Find a therapist to help with autism

ABA defines itself as an outcome-based intervention: Parents should expect nothing less.

Expect ABA to make a real difference in the real world.

Ask your child's BCBA to review outcome data with you so you know goals are being met.

When your child is diagnosed with autism, and you begin an applied behavior analysis (ABA) program, a question quickly follows: How do I know this is actually working?

It is a reasonable question—and it turns out the field of applied behavior analysis answered it more than 50 years ago. In 1968, Donald Baer and his colleagues published the paper that defined what ABA is and what it requires. One sentence has stood as the standard ever since:

“If the application of behavioral techniques does not produce large enough effects for practical value, then the application has failed.” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968)

“If the application of behavioral techniques does not produce large enough effects for practical value, then the application has failed.” (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968)

Practical value. That is the measure. Not whether your child is completing trials in a clinic room. Not whether their data sheets show upward trends on a graph. Whether the program is producing changes........

© Psychology Today