Managing Challenging Behaviors

This photo was captured at Reedley Beach - August 2026

It wasn't until I realized that I needed to seriously learn how to implement behavioral strategies DAILY, on my own, outside of ABA therapy, that my daughter's behaviors began to change. I quickly saw early on that a few ABA hours a week wasn't enough. I had to learn how to respond consistently all day, every day. I made it my job to pay attention, learn what was actually being taught, understand how and why certain strategies worked, and then carry those strategies over into our everyday life at home. It is not easy. In fact, caring for my daughter and learning how to manage severe behaviors has been the hardest job I have ever known or will ever know.

I also had to change my thinking in another area. I was very much an anti-med mom and did not want my daughter on psychiatric medication. Eventually, though, after being bruised and scratched by her for an entire year, along with the increase in her self-injurious behaviors, I had to reconsider that position based on the severity of what we were dealing with and what our quality of life looked like. I made the decision to put her on risperidone, and for us it became one more tool alongside the behavioral work. Medication did not replace the need for behavioral strategies, and behavioral strategies did not necessarily eliminate the need for medication. What I have learned over the years is that sometimes we have to be willing to rethink positions we once felt very strongly about.

Over time I became confident in recognizing and understanding my daughter's behaviors in ways only I could as her mother. I even implemented new behavioral strategies within her therapy sessions and when I saw that something needed to be approached differently. The medication helped us get through a very difficult time, but as the behavioral work became stronger and more consistent, I eventually was able to taper the risperidone down to a very low dose. That entire process, and becoming an active behavioral strategist, rather than simply relying on therapy to do it for me, is what I consider a success story.