Importance of Self-Management in the Treatment of Autism in Children

Abstract this research intends to provide information on Self-Management (SM) since today is a well-known concept in the world of psychology but is not understood by most people in the outside world. The goal is to instruct the person about the SM and thus awaken an interest so that in case it considers entering a program it already has information that helps to determine if is making the right decision. First, a scientific study will be carried out that will approach the most important concepts. After that, there are 3 points related to today's world and issues. The points are related to Communitarian Psychology, Emotional Intelligence, and also the importance of Self-Management in the treatment of autism, in children.

I hope that this humble work will serve as information for those non-experts who need to go a little further into the field to gain information that helps clarify doubts about such an important treatment that offers many types of aid at a psychological level. Introduction Many people today need a lot of Self-Management to be able to lead a quiet and peaceful life. Most do not know that with a simple treatment they can solve a problem at work, family, or emotional, or want to cut a vice that is costing money like alcohol and cigarettes. In psychology, there is an easy but intensive and dedicated way to achieve all these goals to control whatever behavior that is provoking life to be difficult and unpleasant.

Self-Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and direct your behavior. According to Raymond G. Miltenberger, Self-Management means when a person uses behavior modification procedures to change his or her behavior. If a human being feels the need to change something in their behavior and prefers to do it on their own, they would be carrying out self-management. For example: if a customer service worker realizes that the work is stressful and that is causing problems when working with clients, definitely the worker needs to enter a treatment in which he manages to change the behavior that is affecting his performance. In this particular case, this person is introduced to a treatment against stress based on self-management where he manages to control stress and so performs as a good customer and does not lose the job because of a discussion. For a problem of suggestion to occur, the affected person has to present a deficit in behavior, this means that the person can not achieve the establishment of the desired behavior that will have a positive effect on their life.

Sometimes the desired behavior is not reinforced at the moment as it may take a little time to achieve it. For this reason, the desired behavior is not achieved because it is not reinforced at the moment. Most of the time the desired effect that is achieved through the behavior change is not achieved since it is part of the future. This causes the person can leave the self-management treatment since it is not immediately stimulated. In this case, what self-management would be responsible for is decreasing the level of behavioral deficit so that the person achieves a positive outcome. Problems such as overeating, smoking, alcohol use are excesses of unwanted behavior because they will have a negative impact.

But, these tendencies are adopted by the human being because they present immediate satisfaction since at the moment of the behavior there is no other positive motivation available in the eyes of the person. One of the goals of self-management is to achieve that the person overcomes the influences of these types of immediate stimulators. This in psychology is called temporary discounting. In the studies of temporary discounting the psychologists have proposed to the patients that instead of controlling behavior with the immediate stimulators they do it with another reinforcer longer and with a better and greater effect. Self-management occurs when the person commits to adopt a behavior to change or change another behavior. Self-Management presents two types of behaviors: the controlling behavior and the controlled behavior.

The controlling behavior is the one that refers to the implementation of the self-management treatment. The controlled behavior is the behavior targeted for change, which antecedents and consequences need to be controlled and eliminated. There are some usual behaviors: exercise, studying a new skill that is wanted to be learned, smoking, overeating, etc. In Self-Management programs after a behavior is targeted, the next step to take is to determine what kind of behavior procedures are possible to try to manipulate the controlled behavior. We can find some examples of Self-Management tips that help to control the targeted behavior: -writing a shopping list -self-monitoring, observing and monitoring own behavior -public posting -increasing response effort for targeted behavior -restricting access to stimuli associated with problematic behavior -goal setting -presentation of aversive behavior -recruit a friend -check, test, and change programs as necessary -change environmental contingencies -specify a goal and define target behavior Goal Setting and Self Monitoring To manipulate the development of a targeted behavior it is necessary to establish a personal goal and such goals must be achievable. When this is achieved, success in controlling the targeted behavior is more possible.

This procedure represents great importance in the field of self-management since it can be used as a criterion in an intensive plan of stimulation that promises the effectiveness of a given treatment. Goal setting and self-monitoring are a combo as they always go together in a self-management treatment that is respected. Thanks to self-monitoring we can record in detail the targeted behavior and that allows us to check the progress of the treatment and the occurrence of the targeted behavior. Self-Monitoring is reactive which makes targeted behavior controlled without problems. Principles of Goal Setting -measurable and specific goals -short-term and long-term -print your goal on a paper -specify the outcome, the process, and the performance goals -establish and practice the goals -develop a plan to achieve the main goal Antecedent Manipulation

This is a strategy used in self-management programs to influence overt behaviors. We first manipulate and change the environment before the occurrence of the targeted behavior so we can influence the occurrence. Behavioral Contracting Behavioral Contracting is writing down the process of the targeted behavior and making a plan to make contingencies that influences the targeted behavior. Social Support This is based on the social intervention of a person in a Self-Management Program. This person can manipulate the targeted behavior. The influence of a person in treatment is of the utmost importance because the success of the treatment depends on that person and in this way the development of the contingencies is guaranteed and stable. Self Instructions and Self-Praise play a very important part in Self-Management.

The person may be able to influence self-directed in their behavior through self-talking exercises. This ensures that the person can discover, control or drop the targeted behavior when necessary. To control the targeted behavior these two behaviors themselves: self-instruction and self-praise need to be learned before the occurrences get worse. According to Raymond G. Miltenberger, most Self-Management treatments consist of a specific number of steps: -Decide to engage in self-management. -Define the targeted behavior. -Set goals. -Self-Monitor. -Conduct a functional assessment. -Choose appropriate Self-Management strategies. -Check change. -Reevaluate Self-Management strategies if necessary. -Put in place maintenance strategies. Self-Management and Community Psychology Currently the word self-management deals with business, education, and especially in the programs and projects related to psychological therapies which consist of social intervention. If we go back to the birth we find that it comes from the libertarian idea developed in Europe after the socio-political process as the commune of Paris and the Spanish Revolution.

When we talk about self-management, the first thing we interpret is that the person himself contributes and organizes himself for its effect. Nowadays the word self-management is very named but little deepened. After several searches for information on this term, you can see that has a lot to do with community psychology. It sounds very promising what self-management at the community level can bring. It is necessary to be thankful that nowadays there are diverse practices that commit people to this, allowing them to know the world that exists within them. The action of making this reality also entails negative repercussions giving way to tensions and problems that are affecting the viability of these interruptions in the treatment, discontinuities in the program, and internal discrepancies.

Due to this, it is necessary to give a more robust treatment to the development, constitution, and projection. Due to the great use that is given to self-management in community psychology, it can also include talking about self-management as a social change. Social self-management is a new alternative concept of community work where the particular method allows the inclusion and participation of social actors generating articulation from the encounter, coordination, goals, and advances, leaving behind the idea that a group must have a director that can work. Then we can say that we are facing a new method around the community that is very differentiated from that institutional and discreet social psychology from its ideological position as well as from its objectiveness at all costs. Of course, this will depend on those same alternative spaces for the establishment of their development, consistency, dissemination as well as their coherence and legitimacy.

Emotional Intelligent and its importance to the Self-Management campus. Emotional Intelligence is a flexible set of skills that can be acquired and improved with practice but some people are more intelligent than others, others can develop high emotional intelligence even if they are not born with it. Self-management is the second most important key that is part of the development of emotional intelligence. It is recognized because it explains how to control your emotions, your impulses, and your abilities. Five elements define self-management: - Adaptability: is defined as flexibility in the response to change. - Trustworthiness and Conscientiousness: These two characteristics do not mean the same thing but both mean behaving well to personal values and ethical codes. - Innovation: It is never wrong to open your mind to new ideas, treatments, plans, etc.

This develops the personal ability to solve problems. Sometimes the risk that is taken when adopting a new idea is the solution to a certain problem. - Self-control is not hiding emotions but recognizing and controlling them. For example: when you have a problem, you are advised to remain relaxed and calm, given that you can react in an unwanted way and make incorrect decisions in a hurry. According to Travis Brabberty, emotional intelligence is something in each of us that is a big intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigates social competencies, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results. Emotional intelligence is created by four skills that lend special importance. Such characteristics are summarized in two parts: Personal Competence: related to the skills of Self-Management and Self-Awareness.

Personal competence is the ability to manage your behavior and control your emotions. Social Competence: related to social awareness and the ability to interact with society. It represents the ability to recognize and understand the behavior, humor, motives of other people to improve interpersonal relationships. Self-Management and its importance in Autism Disorder Treatments. There is a very important challenge about Self-Management and its influence on autism treatments, and the point is that we must analyze how SM helps the treatment and regulation of the behavior of autistic people. Karen Pierce and Laura Schreibman researched to see the effectiveness of SM to teach skills to autistic children. The results showed that children with autism could use photos to manage their behavior when their nurse was not present.

They were also able to generalize their behavior throughout their activities. This research showed that compared with the baseline the children showed a decrease in stereotypic behaviors. Children with autism usually do not respond to verbal references when interacting with people, which can lead to severe disruptive behavior. Some results show that Self-Management offers techniques that help children with autism. These children, who have a large deficit in social skills, have demonstrated that they can achieve self-control when they perform social development within a community without the need to have their nurse help. Conclusion Benefits of Self-Management: -Ability to covert behavior. Ability to observe most or all instances of behavior. -Generalization and maintenance are more likely. -Ability to apply Self-Management skills to other behaviors. Positive characteristics of self-management: people are happy when they have control over their own lives. - It is better to give the benefit of the decision to oneself and not depend and or wait for the opinion and decisions of another person. -When responsibility is given to people, most of the time if they are good people there is a huge percentage of security that person will flourish and improve.

Self-Management tips to take into account to lead a better life, and pursue the effectiveness of a given treatment: - Track and apply your values. - Express yourself and reflect your opinion in front of people. That brings security. -Honor your words and keep your promises so that people learn to believe in you, and you also in yourself. -If you demand more responsibility from the people around you, you have to offer the same responsibilities as you do. -If you don’t want to be honest or are not willing, to be honest with people do not wait for them to be with you. Create good habits and drop bad ones. -Pay attention to reading. Study and learn from conversations with people. Most of the time you can get the teaching them. There is nothing more important than the love and the care that you can give to yourself.

Self-Management is only about that but a studied series of treatments in psychology that helps the development of decreasing unpleasant behavior. Today a lot of people suffer from anxiety, depression, and stress. Self-Management plays an important part in this case because it offers a lot of ways to drop any of those disorders and/or drop any behavior that increases the performance of any of these issues. In my point of view, people should be strong enough to overcome issues in their life and Self-Management provides the possibilities to achieve these goals.

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