Artem’s case - cooperating with an adult at home

Starting point

At the start, simple instructions from adults were often met with refusal, an emotional reaction or attempts to avoid the task. The parents were caught between insisting, which could escalate challenging behavior, and dropping the request.

Skills we worked on

• cooperating with an adult
• following achievable instructions
• gradually increasing tolerance of demands
• finishing a task once started
• transitioning between activities
• accepting an adult’s prompt
• functionally asking for help or a break

How the work went

Parent training format

The main tool was the parent training program I developed, based on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Artem’s parents learned to analyze what happens before and after behavior, give clear instructions, identify effective reinforcement, use prompts and gradually fade them.

How the program was applied

The strategies were used in natural daily situations: getting dressed, playing, eating, tidying up and moving between activities. The work began with fairly simple instructions that Artem was very likely to complete successfully. When needed, the parents helped Artem, reinforced any correct response he could manage, and then gradually made the demands harder.

Instead of the chain “demand → challenging behavior → demand withdrawn”, a different one was built: “clear instruction → achievable response → success → reinforcement”.

What changed

Situations with strong refusal and challenging behavior became less frequent. Artem more often responded to instructions without strong resistance, cooperated with an adult for longer and accepted help more readily. The parents began analyzing the conditions before an episode, whether the demand matched his skill level, and the consequences of behavior.

What did not change right away

Challenging behavior did not disappear completely. Refusals could still occur with new or harder demands, changes to familiar routines or skills that were not yet fully formed. The goal was not the absence of any negative emotion, but a wider range of functional skills.