| p>For parents who have a child with an autism | | | | ABA therapy serves to prepare children for school by |
| spectrum disorder, public places can seem like scary | | | | teaching them a large number of skills including |
| places. Many parents of autistic children have learned | | | | intellectual thinking, verbal communication, conveying |
| to expect a series of glares and discouraging remarks | | | | emotions, and social behavior. Intensive Applied |
| when they take their young children out, as many | | | | Behavior Analysis therapy consisting of forty or more |
| children with autism have poorly developed social skills. | | | | hours per week is shown to not only help a large |
| The most commonly recommended treatment for | | | | percentage of children develop skills on par with their |
| children with an ASD, Applied Behavior Analysis has | | | | peers, but to provide them skills that keep them on par |
| been proven time and time again to help children with | | | | throughout life. ABA is not a cure for autism, as no |
| autism develop social skills on par or close to those of | | | | known cure exists, but it can help all children reach their |
| children in their own peer groups. | | | | maximum potential and to function as highly as possible |
| ABA therapy utilizes a series of commands or | | | | within the limits of their abilities. |
| requests to teach a child the appropriate response to | | | | In short, Applied Behavior Analysis helps children with |
| a specific scenario. Because these children learn | | | | autism spectrum disorders to develop a strong set of |
| differently than other children they often have difficulty | | | | social skills that will help them in any setting. These skills |
| learning appropriate behaviors or the meaning of | | | | translate not only into a school or public setting, but |
| simple requests made of them. ABA works by | | | | even into later life in workplace and business scenarios. |
| teaching children the appropriate response to a | | | | The many skills built through ABA therapy are a |
| situation and requiring them to mimic the response. | | | | testament to the continued success of the method |
| Inappropriate responses are ignored, while correct | | | | and provide strong reason as to why it has been the |
| responses are met with reinforcements such as | | | | preferred method of autism treatment for decades. |
| candy, stickers, or even verbal praise. As the child | | | | Applied Behavior Analysis therapy has given hope and |
| learns these new behaviors, research shows that their | | | | help to children and parents dealing with autism |
| brains are actually rewired, and that the process can | | | | spectrum disorders for over 50 years and is still the |
| literally teach the children to learn. | | | | leading treatment in the United States and the world. |