What Is Applied Behavior Analyis (ABA) Therapy

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Child and therapist, playing with bubbles.

There is no therapeutic intervention that has been more studied or validated than Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. ABA is a data-driven system of teaching that emphasizes breaking down skills into their component parts and teaching them using various prompting and positive reinforcement. A skill is considered mastered only after the data verifies that conclusion. By building related skills in a coordinated fashion, ABA has been shown to have the physical effect of "re-wiring" brain circuitry in individuals with autism. In other words, therapy done the right way actually teaches children "how to learn."

Over 550 studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this therapy*, including its staying power into adulthood. It is recommended and supported by the Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Research Council, among many others for all children on the autism spectrum.

To learn more about ABA, Kennedy Krieger has more detailed information that in useful in assessing it as a treatment option.

* Matson, J. L., Benavidez, D. A., Compton, L. S., Paclwaskyj, T., & Baglio, C. (1996). Behavioral treatment of autistic persons - A review of research from 1980 to the present. Research in Developmental Disabilities, vol. 7, pp. 388-451.

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