Behavior Solutions for the Home and Community
 
Introduction
 
As a pediatric occupational therapist, it is an honor and a privilege to work closely with parents and caregivers of children with a variety of special needs.   This partnership is a valuable and critical component to help children develop vital skills to help them be effective and active participants during the daily activities of their lives.  Challenges experienced by children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), ADD/ADHD, and other diagnoses must be addressed within the context of the family.  This approach is both necessary and beneficial to foster the children’s increased independence, improved behavior, and healthy self-image, as well as promoting improved peace and harmony for the entire family at home and in the community.
 
During my work with children and their families, questions and concerns that consistently require guidance, strategies, and support are in the areas of:
 
Self Care Eating and Mealtime Issues Bedtime and Sleeping Concerns Community Outings Relationships with Family and Friends 
My two previous books, coauthored with Beth Burt and Peter Gennero, Behavior Solutions for the Inclusive Classroom and Behavior Solutions for the Inclusive Classroom and Beyond, focused on providing solutions and strategies for teachers and school personnel.  The straightforward format of the books:  “What is the behavior, why is it occurring, and what can we do to help?” has been extremely well received and found to be effective by offering practical solutions for challenging behaviors. 
 
Parents, as well as educational professionals, have also expressed a desire to understand why their children exhibit behaviors such as:  melt-downs and becoming over-stimulated, rigidity, controlling behaviors, avoidance, disorganization, limited independence during self-care, and decreased social interaction.  They are interested in learning and implementing strategies that are practical and relevant to their child’s specific needs, with the added element of considering that child within the context of the family’s daily life.  Comments such as, “I need ideas that don’t add more work for me” and “I have three other children.  I don’t have time to implement a complicated plan” are becoming a theme during my work with parents.   
 
This book, the third in the series of Behavior Solutions, was conceived in response to those desires.  There are numerous, extremely helpful resources for families that delve more deeply into the areas discussed in this book and some are included in the appendices.  This book is intended to provide general, practical solutions for busy (and often overwhelmed) parents who can benefit from a handy reference guide to help them address common behaviors at home and in the community.  These solutions have been successfully implemented, for years, by a multitude of parents and caregivers with whom I have been honored to work with, as a partner, to foster their child’s growth and progress.  This book is a labor of love, dedicated to the families and to the wonderfully unique children who have challenged and inspired me to become a better occupational therapist, and even more important, a better person.