I have a brand new mini course and today I'm talking all about how to not use timeout,
bribes, threats, or any punishment.
So the mini course is at nomoretimeout.com.
But this video blog is just gonna be a short excerpt from podcast number 169, where I talk
all about a lot of the issues with using these punishment and bribery techniques, which are
not going to serve you well, either as a parent or professional.
So let's get to this short video blog all about why time out is not something we want
to be using.
Welcome back to another video blog.
I'm your host, Dr. Mary Barbera, autism mom, behavior analyst, and bestselling author.
Each week I am going to be providing you with some of my ideas about turning autism or signs
of autism around so if you haven't subscribed to my YouTube channel, you can do that now.
So, as I said, this week is just a short excerpt from podcast number 169, talking about timeout
and why timeout is really one of the most incorrectly and overused strategies I've ever
seen.
So, um, hopefully this video blog will give you a short sample of the no more timeout
mini course, which is available for a limited time at a very, very special price at nomoretimeout.com.
So before I go on and tell you the three reasons you should not be using timeout, um, let's
talk about what timeout is.
So timeout is when you have a problem behavior of some sort and you, um, remove the child
or tell verbally tell the child to move to another area of the room to a special naughty
chair, to a special desk, to a, um, it, it might not be called, to their bedroom.
It might not be called a timeout area.
It might be called a calm down area.
It might be called a sensory room, but you have problem behaviors, and the child is taken
to or sent to a room, it is not supposed to be reinforcing.
So I did do a video blog on sensory rooms, and that is one very inappropriate, uh, way
to use a sensory room is to send them there, uh, for uh, you know, punishment, which I'm
not gonna agree with, but it, it turns into a really bad cycle of treating behavior with
how I call willy nilly quote unquote.
So the child is, is, has a problem behavior is taken or sent to a different area of the
room or different part of the house or school for a period of time.
Um, but that doesn't always work.
A lot of times there's no timer sent, uh, set.
Um, and then some experts who have, uh, created time out decades ago recommend a minute per
age.
So for a two year old, you'd send them there for a timed amount of two minutes, uh, for
an eight year old, they would get eight minute time out.
They could go to the step, a staircase.
Um, there's so many problems with this and I do get a lot more into the problems with
timeout in the no more timeout mini course.
Um, but you know, it could be that you told your child to do something and they don't
want to do it.
I have an example where, you know, I was, in a classroom setting years ago.
And I walked in and I'm like, where's Johnny.
And they said, oh, he's in, I think it was the sensory room, um, to calm down.
I'm like, oh, okay.
What's he calming down about?
Well, we had him do a math sheet.
Um, Double addition, double digit addition.
Um, I think they just said a math sheet and I said, well, what kind of math?
And they said, double digit addition.
And he swiped the materials or overturned the desks or yelled.
I don't know what exactly he did.
I can't remember, but that prompted them to set, send him to the calm down area and, um,
I said, I wasn't gonna get into functions, but he basically was escaping a hard task.
Right?
And then he got to go and calm down, which for escape related behaviors, actually time
out, totally based on science, based on all the literature we know, time out is contraindicated.
It is not indicated not appropriate for escape related behavior.
So I said, well, he escaped and now he's getting reinforcement and they said, oh no, no, he's
not getting reinforcement because when he gets out of the calm down area, um, we are
gonna make him do that math again.
And, but any delay, help, um, or getting rid of the work is reinforcing.
Um, and I am not here to say that Johnny should have been kept the demand on using escape
extinction.
I am very much against escape extinction for many of the same reasons that I'm against
timeout and we can link in the shown notes, um, a really good podcast interview, uh, we
might even have two with Dr. Megan Miller, who is on a crusade, really to have behavior
analysts stop using, keep the demand on situation and the, the whole problem with Johnny and
his math sheet and his calm down area, is that Johnny wasn't fluent with single digit
addition.
So if you are having major, major problem behaviors, um, then the demands are most likely
too high, which means the child doesn't have needed prerequisite skills.
Um, so demands are too high.
And or reinforcement is too low.
Um, I have used timeouts in the past.
I've used timeout a few times for my, uh, typically developing son Spencer, but that
was before I was a behavior analyst.
I've also used timeout a few times.
Um, Probably more than a few times with clients.
Um, but I haven't used timeout and I don't recommend timeout for over five years now.
Um, because it almost always backfires.
And unless you have a very, very positive, structured program in place, um, and you have
a very seasoned behavior analyst there with you while you're using timeout, it's it's
probably going to backfire and just not reduce any problem behaviors.
Instead, it's going to increase problem behaviors.
I hope you enjoyed that short excerpt from podcast 169.
You can listen or watch the whole podcast number 169.
Um, you can also find out more details about signing up for the no more timeout mini course,
which will take you about an hour and a half to complete, at nomoretimeout.com.
Hope you enjoyed it.
If you did leave a comment, share the video, give it a thumbs up, a like and, uh, have
a great week.
I'll see you next time.