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According to an episode of Two Sides of the Spectrum, guest Dr. Mel Houser criticizes the current medical model and healthcare approach to meeting the needs of autistic people.

Accessing healthcare, whether it be setting up appointments, giving doctors your information, waiting in the waiting room, there is an expectation of executive functioning ability and sensory fortitude that doesn’t apply to all who are neurodivergent, making their process to getting help more challenging. Activities like filling out 20 pages of paperwork or picking up a phone assume a level of functioning that may not be applicable to that particular patient.

The environment of the doctor’s office may also be insensitive to the sensory sensitivities of those who are neurodivergent when it comes to lighting, sound, or even hallway and waiting room traffic.

Regarding the doctors themselves, they are typically looking at patients with neurodivergency from a “deficit-based lens” where autistic people must have certain deficits in order to be diagnosed and treated as such. This lack of training to understand autism as a system that has many different presentations and effects on autistic patients results in an inconsideration of their needs as well as an attitude that robs patients from the help they need. 

Digestive issues may be written off as simply stress or anxiety, whereas autism can certainly affect the connective tissue and colon of patients, therefore producing indigestion or constipation.

Instead of, “You have 40 health deficits,” it should be positioned as, “You are neurodivergent, and these are your particular needs.”

A neurodiversity affirming model provides therapy and support that is open to all of that community. There are community and social programs where people come together by shared interest, not diagnosis. 

The way to affirm all neurotypes is by shifting environments, not people.

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Applied Behavior Analysis

ABA Therapy is considered the best treatment for autism. Our experienced staff will help your child grow through ABA Therapy. Some benefits include:

  • Increased communication skills
  • Improved focus
  • Better social skills
  • Coping mechanisms 

Let us be an ally in your child’s growth.

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What is ABA Therapy?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a systematic process based on principles of learning theory and is used to make meaningful changes to behavior. ABA therapy is considered best practice for the treatment of autism and serves as a foundation for all the services provided by Ally Pediatric Therapy. Many facets of your child’s behavior can be improved, including but not limited to:

  • Challenging Behaviors
  • Language
  • Speech
  • Communication
  • Play Skills
  • Self-help Skills
  • Feeding Skills

The goal of each ABA therapy session is to work towards mastery of each objective listed on your child’s individualized treatment plan. ABA sessions can include a variety of teaching methodologies including, but not limited to,

These teaching methodologies allow information to be presented in a systematic manner, providing more opportunities for your child to learn skills.

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Our Approach to ABA Therapy

Every child is unique. Their treatment should be too. We believe in a blended approach of ABA methodologies, which allows us to utilize the most effective approach based on each child’s learning style and needs.

  • Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) is a comprehensive, evidence-based treatment approach that targets your child’s pivotal areas of development:
    • Motivation
    • Social initiations
    • Self-management
    • Responding to multiple language cues.

PRT relies heavily on the motivation of the child to guide the activities of the session and uses natural reinforcement. A well-run PRT session will make it appear like the child is playing.

  • Discrete Trial Training (DTT) is a highly structured method of teaching that involves:
    • Breaking down each skill into small, digestible steps
    • Teaching each step in a systematic manner
    • Arbitrary reinforcement that is awarded after correct responses
    • Incorporating learned skills into natural environment for generalization

PRT and DTT are both beneficial teaching methodologies with useful applications. Every behavior technician at Ally Pediatric Therapy will achieve and maintain proficiency in both methodologies, allowing the technician to use the approach best suited to the skills being taught and the motivation of the child.

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In this guide to children with Sensory Processing Disorder, we’ll cover the following:

What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a condition that affects how someone’s brain processes sensory information and stimuli. Kids with sensory processing issues may deal with a sensory overload of one or multiple senses, including:

  • Sight
  • Touch
  • Taste
  • Smell
  • Hearing

SPD is not confined to one sense or stimulus and affects each person uniquely. Someone with SPD is typically oversensitive to stimuli others are not, but each case will vary. This makes it difficult to recognize early, as some symptoms of SPD may go largely unnoticed or be attributed to other issues. Thus, understanding the signs of SPD can go a long way to helping our loved ones, both children and adults, treat it adequately.

What are the Signs of Sensory Processing Disorder?

Many signs and symptoms of sensory processing disorder can be mistaken for short-term deficiencies or discomforts. However, identifying these symptoms is the first step to getting a proper diagnosis.

The signs of SPD include:

  1. Hypersensitive Hearing: If your child finds everyday sounds at normal volumes intolerable, this is a sign of hypersensitive hearing.
  2. Hyper-Acute Hearing: The ability to hear even the faintest sounds can plague children with auditory stimuli issues due to SPD.
  3. Poor Motor Coordination: A child with SPD may be awkward and clumsy and lack fine motor skills that help with eating, writing, and other activities.
  4. Lack of Spatial Awareness: Not only will this contribute to a child having trouble navigating specific spaces, but they run the risk of stepping over the personal boundaries of others.
  5. High Pain Tolerance: If your child is indifferent to pain when they hurt themselves, it can be an acute symptom of recognizing sensory processing disorder.
  6. Learning Difficulties: Children with SPD may struggle to master activities or learn at the same pace as their peers.
  7. Impaired Language Development: Conversations, instructions, and questions may be difficult for someone with SPD to process quickly.
  8. Aversion to Touch: If your child rejects any form of physical contact or acts fearful and surprised by hugs or handshakes, it can be a sign of SPD.
  9. Poor Balance: Games, sports, or even walking and running can be challenging for a child with a sensory processing disorder until it is adequately treated.
  10. Disliking Food or Clothing Textures: Often, a child with sensory processing disorder will reject food or clothing because it’s disturbing for them to smell, taste, or touch.

These are just some of the many signs a child with sensory processing disorder might exhibit. Even more challenging, it is very common for autistic children to have sensory hypersensitivity as a symptom of ASD. This causes a confluence of signs and symptoms at times, which is why we recommend a professional assessment as soon as possible if you think your child may be suffering from SPD.

Can a Child Overcome Sensory Processing Disorder?

Sensory processing disorder is a condition that exists on a spectrum, much like autism. However, unlike ASD, children can outgrow SPD. More realistically, like ASD, it is possible to manage the effects of sensory processing disorder to a level manageable throughout childhood and into adulthood.

Because sensory processing disorder is frequently seen in children with other conditions, such as ASD, it also allows for structured treatments and frameworks that can include mutually beneficial programs.

What Can You Do for a Child with Sensory Processing Disorder?

Helping a child with SPD can be tricky until there is a proper diagnosis and you get them the appropriate care to address their unique issues. This means if you suspect your child or loved one has a sensory processing disorder, you should:

  • Be patient during confusing behavioral outputs.
  • Document your child’s behaviors or responses that may be related to SPD.
  • Talk with your child about the symptoms they may be exhibiting.
  • Get a consultation with a medical professional as soon as possible.
  • Pursue structured treatment for sensory processing disorder.

Once your child receives proper treatment, a licensed clinician or specialist will give you an individual framework to best help your child.

How to Effectively Treat Sensory Processing Disorder

The treatment plans prescribed will be based on your child’s unique needs, but they often include the following:

The essential element of treating SPD in your autistic child is communication with therapists, clinicians, educators, and support group members. A well-defined plan that everyone can contribute to will go a long way toward helping your child manage and potentially overcome sensory processing disorder in the long term.

In our Guide to ABA Therapy, we will get you up to speed on what Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy is, why it works, and how our integrated approach can be beneficial for your child’s development in therapy for autism.

What is ABA Therapy?

ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis. 

ABA therapy is an evidence-based treatment that focuses on improving behaviors critical to your child and family by teaching new skills to help your child reach their maximum potential.

ABA therapy targets challenging behaviors that may be getting in the way of your child’s development and improve those areas. Ultimately, we want to increase desired behaviors and decrease challenging or undesired behaviors. This is all done in a safe, ethical manner backed by decades of thorough research.

Whether you realize it or not, you and everyone around you use the basic science of ABA. We are all connected to and influenced by our environment. It shapes our behavior through our positive and negative experiences and reactions.

What Are the Benefits of Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy?

Along with the well-documented benefits of ABA therapy, we have improved upon and adapted different strategies of ABA to increase the success of its methods. 

For parents, being familiar with the strategies and techniques of ABA allows you to feel confident in teaching your children new skills, allowing you to be more involved in their development. As a parent, it will increase your confidence, decrease stress, and lessen obstacles to your child’s healthy development.

As you play this vital role in your child’s development, you’ll begin handling problem behaviors from your child more effectively. This opens up more avenues to integrate your child into different environments.

For example, if your child tends to display problem behaviors in crowds or out in the community, recognizing the precursor behaviors and how to de-escalate those behaviors will help you better ease your child into these situations.

Further along in this guide, we will discuss more specifics on different types of ABA therapeutic teaching strategies. By being familiar with these ABA practices that your child’s technicians or Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) are using within sessions, you can take those same principles and bring them into your home environment. 

As a parent, the biggest takeaway is that your child’s learning will become more interactive, fun, and engaging. You will be right in the thick of things with the ABA therapists to see your child’s improvements.

Using reinforcement gives you a way to naturally teach your child that certain behaviors will be less “valuable” to them, meaning they don’t gain access to what they want if they exhibit that specific behavior. On the other hand, certain behaviors will become more “valuable,” meaning they will gain access to those reinforcing items based on appropriate or positive behaviors.

ABA Therapy Success Rates
A 1987 study found that 90% of autistic clients showed behavioral improvements after ABA interventions.
In 2005, 48% of autistic children succeeded in regular classrooms when introduced to ABA therapy at a young age.
ABA therapy accounts for 45% of therapies introduced to autistic children that have long-term success.
50% of autistic children who receive ABA therapy before turning four years old show improved social and speaking skills, and their IQ levels rise.
According to Swallows and Graupner in 2005, 48% of clients on the spectrum made rapid progress in learning and test scores after receiving ABA therapy.

Is ABA Therapy only for Autism?

In your research on ABA therapy, you’ve probably noticed that its primary use is to teach and assist in the development of autistic children. ABA is not just for autistic individuals but is also used to help with other disorders. ABA therapy’s behavioral interventions can help treat various cognitive and behavioral disorders.

The strength of ABA comes in its ability to reinforce positive human behaviors. It’s also easily adaptable to each individual, catering to their unique needs. There isn’t just one specific situation or diagnosis that benefits from ABA therapy.

At its core, ABA therapy uses techniques to assess, analyze, and treat any behavioral challenges. This pertains to all ages and levels of development as well. It’s the science of teaching and learning, and ABA therapy principles can help children and adults integrate into their environments.

What Does an ABA Therapist Do?

Ultimately, an ABA therapist is there to help your child with development and learning. But the therapist needs to make the environment positive, fun and reinforcing. To do this effectively, one of the first things an ABA therapist does with any child is a technique called pairing.

Pairing allows us to get to know your child, finding out what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy. It enables the therapist to make the experience fun for your child and helps them discover what motivates your child and how strong that motivating factor is during the learning process.

Learn More: What does an ABA Therapist do?

The goal is to “pair” a learning objective, an action, or even the therapists themselves, with a reinforcing item or action. The pairing process is critical to creating that connection and trust between the therapist and your child. It’s common for a therapist to spend a good portion of the first few sessions just playing with your child. Knowing that therapy involves more than just completing tasks and objectives allows your child to be more comfortable and willing during a session.

Experienced therapists will use reinforcers like your child’s favorite toy or game to show that they are more than just an instructor. The therapist’s goal is to show they are an avenue for fun and that reinforcing items or actions are more enjoyable with the therapist involved rather than without them. If a therapist successfully creates this relationship, your child’s teaching is much easier.

Another way therapists use reinforcers is by expanding those interests into new items and activities. This is important because it creates more opportunities for your child to interact with peers. The more activities and toys your child enjoys means more connections they can make with those around them.

During a session, the therapist utilizes a comprehensive, individualized treatment plan to address your child’s specific needs. A team develops the program made up of one or more Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs). 

Our team will base your child’s goal development on their assessment results. The BCBA will choose the goals that directly meet the challenges displayed in the assessment. This also includes a behavior intervention plan to address any challenging behaviors.

The ABA therapist will collect data throughout the session with your child. This data includes:

  • Correct and incorrect responses during programs
  • Frequency and duration of behaviors
  • Instances of communication
  • Prompts needed to complete the skill, among other things

Our team graphs this data, allowing the BCBA(s) to analyze your child’s progress or lack thereof. This readily available data allows for any changes if/when necessary to increase progress with your child.

Communication is key in ABA therapy. Therapists will regularly contact the BCBA overseeing the treatment plan to share any significant changes or needs during the session or the discovery of any new behaviors.

Likewise, communication comes into play when discussing sessions with you as the parent. An ABA therapist knows the importance of keeping you in the loop and will give you updates at the end of each session.

BCBA and ABA Therapist Statistics in the U.S.

BCBAABA Therapist
Average Age35-40 years old35-40 years old
Gender RatioF: 71.1%M: 28.9%F: 85.60%M: 15.4%
Job Growth rateMore than 20% increase in the next eight years.More than 20% increase by 2029.
Average Salary$85,571$42,735
Employed in the U.S.Approximately 59,976Approximately 33,633

What is a Typical Session Structure of ABA Therapy?

Before each session, the therapist will have an idea of what ABA programs they will work on that day.

Each therapy session will typically start with the therapist going through a pairing phase with the child. This includes pairing themselves with reinforcers so the child sees them as a “giver of fun things.”

Also, the therapist needs to find out what the child will be motivated by during that particular session. Reinforcers can vary from session to session, so it’s important to identify them at the beginning of each session.

Another big part of this pairing process is demonstrating to the child that their session isn’t all about work with no play. Therapy should be fun for the child and the therapist; that’s when the most meaningful learning occurs. Trust develops during this time, and the child and the therapist develop a connection.

Learn More: ABA Basics for Parents: 6 Tips for Starting Therapy

During the session, the therapist will intertwine play with teaching moments. It’s essential to keep learning engaging for the child, so introducing moments of play and interaction is key to a successful session. Our team will work with your child several hours per week, practicing play and encouraging concepts like socialization and creativity.

A good therapist will always look for reasons to praise and give positive reinforcement to the child. Even if the child is having an off day, displaying more problem behaviors than usual, or just not fully grasping programs as well as they usually do, there are always small victories to celebrate.

These small victories can help get the learning momentum back on track and keep your child comfortable, happy, and motivated.

We also incorporate reinforcer leisure and break time between programs. However, even during these times, there are learning opportunities. Keeping the child engaged and interacting with those around them throughout the session is important, even during leisure time.

An example of this is when two children play together during a break. Maybe they both want access to the same toy. The therapist can take this opportunity to teach sharing or even collaborative play. This is also an excellent opportunity to work on social skills with peers.

How Long Does ABA Therapy Last?

How long your child’s ABA therapy lasts depends on several factors. Each child is different, so we can’t give a concrete timetable on how long treatment will take. 

Some factors to consider include the following:

  • The complexity and severity of your child’s problem behaviors
  • The scope of skill difficulties
  • The age of your child
  • Your child’s learning history
  • Parental involvement

In some cases, ABA therapy is a temporary intervention for your child’s development process. Other times, the child may need long-term therapy to ensure ongoing progress in certain areas and reduce the chance of regression. Again, this will depend on the specific child and situation.

However, it’s important to remember that your child will be progressing, even if the changes are more subtle. Because ABA has so much evidence pointing to its effectiveness, it’s essential to be patient and trust the process. Never be afraid to ask questions to understand your child’s development better.

Does Insurance Cover ABA Therapy?

Over the last decade, tremendous strides have brought awareness and development progress to ABA therapy. Because of this, over 200 million people have insurance coverage for ABA therapy, and all 50 states now mandate coverage for ABA. The details of your insurance plan will dictate what coverage you have.

We understand that it can be a stressful process to set in motion, and because of this, we will be there every step of the way. 

Our team at Ally Pediatric Therapy will answer any questions you have and take some of that burden off your plate. 

We want to help you set up coverage as quickly and seamlessly as possible so we can begin helping your child. Different plans cover ABA in various capacities, and we are happy to check to see what that looks like for your family.

There are various ways to teach your autistic child how to communicate. In this blog, we will look at how to:

At What Age Do Autistic Children Start Talking?

Typically, children will begin to speak between 12 and 18 months, advancing from cooing and singular words to a broader range of sounds by 18 to 24 months. For autistic children, verbal communication usually begins around 36 months (three years old). While this is the most common time, autistic children might start speaking as late as five years old. It’s important to note that around 25-30% of children with ASD say fewer than 30 words or may not speak at all.

If your child has yet to be diagnosed with autism and exhibits delayed speech, you can take your child to a specialist such as a child psychiatrist or development pediatrician; They will look for signs of autism and offer a professional perspective.

Autistic children may begin verbal communication later in life, but you can start using communication techniques before this. Teaching your child to speak in early childhood offers encouragement and can jumpstart their progress.

Model Language

Model language for your child all day, every day. Use complete sentences full of vocabulary and descriptive words. Narrate what you are doing, what you see, and how you feel using adult grammar. 

Provide language modeling without requiring or asking your child to imitate or repeat. If your child is an AAC user, then model using their device!

Build Vocabulary

When you use a wide range of vocabulary words, it gives your child the opportunity to grow their mental word bank. This can enhance social situations by familiarizing them with different words and associations.

Simplify Your Language

Along with giving your child examples of rich vocabulary and descriptive words, it’s also important to practice patience and simplicity in your conversations. Your child may be able to listen to you describing your day to them and absorb the information, but once you begin asking them questions, be simple, clear, and straightforward. 

Imitate Your Child

It encourages more vocalization when you mimic your child’s sounds, inflation, and interactions. You’re showing them that their sounds and movements render a response. When imitating your child, invite them to take turns with you; you can even exaggerate your voice by emphasizing parts of a word or using high pitch endings.

Give Your Child Time to Respond

Ask fewer, shorter questions and allow longer pauses so your child can process what you have said before responding. Wait up to 10 seconds after you ask a question or model language. It can feel like a long time, but it’s well worth it.

Use Existing Routines

Natural communication builds on the routines you perform with your child every day. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel or develop complex activities. 

Add more language and more interaction into your daily routines by talking through your actions aloud and using fun exclamatory words when appropriate. 

Activities such as brushing teeth, bath time, mealtime, and getting dressed are perfect for practicing requesting, answering new words or phrases, following directions, and sequencing.

Get into Their World and PLAY

A child’s job is to play. Let go of the need to create an activity, play a certain way, or follow specific rules. Meet them at their level and enter their world.

Observe your child and copy how they are playing. Parallel play alongside them until they invite you to join in their game. You will be amazed at the trust and connection this builds.

Use Music, Songs, and Nursery Rhymes

The engagement and interaction you provide are far more beneficial than anything on the TV or iPad. Singing with your child allows you to pause or slow for your child to join in. You can add toys or visuals (i.e., have stuffed animals jumping on the bed for the “5 little monkeys” song).

Adapt and have fun with instruments, eye contact, and repetitive movements. You can be silly and add in funny dance moves and show your child that you’re having fun with them.

Try Assistive Technology and Visual Tools

Some autistic children prefer using devices and visuals to accompany or in place of speech. Using these kinds of tools with your child fosters communication and speech development. They allow your child to use pictures and sounds to convey emotions, requests, and thoughts to you and others. 

Giving your child the space to communicate in a way they feel comfortable with can create a bridge to speaking for themselves. 

Below are several assistive technologies and visual tools available online for purchase:

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is one of the most effective modern scientific approaches to changing behavior in autistic people. 

With an abundance of different ABA techniques and strategies that can be tailored to each individual, it requires attention from teachers, therapists, board-certified behavioral analysts, and family.

In this blog, we’ll look at the following:

What Are ABA Teaching Strategies?

ABA teaching strategies aim to develop habits via positive reinforcement. There are many techniques, and the most prominent ones focus on consistency in both stimulus and outcome.

Like many cues in the world of an autistic student, consistency, and routine are paramount to the learning environment. ABA teaching strategies are based around this but look to hone in on specific behavioral areas and address them to create a stronger overall foundation for the student.

Like most behavioral therapies, there is no one-size-fits-all method for your student. You should consistently work with therapists familiar with these ABA therapy sessions and techniques to meet your child’s needs.

Proactive Strategies

Proactive teaching strategies are things that you can do to reduce the likelihood that problematic behaviors will occur or something that you can do to help your child learn new communication and social skills. Here are a handful of examples, and this, in no way, constitutes an exhaustive list.

Visual Schedule

Keeping your child in the loop and giving them the expectation that these things will happen ahead of time will go a long way in reducing negative behaviors.

For example, if you know your child has a hard time out in the community, consider using a calendar or some kind of visual reminder to let them know what to expect. This can be an expectation of what/who they will see, how long you will be in the environment, and even what to expect after you leave.

Talk about the events that are coming up with your child. Discuss why you’re going and any other information you think your child may find challenging.

Draw up a daily schedule for the day-to-day tasks that your child may be opposed to. You can review this schedule with your child at the start of each day. This lets your child in on the day’s expectations instead of suddenly having them sprung on them.

It would be good to include the things your child enjoys within this daily schedule too. This shows them that they may have to do this task that they don’t enjoy, but they also have access to what they enjoy before and after completing it.

Timers

Use this as a countdown for how long it takes before a transition, whether the transition between activities or how much longer it takes until they turn off their favorite show.

Create a Social Story

Social stories can work for some children, giving them another visual without having them in the actual situation. This can show them what they can expect and what is expected from them in any specific case.

Include all steps of the process within the story, keeping them positive. For the example of going on an airplane, you could begin the story with your family planning the trip and where they’re going. Go through each step of the process, driving to the airport, checking bags, going through security, etc.

Enrich Your Child’s Environment

Enhance your child’s environment with their favorite activities/toys or activities/toys to which you want to expose them. You should arrange the environment so that they don’t have access to everything, and they need to engage with you [appropriately] to gain access to their favorite items and activities.

Grandma’s Rule (the Premack Principle)

This is simply a “first/then” contingency. First, you instruct your child to do the lesser preferred activity, and then they get to do the more preferred activity.

These are contingencies that occur naturally in our daily lives regardless of age. First, do your homework, watch TV, eat dinner, get dessert, go to work, then go to social hour, etc.

Choices

Offer as many choices as possible throughout your child’s day. Provide choices that will get you what you want/need. We are going from point A to point B. How we get there doesn’t matter, so why not give your child a choice?

For example, do you want to use the Elmo or Cookie Monster plates for dinner? Do you want to sit in the red chair or the blue chair?

Notice I didn’t give the choice of sitting or not; the instruction is to sit, but the choice is which chair. The choice is not something that won’t work for you – do you want to eat dinner or go to bed? The point is to get them to eat dinner and not threaten to go to bed without eating.

Use Start Directives

Tell your child what is expected instead of what is not expected or what they should do instead of what they shouldn’t. For example, “feet on the floor” instead of “don’t kick or don’t jump on the couch.”

Frequently saying stop, don’t, and no are triggers for our kiddos, and that correction doesn’t offer much in terms of what they should do instead. It is more impactful to save stop aversives for more dangerous or urgent situations, “STOP! Don’t run into the street!”

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

PECS teaches how to communicate using pictures through a six-step process. Your child is provided specific prompts and directed to give a single picture of the desired item or action to their communication partner. In return, positive reinforcement is given to them. As the process progresses, they will be encouraged to form sentences using multiple pictures to communicate wants and needs.

Priming

Verbally, let your child know what is next or what to expect. “I am going to turn the TV off in 1 more minute. Okay, five more seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”, then turn it off rather than abruptly shut it off. This can give your child time to prepare. This strategy often works well with visual times and schedules.

Task Analysis

A task analysis or TA breaks down skills into a step-by-step process. Instead of teaching one skill as a whole, a TA takes this skill and breaks it down into individual, almost bite-sized steps. Each step provides your child with a teaching moment. The ABA therapist will work with your child to master these skills so that each step is learned and combined into one cohesive process.

Often, each correct step will be met with a tangible reinforcer, whether a small treat or access to a toy, etc. Reinforcers provide your child with momentum and motivation to carry throughout each step of the program.

One example of this is teaching a child to brush their teeth. This skill has a lot of different components. It may be more effective to take each step and guide them as individual skills, combining them once they master each step.

The following is a general example of how to break down these steps:

  1. Pick up the toothbrush
  2. Apply toothpaste to the toothbrush
  3. Hold toothbrush in front of teeth
  4. Brush the top right teeth five times
  5. Brush the top left teeth five times
  6. Brush the top middle teeth five times
  7. Brush lower right teeth five times
  8. Brush lower left teeth five times
  9. Brush lower middle teeth five times  
  10. Spit toothpaste in the sink
  11. Rinse off the toothbrush
  12. Put the toothbrush away.

An actual lesson breakdown would include more explanation, criteria for a correct response, and a correction procedure for incorrect responses. But as a general overview, this is how an ABA therapist can tackle a difficult skill with your child, making each component teachable.

It’s a great way to pinpoint exactly where your child is struggling, showing which step may create an issue. This allows the team to focus more on that individual impediment in the future.

ABA Teaching Strategies You Can Use at Home

As you work with a plan developed by the clinic and teachers, you must be aware of the methods and goals. Here are some of the most common teaching strategies used in modern ABA teaching:

Pivotal Response Treatment

PRT is meant to help with improving core skills and other pivotal responses. The breakdown of one cue at a time, such as restraint or motivation, is a key doctrine of PRT. PRT is an entirely child-led practice. It allows the child to take the lead, going off of what they find reinforcing and allowing that natural motivation to take over.

Naturalistic Teaching

Natural Environment Teaching, or NET, is a method of teaching that uses the natural environment to create and enhance learning opportunities. For example, if you teach your child to label items by color at a table, you can then take this skill and adapt it to the natural environment, asking them for the ‘green’ crayon while coloring with your child.

Reinforcement

This form of motivation for learners defines an outcome as a reward — something that can be tangibly given or taken. Reinforcement helps ensure that the desired behavior will occur again in the future. Remember, reinforce it if you like it and want to see it again.

When employing these or any other ABA strategy at home, we encourage considering the long-term developmental goal of the method as you work with your child.

The Importance of Remaining Consistent

The most important thing is consistency regardless of what ABA teaching strategies are recommended or utilized. While home (and school from home) can provide a level of comfort, the methods must be able to be taught across multiple settings, including the clinic, school, and the community.

This is because it is likely that your student will end up in other classrooms throughout their educational careers and because cues need to be demonstrated outside of teaching. While ABA and most behavioral therapies have to be immersive in a classroom setting, their goal is to develop a child’s behavior fully.

A great way to have your student practice consistently and with proper data verification is by working first at home and then with your provider. The change in setting will be subtle and a good step to applying the developed behaviors; from there, your child can employ their new routines in everyday life.

This comes as no surprise due to how much routine can promote good behavior. Checking in with the clinic, teachers, and therapists will be essential to ensure you are all on the same page.

Tips for Parent Training in ABA

One critical stance on ABA training for parents of autistic children is that you are working towards an educational framework rather than a set curriculum. This is because no child, parent, or family will have one-size-fits-all solutions to their needs, and the ability to be flexible and competent in ABA practices is critical.

Thus, instead of referring to a curriculum (which is more narrow in focus), our specialists look to create frameworks for life-long growth and maintenance of learned skills.

Within this framework, you should learn about the following autism parent training topics:

Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences

Commonly referred to as the ABCs of ABA, these three tenets explain how data is typically compiled when observing behaviors. Since ABA is fundamentally about applying analytics to therapy, these will be present in almost every unique decision your therapist implements.

  • Antecedents describe the events or actions that occur immediately before a behavior – basically a stimulus. Analyzing these and seeing what behaviors they lead can help guide interventions.
  • Behaviors are what your child does but broken down in specific details with how they are carried out in certain environments or when spurred by antecedents. 
  • Consequences are the response following the antecedent and behavior. This can apply to your child or the other people with whom they are interacting.

Functions of Behavior

In ABA therapy, clinicians and parents should consider why children commit to certain behaviors. We refer to these as functions of behavior, and they include the following:

  • Attention: Engagement in certain behaviors to garner a reaction from people.
  • Escape: An action designed to avoid doing a particular task, such as chores or school.
  • Tangible Gain: When a child wants something material and acts primarily to obtain it. It can also refer to a behavior to grant access to a situation.
  • Automatic Reinforcement: This is usually more self-contained within your child; it might include something like rocking back and forth or drumming on inanimate objects.

There will be other motivators for your child’s behavior, and analysis within the framework provided by your ABA clinician will help you track and reinforce them in whatever way is best for your child.

Behavior Development

It is crucial to integrate treatment frameworks that are custom-tailored to your child and family. This means that when we look at the ABCs and functions of your child’s behavior, there also are specific end goals or modifications to apply to them.

As a parent, when you are training for behavior development, you must consider all the environments in which your child will be learning. Your role as a parent is to help your child adapt across non-clinical settings such as socializing, school, and everyday life situations.

Skill Development

One of the other core components of ABA implementation is the development of your child’s broader behavioral skills. These are things like communication and daily living skills. These are different from the specific target behaviors that we look to develop via ABA therapy in that they serve as mechanisms your child can learn to apply on their own.

In parent training, you will learn about the ABA principles that work on these skills, such as Pivotal Response Treatment and Discrete Trial Training, where skills are broken down into small components.

Ultimately, the mechanisms that help your child develop their skills will be shaped by your knowledge of them as a parent, so learning from the best clinicians goes a long way.

Generalization

This is the application of one skill to another. We aim to help our children learn from specific programming and communication for certain acute behaviors, but then a good ABA framework will distill more from each lesson. This will lead to your child being able to be in control of their behaviors across multiple environments, even in the face of unfamiliar stimuli.

When it comes down to it, you want to be the best equipped to help your child develop through ABA practices. Being well-versed and educated in ABA programming is the easiest way to collaborate for a better support system for your child.

Published On: January 27, 2022
Updated On: December 9, 2022