ABA Therapy for ASD
What is ABA?
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a discipline devoted to the understanding and improvement of human behavior.
What do you mean by behavior?
Behavior is defined as any observable and measurable act. Many people mistakenly think of only ‘bad behavior’ like hitting, biting, tantrums, etc., when they hear the word behavior; but that is only a SMALL part of it. Some other examples of behavior are:
 pointing | eating | talking |
| playing a game | watching TV | playing |
| doing homework | walking dog | driving |
| learning to read | teaching language | etc., etc., etc. |
So now that you understand what behavior in Applied Behavior Analysis means, you can better understand that ABA is a discipline that encompasses a variety of scientifically proven procedures to increase and/or decrease the targeted behavior.
What do you mean increase and/or decrease targeted behavior:
Providing ABA services for children with ASD, we would take a look at:
Areas that your child does too much of (EXCESSES), and areas that your child does not do enough of (DEFICITS)
| |
EXCESSES |
| Self Stimulatory Behaviors |
(lining up toys, asking same |
question over and over, etc.) |
Maladaptive Behaviors |
(aggression, tantrums |
non-compliant behavior, etc.) |
|
|
|
DEFICITS |
Communication |
(eye contact, asking questions, |
requesting, attention, language, etc.) |
Social Interaction |
(joint attention, back and forth social |
interaction, sustained play, etc.) |
|
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|
Using the principles and procedures of ABA, the goal is to DECREASE your child’s areas of EXCESSES and INCREASE your child’s areas of DEFICITS.
ABA for children with ASD
ABA is a scientifically validated and empirically-supported treatment program for ASD, recommended and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Academy of Sciences as well as by the National Autism Center.
An ABA treatment program build’s on the child’s interests, offers a predictable schedule, teaches task as a series of simple steps, actively engages the child’s attention in highly structured activities and provides regular reinforcement of positive behavior. Parental involvement is also a major factor in treatment success. Parents work with therapists to identify the behaviors to be changed and the skills to be taught.
