What Is ABA Therapy and Does It Work?

If you are the parent of a child who has been recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, there is a good chance that you have heard the term ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis therapy.  ABA is a unique form of treatment for autism, and holds the distinction of being the only treatment that is scientifically proven to work.  Using a process of measuring behaviors and implementing specific teaching procedures, ABA works to help children learn a very comprehensive set of skills.  ABA works through guiding and positive reinforcement and can be quite successful.

One of the places where autistic children differ greatly from other children is that they typically do not just pick up or grasp large concepts, ideas, and behaviors simply by observing them.  While many children can look up at a gray sky and understand that this means that it will rain soon, an autistic child does not make the proper connections and understandings for this concept to be understood.  ABA therapy is designed to help teach concepts and ideas in such a way that teaches the brain how to learn larger concepts.  It literally helps kids learn to learn.

ABA therapy certainly works, and studies show that it is by far the most effective treatment out there for children with autism spectrum disorder.  ABA can help these kids become more socially active, more independent, and more capable.  In fact, many kids who have undergone rigorous ABA therapy are able to function in a normal classroom setting after a relatively short period of time.  This is especially true of children who begin ABA during or even before the preschool years, which is when the brain is developing many of the skills required for learning.  The new pathways developed by ABA can often help autistic children function quite like their non-autistic counterparts.

At the end of the day, it is up to parents and school systems to decide what is right for each child.  With that in mind, however, it is important to understand that ABA therapy really does work.  When employed both in the home and at school, it can be even more effective.  ABA therapy teaches social, cognitive, language, motor, self-help, and academic skills.  When you want your child to be able to go to school, learn, and interact with peers as normally as possible, these skills are absolutely crucial.