by Brittani Argott, BCBA, Invo Behavior and Therapy Services
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the
therapy most often recommended for young
children with autism. Its benefits are widely
recognized, from helping children with
autism learn age-appropriate communication
and social skills to reducing challenging
behavior. While research shows that young
children with ASD make the greatest progress
with 20 to 30 hours of intensive therapy each
week, parents are often concerned about finding
so much time in their already busy lives.
Parents find that investing time in ABA helps
their child learn, grow and be happier. It also
teaches them how to help their child continue
to improve and strengthens family life.
Finding the Time
ABA therapy is not as time-consuming as it
sounds. Parents of a young child with autism
are spending at least 30 hours each week helping
their child. Much of that time could be
used to help their child learn more desirable
behaviors. For example, ABA therapy can
transform the time parents spend soothing a
child who is having frequent meltdowns into
time spent teaching the child how to communicate
instead. ABA therapy is provided by
a therapist who comes into the home or at a
specialized therapy center. Parents are encouraged
to participate as much as they like, but
they can also do other tasks during therapy
sessions. Some parents who spend most of
the day supervising their child are pleasantly
surprised by how much more time they have
available for at-home activities while the child
is receiving ABA therapy. Further, parents
often end up performing activities of daily
life for children, such as dressing and bathing,
preparing meals, feeding and so on. Parents
normally do these tasks for young children,
but they are difficult and very time-consuming
for older children.
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
Applied Behavior Analysis or “ABA” is a
scientific, proven therapy that uses positive
reinforcement to help children with autism
learn behavior that is typical for their age,
improve communication and social skills,
and decrease problem behavior. ABA is the
only treatment for autism that has been endorsed
by the U.S. Surgeon General and the
American Academy of Pediatrics. ABA is also
an “evidence-based” treatment: Its effectiveness
in helping children with autism has been
confirmed in more than 600 research studies.
With a focus on finding each child’s natural
motivation, ABA therapy breaks tasks and behaviors
into small pieces, and practices until
a child masters the skills and can use them in
various environments and situations. It can
help a child with autism get better at using
verbal language, making eye contact, getting
dressed, using the toilet, playing with other
children and so on. ABA can also reduce challenging
behavior such a child hurting himself
or others, destroying things, eating non-food
items, running away and refusing tasks. Every
ABA therapy program is tailored to each
child’s unique needs. Therapists work closely
with parents throughout therapy to identify
and work on their top priorities for communication
and behavior.
What Does ABA Therapy Look Like?
Ideally, a child with autism will have a
number of therapy sessions each week. This
may sound like a lot for a three-year-old,
but sessions include plenty of breaks and
fun to keep the child engaged. Most ABA
therapy takes place during play and everyday
activities. This is because everything a child
does — from getting dressed to playing
games, eating a snack, taking a walk or interacting
with siblings — offers opportunities to
work on behavior and communication.
A child who wants a specific snack but cannot
ask for it may fall down screaming and
kicking. An ABA therapist will help the child
learn small steps to replace the meltdown
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