as possible. ▸ Dr. Janessa Dominguez is the founder and CEO of Shaping Change, LLC.. She is a

Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®),

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA), and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC). Dr. Dominguez completed her master’s degree in counseling with an advanced concentration in behavior analysis and doctorate degree in family therapy at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Dr. Dominguez in the field of behavior analysis more than 10 years ago with a passion for helping individuals and families with autism and related disabilities. She has worked in a variety of settings, providing services to address challenging behaviors and increase appropriate behaviors, specializing in working with individuals and families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Today, she continues to demonstrate that passion by supervising individuals seeking certification as Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT) and behavior analysts, and conducting trainings on a variety of topics. Dr. Dominguez is an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Clinical Fellow, serves on the Board of Directors and Leadership Team for the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA), and is the Co-Coordinator for the Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) South Broward/North Dade Chapter. She has presented at national conferences, as well as international conferences, focusing on autism, behavior, and the family system.