To Follow Through or Not to Follow Through?
One of the most taught concepts in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) training is follow-through. It means when you set a contingency, you will stick to it for better or worse. For those who have received training in ABA, this principle is considered an essential practice that benefits both the instructor and the learner. It is so important that it is often a part of performance evaluations.
Follow-through is a part of building what is known as instructional control. While it sounds intimidating, instructional control can be described as establishing a paired, cooperative, and therapeutic relationship. Instructional control establishes the parent or caregiver as the managerial figure but promotes a boundary-healthy relationship. This does not mean making every decision for the child but includes choices and teaching independence, which leads to a balanced relationship between caregiver and child.
Instructional control includes seven aspects, with follow-through being one of them. Reviewing all seven is beyond the scope of this article. This article will focus solely on follow-through.
What is Follow Through?
“It means when you set a contingency, you will stick to it for better or worse. “
At the Core of Follow-Through is Trust
Trust is the foundation of a healthy relationship, whether with a therapist, child or in any other situation. However, it can be difficult when someone prioritizes follow-through over addressing apparent signs of stress or when things don't go as planned. In such situations, the therapist may say to themselves, "I have to follow through, right?" But it's important to remember that trust and follow-through can coexist without compromising the well-being of those involved.
It is essential to prioritize the safety and well-being of the individual when dealing with challenging behaviors. If a situation is causing excessive stress or agitation, it is not the right time for teaching or learning. Instead, it's better to abort the plan and develop a new one. Giving in to a child or individual in such situations won't have any negative impact on their behavior(s) in the long run. Most likely, the behavior(s) has been reinforced in the past, so reinforcing it one more time for safety purposes won’t hurt. It just means your teaching plan was not suitable for the situation, and skills are still missing. It's always better to follow a well-thought-out plan, even if it means making changes.
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) aims to teach the necessary skills beforehand and find ways to help the client manage the situation effectively. For instance, they can break down the steps into smaller parts, increase the frequency of rewards, and lower expectations to slowly shape the behavior to address the learner’s needs based on the environment.
Trust is Necessary for Follow Through
“…it's important to remember that trust and follow-through can coexist without compromising the well-being of those involved.”
Following-Through is Important
Follow-through is very important to establish trust and respect in our relationships with our children. Follow-through can feel challenging, however, because it can elicit unwanted feelings from both parent and child. There are several barriers to effective follow-through.
The child becomes upset, and this leads to anxiety and stress for the caregiver, which the caregiver wants to escape or avoid, to begin with.
Following through can feel like punishment rather than teaching. Teaching is hard at times.
A rule that the caregiver follows is arbitrary and does not align with their values. If you are not motivated to follow through consistently, it will only cause unwelcome stress.
You have to follow through more than once. There are very few things in life that fall into the category of one-trial learning. Learning takes multiple attempts, as does a child's ability to generalize. Refrain from assuming when they have stopped asking for candy before breakfast means they will stop asking for candy before lunch.
Why is Follow Through So Important?
“Follow-through is very important to establish trust and respect in our relationships with our children.”
“Pick the Hills You Are Willing to Die On”
Does this sound familiar? Sometimes, parents must remember that only some rules or instructions are worth enforcing. Overcorrecting a child's behavior can cause them to feel judged, unaccepted, and stressed. It is a road that can take a caregiver from a conditioned reinforcer (someone who signals good things) to a conditioned punisher (someone who signals terrible things). Instead, providing support and love when necessary can help build trust between caregivers and children. Parenting is challenging; avoid making it more complicated by trying to enforce everything. As a parent, you should set yourself up for success. Talk with your partner, children, and other vital stakeholders, and figure out the hills for your family. Setting new rules for annoyance, anger, or anxiety will likely not be implemented consistently enough for behavior change to occur. A lack of follow-through will make it harder to follow through on the critical stuff moving forward.
When is Follow Through Not a Good Idea?
“Sometimes, parents must remember that only some rules or instructions are worth enforcing…Instead, providing support and love when necessary can help build trust between caregivers and children.”
Context is Key in Follow-Through
Following these steps can be helpful to evaluate if the situation is where you should follow through with your words or if there is a better time.
Read the situation.
Validate the emotions that are occurring.
Be flexible enough to avoid following through.
It's never the learner’s fault; it's the plan. One pillar of Applied Behavior Analysis is that the learner is always right. If the plan is wrong, the learner will tell you one way or another.