The Simple Answer: What is ABA?

Parenting comes with its fair share of questions, concerns, and uncertainties, especially when your child faces developmental or behavioral challenges. If you've come across the term "Applied Behavior Analysis" (ABA) and are looking for a clear and simple explanation, you've landed in the right place. This blog post aims to provide an easy-to-understand breakdown of what ABA is, helping parents like you determine if it's a suitable approach for your child.

What is ABA?

At its core, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a way to help kids learn new things and make life a bit easier for them and you. It's like having a map to guide you through the adventure of raising your child. ABA is used to help kids learn the skills they need in every day life. The therapist who creates the treatment plan for your child is called the BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst.)

How ABA Works

1. Watching and Learning: First, a BCBA will watch and pay attention to what your child does and how they do it. They're like detectives trying to figure out what's going on.

2. Finding the Why: BCBAs try to understand why your child behaves in a certain way. It's a bit like solving a puzzle to discover what makes your child happy, what upsets them, or what they're trying to tell you.

3. Making a Plan: Once the BCBA has all the clues, they make a treatment plan just for your child. The plan includes what skills will be taught and what methods will be used to teach them.

4. Doing Fun Activities: ABA involves doing fun activities and games that help your child learn and behave better. Skills can be taught in a more direct manner as well as throughout the child's natural schedule and routines.

5. Checking Progress: To make sure the plan is working, BCBAs keep track of how your child is doing. Data is taken on each skill and the BCBA monitors the data continuously to make sure that there is progress.

6. Changing the Plan: If the plan needs some tweaks, BCBAs make changes to the treatment plan and continue to monitor for progress.

The ABA Goal

The big goal of ABA is to make life better for your child. It's like giving them a toolset for life to make things easier. ABA helps your child learn new skills, including communication, behavior and social skills needed to succeed in life. It also helps reduce behaviors that may be interfering with the child's ability to succeed.