What parents need to know about ABA?
Greetings dear parent, you visited a pediatrician regarding your child’s behaviors or you suspected that the child is reaching developmental milestones a little late as compared to his/her siblings & peers.
During the consultation, you were given a suggestion that your child might need ABA Therapy. Now you’re wondering what it is? Will it have a positive effect on my child’s overall development?
Applied Behavior Analysis is for children engaging in challenging behaviors, facing difficulty in reaching developmental milestones, and having speech delay. The effectiveness of the therapy is scientifically proven and can be tailored as per child’s specific needs & interests.
But what does this journey ahead look like? If you are overwhelmed with the therapy’s novelty and how the sessions will go? We have prepared a roadmap giving you the information before you enroll your child for sessions:
1) It begins with an Assessment
This is the first meeting when the family of the child visits a clinic or has an online consultation with a BCBA or Pediatrician for an assessment. The BCBA or Pediatrician who conducts an assessment is highly qualified & has specialization in children’s development and behavior.
They interact with the child and ask questions to parents about the child’s behavior & routine to get a better idea of the child’s thoughts and actions. They get data on the skills he already has and the skills that need to be taught by the behavior therapist. Also, they determine the child’s interests and reinforcers that will play a monumental part when the therapy begins.
Once the assessment is concluded, the BCBA or Pediatrician gives you a final diagnosis and recommends whether the child needs therapy or not.
[An important tip: Early Intervention helps children who have developmental delays to learn crucial skills at a young age. So, they can become independent in later life. It identifies challenging behaviors & delays and can be resolved before they become an impediment in the child’s future.]
2) Preparation of a Therapy Plan
The assessment gives the Board Certified Behavior Analyst complete information to develop a comprehensive therapy plan. The BCBA designs and oversees the program. They also refer to peer reviewed research papers (published by experts across the globe) To make the plan effective and proven to work. And modify the ABA program to suit the child’s specific needs & interests.
The therapy plan includes:
- Treatment goals.
- Instruction plan which breaks down a complex skill into small steps which the therapist will teach one by one.
- Training procedures & protocols.
- The data that will be collected to measure your child’s progress as the therapy goes on.
- Behavior Intervention Plan (if needed).
- Verbal Behavior Assessment (if needed).
Once a proper therapy plan has been created, the BCBA will conduct a meeting with the parents or caregivers of the child for a review. If you are satisfied with how the therapy will be given, then you can enroll your child for sessions.
3) The sessions begins
The therapy is delivered to the child on a direct 1 on 1 basis. During the initial days, the therapist tries to build rapport with the child and learns about his or her favorite toys and games, activities, and other reinforcers.
It may look like the therapist and child are just playing. The objective of the rapport building process is to make the child feel safe and comfortable.
Once the child learns to trust the therapist then the actual therapy begins. Usually, a session lasts for 1 hour 45 minutes. The child is given tasks, the therapist collects the data as well as provides the child reinforcement if the child does the task well or even tries to do correctly.
During the sessions, the therapist can distinguish the methods that are yielding results and interventions that need adjustment.
The therapist shares the data with their Behavior Supervisor & BCBA after the session.
The BCBA makes the adjustments and the supervisor guides the therapist how to implement it.
The program is regularly modified to ensure that the therapy is specifically tailored to the child’s needs.
4) Bi-weekly Parent meetings
Alongside the therapy, the BCBA and Supervisors guide parents on how to take care of their child’s behaviors in bi-weekly meetings.
Suppose the child shows behaviors at home or places where the therapist is not present, parents can independently calm down the child themselves.
If parents have any questions related to their child’s progress, they can get answers during these meetings.
Looking for ABA therapy for your child?
Butterfly Learnings is the first BHCOE accredited clinic in India providing customized ABA therapy in mumbai including speech therapy & occupational therapy, specifically designed to suit a child’s needs & interest.
Our clinical team consists of BCBA, Behavior Analysts, Pediatric Neurologist & Behavior Therapists, who give their best to create an environment where the little ones master the behaviors and skills that are essential for daily living.
Here are some of the outcomes we’d like to share with you:
- 80% of children showed improvement in skill over 3 months.
- 90% of non-verbal children demonstrated higher tolerance behavior over 3 months.
- 95% of non verbal children started articulating within 2 months.
We hope you will allow us to provide care for you and strive to be the first and best choice for your child.
