Frequently Asked Questions

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It is the study of the science of human behavior and how we use that science to make meaningful changes that help improve the quality of life for individuals, families and organizations. 

Everyone.  While insurance will pay for ABA therapy for autism spectrum disorder ABA therapy can be used by any individual.  Some examples of the use of ABA therapy can  include the following: 

 Treatment for ADHD, OCD, Down Syndrome, Alzheimer’s, Weight loss 

 Skill building: for Professional athletes, dog training (from obedience training to specialized training for police and search and rescue to therapy animals as seeing eye dogs or other therapy service animals) 

 Organizations:  Increased worker safety, Increase production, Increased job satisfaction.  

 Public Health and Safety: Flashing lights at crosswalks, musical rumble strip to alert drivers when going too fast/slow, use of technology to make it fun to engage in exercise or use the stairs instead of escalators/elevators 

ABA can provide meaningful change to any behavior.  We work on behaviors and skills that are meaningful to you as a family.  

• Communication - getting basic wants and needs met to engaging in conversations with others, 
• Adaptive Skills - toilet training, basic hygiene routines, following directions, community skills
• Social Skills - adjusting behavior to fit the environment, making friends, understanding scarcasm
• Behavior reduction - reducing behavior by increasing desired skills such as communication to allow the individual to get wants and needs met without engaging in problem behavior.

No.  The belief that ABA therapy produces robotic responding occurred based off of research done by Dr. Ivar Lovaas in the 1960’s.  His finding at the time were revolutionary to the field of ABA.  The field of ABA has grown since then and we now have the tools to not only teach specific responses like Dr Lovaas but we also have the tools to teach how to respond when given different environments.  This is called generalization.  It is the ability to use what is learned in one environment and apply it to other environments and situations.  

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) is the initial point of contact for the family and the provider who will be assessing the student to determine what skills need to be addressed.  The BCBA will also conduct direct therapy with the student.  

If available a Registered Behavior Technician can implement the treatment plan.  They are supervised on a weekly or biweekly basis by the BCBA on the implementation of the treatment plan.  

The BCBA will conduct an assessment consisting of working directly with the student to determine the skills they can do, observing the student interacting in their environment, asking the parents and other individuals about the students behavior and using norm based questionnaires administered to the parents to determine the functioning level of the individual.

A BCBA is a practitioner who has completed graduate level training and is trained in the science of behavior, completed a specific number of training hours (2000) and passed the board exam.  

An RBT is A practitioner who is a para professional, trained in the science of behavior and has passed the board exam. They are always under direct supervision of a BCBA.  Often they will be in training to become BCBA

ABA can be done in the home, school, and community.  BCBA’s provide services in the client’s home, working directly with the family on behaviors that occur at home.  Other BCBA’s work in a clinic setting where there are multiple providers and the individual comes to the clinic.  And still other BCBA’s work directly with schools providing services in the classroom.  When providing services in the home some BCBA’s will go with the families to locations in the community that are difficult for the family such as a grocery store, restaurant or church.  

It depends on where therapy is given.  If your child is receiving therapy in a clinic setting you might be asked to sit in the waiting room.  If the BCBA is wanting to engage in parent training then you might be asked to watch the therapy being conducted or asked to practice some techniques with your child.  Most families who receive therapy in the clinic setting drop off their child and pick them up later as therapy hours can range from a few hours up to 8 hours a day.  

If your child receives ABA therapy in school then you are not required to be present as well.  

If your child is receiving ABA therapy in the home your presence is requested during parent training to observe the techniques the provider is using as well as practicing the techniques with your child.  As the provider is in your home we ask that you be on hand incase of emergencies.  ABA therapy is not the answer for a babysitter. 

ABA uses evidenced based treatments to promote behavior change.  Evidence based treatments are those that are proven to be effective through rigorous scientific research.  

The following is a list of some of the evidenced based treatments that can be used:

·  Reinforcement – rewarding behaviors immediately after they occur increasing the likelihood that they will occur more frequently.  

·  Prompting – additional assistance given to the leaner to help them engage in the desired behavior.  Prompting can be verbal, gestural, visual, or physical guidance.  Training wheels on a bike is form of prompting to help learn how to ride a bike

·  Functional Communication Training – Reinforcing positive communication strategies.  Using an adaptive device to ask for a desired item instead of kicking or screaming to get the desired item.  Asking for 5 more minutes of tv time instead of screaming.  

·  Antecedent Based Interventions – Changing the environment that typically trigger a behavior to increase or decrease how often the behavior occurs.  An example of this is providing a snack after school to avoid a tantrum before dinner. 

·  Discrete Trial Training – A highly structured teaching strategy where an instruction is given, the learner responds to the instruction and is given immediate feedback on their performance, usually praise paired with access to their favorite activity (e.g. watching YouTube videos for a few minutes) then the sequence is repeated.  

·  Naturalistic Environment Training – learning opportunities are set up within typically occurring activities and the natural consequences for the behavior is provided 

·  Task Analysis – Breaking down the behavior skill into smaller steps and teaching each step in the process until the learner can perform the sequence correctly.  Making a bed or doing laundry are examples of skills that are taught in smaller steps via task analysis before combining all the steps into the larger task.  

·  Acceptance and Commitment Training – Acceptance and Commitment Training or ACT is the process of identifying what the individual values, connecting those values to their current behavior, determining if their behaviors align with their values and identifying and engaging in behaviors that will get them access to what they value.  

·  And many more

ABA is different for everyone.  Some individuals need assistance navigating community settings.  For these individuals their therapy sessions most likely will take place most often in the community or have a strong community engagement piece to practice what is learned.  Some individuals need assistance managing their behavior and using appropriate methods for asking for desired items.  These individuals will most likely have therapy sessions in the home environment or clinic setting.  Their programming will focus on learning communication systems, or using spoken language,  to ask for what they need and also giving them tools to help regulate their behavior to fit the environment.  

A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) conducts an assessment to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the student.  Based off the assessment the BCBA will then create a treatment plan containing the goals and teaching procedures to address the skill deficits of the student.  The BCBA can them implement the treatment plan collecting data on how the student responds to each program.  The BCBA will then analyze the data to determine if the student is making sufficient progress to meet their learning goals.  If the student is not making progress the BCBA will then modify the teaching procedures to better allow the student to make progress.  

If available a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) can implement the program.  They are directly supervised by a BCBA on a weekly or biweekly basis.  The BCBA will train the RBT on the implementation of the treatment programs.  or they can train a registered behavior technician (RBT) to implement the treatment plan.  The BCBA will then provide supervision to the RBT as well as observe how the individual is progressing through the program.  If the individual is not making progress the BCBA will change the programming in such a way that it will help the individual learn the program.  Once these changes are made the BCBA will then train the RBT on the new procedures.  

The BCBA will also provide parent training.  This is teaching the family new techniques that will help them as well as the person receiving therapy.  

The BCBA also coordinates care with other health care professionals as well as school providers to ensure that the individual is receiving the best possible care.  

As each autistic person is different there is no one size fits all to the treatment programs or length of treatment.  Your child will no longer need therapy when they have met all treatment plan goals and demonstrate no further skill deficits or the need for behavior intervention based on assessments conducted.  

Just like the medical field ABA has had some questionable practices.  ABA today is safe and effective.  In the words of Dr Greg Hanley if you don’t want it on news then you are not providing safe and effective ABA.  We use a trauma informed approach to care as well as creating an environment in which the learner is happy, relaxed and engaged.  We follow the lead of the learner and when they ask for a break or leave the room therapy is discontinued.  Safety measures are taken to ensure that while an individual can leave the treatment area they do not put themselves in danger (e.g. running into the street).

Absolutely not.  Each autistic person is celebrated for their uniqueness.  ABA addresses behaviors and skill deficits that the family indicates are important for them to live a happy and fulfilled life.  

Absolutely.  Choice is an important part of any ABA program.  The BCBA will work with the family (parents and child) to decide what skills need to be addressed.  The student gets to request skills they want to work on as well.  Including the student in treatment planning is one method of teaching self-advocacy an important skill for any individual.  When planning the schedule for the day the student can be asked what they want to do first.  The student is also given choices as to what they want to do when given breaks from the work tasks.  While praise is used to reward behavior, the student can choose to have time to play with a toy, do a special activity or just take an extra long break.  It really depends on the individual.   

Providers use evidence based teaching methods to teach communication strategies to individuals on the autism spectrum.  Teaching them to get their wants and needs met gives them a voice.  Since providers also teach choice making they are also able to teach self advocacy skills to these individuals allowing them to participate fully in the treatment planning process.  The goal of ABA therapy is to provide individuals on the spectrum the ability to be self sufficient to the best of their abilities, to seek out assistance when necessary and to live happy productive lives.