One of the things all hands-on professionals and families
look for are very practical resources they can use immediately and expand upon
to meet the unique needs of their students or child. Behavior Mapping written by Amy Buie, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA is an
example of such a resource. I have found over the years that simple, practical
information can sometimes be the most powerful when you are addressing the day
to day needs of a child with ASD. Behavior mapping is not a new concept and has
been established in the research literature for some time now. It capitalizes
on the use of visuals in a systematic manner in which the student is explicitly
shown the path of their behavioral choices. It has long been established that people with
Autism struggle with complex social rules, social-communication and the
broader concept of the hidden curriculum. Behavior mapping provides a concrete
representation of the expectations of the student and the consequences
(reinforcement) while showing what the alternative path is should the student
engage in the targeted behavior to decrease and what those consequences will
be. The book provides clear instructions
and a wide variety of examples to begin with.
One of the things I like most about this book is that it is
written by a practitioner. Teacher research, that is teachers who reflect upon
their practice in a systematic manner impacting the effectiveness of their
instruction and thus supporting better student outcomes, tends to produce some of the most helpful
ideas available for immediate application. It is an ongoing conversation which
adds to the evolving knowledge and practice of the profession. I would recommend taking a look at this book. It
is something I will be placing on my resource list for many of the classes I
teach. I have found that preservice
teachers are often much more invested in purchasing, reading and applying
knowledge from these types of books as opposed to more traditional texts.
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