Is Applied Behavioral Analysis Right for My Autistic Child?
Finding the right form of therapy for your autistic child can be difficult. There are multiple avenues you can take to ensure your child’s life not only improves but that they get to have a wonderful life just like any other child would. Parents should consider looking into Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and if it works for their child. To help you to get the right answers, we’ve looked at ABA. So, what does ABA therapy mean?
What is applied behavior analysis?
In simple terms, it is a therapy that is based on learning, as well as behavior. ABA helps us to understand the following:
- How behavior works
- How your behavior can be influenced by the environment
- How learning happens
ABA therapy applies to the real-world experiences with learning. So, it will almost always look at real-life outcomes instead of what could potentially take place. ABA therapy aims to improve your child’s behavior which is helpful while reducing their problematic behaviors. Furthermore, ABA therapy programs can also help with the following:
- Language and communication skills, as these are quite important.
- Improve attention, focus, social skills, memory, as well as academics. These are the fundamentals that form part of behavior.
- Then a big one is to decrease behavioral problems too.
Since ABA therapy has been around for several decades it has helped thousands of children to set up a positive form of behavior that works for them.
How does it work?
Probably the most pressing question on your mind is, how does ABA therapy work for children with autism? There are a range of techniques and methods that are used in this therapy. One thing that is certain is that ABA therapy is flexible and almost always based on what works for the particular child instead of a range of children. There will never be a one size fits all. Since the treatment is flexible, it simply means that:
- ABA therapy can be adapted so that it meets the requirements of each child or person.
- The therapy can be used in multiple places such as at home, at school, and even in the broader community.
- It focuses on skills that can be used in everyday life rather than skills that won’t be used often.
- It can also involve one-on-one teaching, as well as group teaching depending on the child and how they deal with groups or individuals.
ABA therapy focuses on the positive aspects of behavior rather than dealing with the negative aspects first. The main idea is to reinforce the positive behaviors, as well as how to deal with negative behaviors positively. For this reason alone, one can see how applied behavioral analysis is indeed right for an autistic child since the disorder can sometimes be depicted quite negatively.
There are three steps to focus on: Antecedent, Behavior, and Consequence. Firstly, you need to understand what happens before a behavior occurs – this is the antecedent. Then you need to look at the consequences, which take place after the behavior occurred. And to unpack it even further:
- Antecedent: This is what happens right before a behavior occurs. Think of it this way, it can be anything such as an object, another person, a thought, a verbal cue, etc. that takes place right before the behavior.
- Behavior: This is a response to something. It can be positive, negative, as well as neutral.
- Consequence: This occurs after the behavior and as a direct result of the behavior. The consequence can be positive – which is the desired outcome – or it can be negative.
What does ABA involve?
To understand if ABA is the right thing for your child, we need to understand what it entails. Don’t look at ABA therapy as something that your child needs to learn and follow, like studying for a test. Rather look at it as a way to create a program or lifestyle that your child can use over time in order to ensure they live a better quality of life. The goal of an ABA program will always be to customize and help each person work on a set of behavioral skills that they need to function. You might find that your child works well with social cues but is not great at expressing themselves, especially when they become agitated. ABA therapy is what your child will need to learn how to express themselves more positively.
