APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
Q & A
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HELP: How Can I Make it Easy For
My Son to Remember Skills?
By Angelina M., MS, BCBA, MFTI
Q
A
I ’m struggling with my son remembering the things he has learned. I teach him one thing and he
forgets. Any tips?
– Matsepo
Hey Matsepo!
What you’re experiencing is very common
for people with developmental disabilities.
Research shows that children with autism re-
quire significantly more learning opportuni-
ties to gain a new skill than other children. On
top of that, children with autism often require
more on-going training to maintain the skill.
In other words, not only do our kiddos on the
spectrum take longer to acquire new skills,
they require more help to remember the skill.
This applies to how they retain information,
too.
The skill of remembering what you’ve been taught
across long periods of time is called MAINTENANCE.
Think of it like this: If you made a new meal one time,
you probably wouldn’t remember how to make it
again a month later without checking the recipe. But
if you made the meal every other day for three weeks
in a row, you will probably remember how to make
it a month later. The more you practice, the better
recall you have.
Here are some things you can do to help your son
remember what he’s been taught:
1. Repetition: It’s key to create lots of opportu-
nities for your son to use the information he’s
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