Get to know Marisa!
For 2023, instead of just sharing our background info, we are going to share some of our team's answers to a recent survey. We asked staff what they enjoy most about their jobs overall, what they like to teach the most, and what they would tell other people considering working here. We'll share answers from a new staff member each week!
This week, we'll hear from Marisa, one of our amazing RBTs in Brighton!
What is Marisa's favorite part of working for Strive as a company? "That the kids are being so prepared to start off school and life. The kids are able to gain skills in so many different ways and get to experience change and centers like they will in the real world. Being able to know that your kiddo will be fully prepared for life after strive."
What is your proudest moment at Strive so far? "When a kid's parents told me that their kid was able to go to a birthday party and sit with other kiddos instead of by their parents."
What is Marisa's favorite skill to teach? "My favorite skill to teach is manding, especially manding for removal of aversive stimuli."
** See our Term of the Week below for a reminder on what a mand is, and for a definition of aversive stimuli!
ABA Term of the Week
One addition to our newsletter this year will be some definitions of terms we use most often in ABA. We know we use a lot of lingo and we want to help families understand it better. All of these terms will also be on our website in a glossary, so you can check them out anytime.
This week's term is aversive stimuli.
But first, a reminder on what a mand is: A mand is a type of verbal operant that is most simply understood as a request. A mand is when one person says something and the expected response or reinforcement for speaking is an action on the part of the other person.
Aversive stimuli - this is something unpleasant, or something that you dislike.
So in Marisa's interview above, where she explained that she likes to teach children how to "mand for removal of aversive stimuli", that means she likes teaching kids to ask someone to stop doing something they don't like. That may sound like an odd thing to enjoy teaching, but it's a great example of how we can empower our kids using ABA.
When would a child need to ask someone to stop doing something? When a peer is being too loud - saying, "Please be quiet." Maybe when someone is asking a child to play but he doesn't want to play the game he's being invited to play "I don't want to play right now." Sometimes as the grownups who work with kids all the time, we like to sing all the fun songs we use throughout the day, but not every child appreciates our beautiful singing voices - so being able to say, "Please don't sing" is a really useful skill.
Think about all the types of behavior a child might use to get someone to stop doing something - he might cry, he might hit someone, he might throw something, he might yell. Learning how to request that someone stop an aversive activity is an excellent alternative to those behaviors.
About Us
Email: info@sc-centers.com
Website: www.sc-centers.com
Location: Burton and Brighton, MI
Phone: 810-344-8082