When your child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), you?ll likely find yourself working with a whole team of medical professionals. However, the most important professional in your child?s immediate post-diagnosis life is going to be your applied behaviour analysis therapist or, more precisely, your team of ABA therapists.
ABA is the recommended intervention?often labelled ?the gold standard? because it?s considered the most evidence-based treatment?for your child and often the only service that?s publicly funded. All of which explains why it makes sense to learn as much as you can about ABA as soon as possible.
What is ABA therapy"
Applied behaviour analysis puts the emphasis on learning how to learn. It?s based on the principle of analyzing behaviour in real-life situations with the ultimate goal of encouraging behaviours, through positive reinforcement, that help an individual learn. It is also effective at discouraging behaviours that interfere with learning. In ABA, the focus is on step-by-step or incremental learning?a particularly effective method for children with autism. Another standard practice in ABA is prompt-fading, or gradually lessening the amount of assistance a child requires in order to achieve a desired skill?for example, progressing from hand-over-hand guidance to more subtle gestures or from verbal instruction to visual cues. Comprehensive ABA treatment or intervention?also sometimes referred to as intensive behaviour intervention or intensive ...