Behavior Navigation

Have you ever encountered a situation with your child where you didnt know if you should laugh or cry or hide? Maybe you did all three? Do you find yourself thinking or saying things like, I dont know what else to do. I feel like Ive tried everything and nothing is working. Why is everything a struggle? I am so tired. Is it really supposed to be th... is hard? Have you ever felt embarrassed by your childs behavior out in public and had no idea what to do when your child was having a melt down in front of others? Have you ever put your kids to bed and felt like sobbing reflecting on the day you just had? Have you ever felt guilty about how you handled a situation with your child? Are you stressed about juggling your time between your job, spouse, children, [lack of] a social life, and [lack of] me time and self-care? Do you and your spouse disagree on how to handle your childs behavior and big emotions? Does the parent you dreamt of being your entire life look drastically different from the parent you actually are? Allow me to introduce myself: I am Colleen Larned. I live in Cleveland, OH with my very supportive and loving husband and two girls (ages 4 and 21 months). I have been working as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst ( What is a BCBA? ) since 2011 but my experience with children and behavior dates back even further. I am currently working with children ages 3-17 with autism spectrum disorder and/or severe problem behaviors. The focus of my work is to find the reason why a child is having difficulty learning or why they are engaging in severe behaviors and then identify interventions and strategies to teach them positive replacement skills. These positive replacement skills, tailored to their individual needs, decrease the difficult behaviors and increase positive behaviors all based on how they learn best, their individualized interests, and motivation. By teaching positive behaviors, I am not just stopping the undesirable behavior, but I am teaching the child new skills to benefit them for the rest of ...Read More