One of the greatest things about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, is that it is a science that can benefit all people. When interventions are rooted in behavior analysis, they can help children and adult acquire many skills that can improve their daily lives. In this blog post, I will discuss 5 different signs that ABA may be able to help your child increase their skill set.

1. Autism diagnosis

If your child has an Autism diagnosis, or has recently been diagnosed, ABA my help your child acquire skills or decrease behaviors of concern. ABA is the leading therapy with outstanding research-based interventions, that are able to help children with Autism. ABA therapy is able to break skills down into smaller discrete tasks to help a child learn.

2. Delays in speech/communication

If your child is experiencing delays in this area, ABA therapy may be able to help them increase their ability to express their wants and needs. Using positive reinforcement and motivating operations, ABA therapy is able to help a child increase their communication by discretely teaching a child to mand, or request as well as engage in conversations through intraverbal training.

3. Delay in Social Skills

ABA therapy may be able to help your child improve their social skills. From taking turns, increasing eye contact, and playing appropriately with peers, ABA therapy can help a child increase their social skills and build meaningful relationships with their peers. If you child has a delay in this area, this may be a sign that they could benefit from receiving additional help to increase their skills.

4. Problem Behavior

With ABA therapy being one of the leading therapies to help children with Autism, this may mean that there may be behavioral concerns that can interfere with your child’s learning. With Autism being a spectrum disorder, this may also not be the case, and your child may only be working on increasing other areas of development. If your child is exhibiting behaviors of concern such as tantrums, aggression, self-stimulation, eating non-edible items just to name a few, ABA therapy may be able to help your child decrease these behaviors by providing replacement behaviors that may serve the same functions as the behavior of concern. For example, if your child is crying because they want something, we would work on using functional communication to help your child communicate their needs in replace of the crying.

5. Delay in self-help skills

Finally, another sign that your child can benefit from ABA therapy, is if they need help with increasing their independence. ABA therapy works on targeting those skills that children need to become successful adults and contributing human beings in their community. From teeth-brushing, dressing, toileting, making the bed and preparing food, ABA therapy is able to help a child increase their skills and their independence.

If your child is experiencing a delay in any of these areas, with or without an Autism diagnosis, ABA therapy may be the answer. At Within Me Therapy, we are able to focus on all areas of development for children ages 1-6. If you think your child needs help, it is beneficial for you to seek help now. Your child may be able to gain the skills they need to get ready for school or help supplement the help that they are already receiving at school. Send us an email today to schedule a free consultation to determine if ABA may benefit your child. You may also consult your child’s pediatrician and discuss your concerns to determine if a referral is needed for ABA therapy.

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