subject: ABA Therapy Offers Many Aspects [print this page] When many parents think of ABA therapy, they only know what they have heard on online message boards. Unfortunately, the opinions offered on these boards are not always dependent upon facts and research, and many people who choose to speak on the topic are simply misinformed- often grossly so. While some parents get up in arms over the misconception that ABA therapy is nothing more than rote memorization and repetition, the truth is that it is much more than this. There is a reason why ABA is widely respected as the most effective treatment for autism spectrum disorders, and that is because it works.
It would be silly to deny that memorization and repetition are not an integral part of ABA therapy, but they are far from the only aspects. In order to really understand how Applied Behavior Analysis works, it is important to first understand how autism works. The brain of an autistic individual does not work the same as it does in others. While most people can watch someone brush their teeth and understand what is happening, the mind of an autistic person does not. Instead, they must learn tasks like this one step at a time, with the pattern broken down into the most basic elements possible.
ABA therapy teaches each step in a pattern, process, or concept through repetition and guiding. A child is taught the step over and over using prompts and positive reinforcement until they can repeat or perform the step with no guidance. While this does essentially teach them to memorize behaviors and answers, it also does much more. One of the most remarkable things about ABA therapy is that it can help to rewire the brain. In other words, the repetition helps to create new pathways in the brain that enable children to literally learn how to learn.
Through the use of memorization, repetition, reinforcement, guiding, and prompting, ABA therapy works to help children learn to process tasks and concepts on their own. Studies show that the skills learned through ABA therapy are with these individuals for life. Furthermore, intensive ABA therapy at a young age enables many of these children to learn how to interact and learn in a standard classroom environment. ABA therapy is about more than learning how to repeat an answer or behavior, it is about learning how to understand, act, and react. If you have spent too much time reading negative comments on message boards, you are urged to take the time needed to learn what ABA therapy is really all about and what it can do for your child.
