Intro to ABA

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to our very first blog! 🎉 🎈

This blog has been a long time coming and we’re very excited to share everything Autism and therapy with you.

It seems fitting to kick-off our first blog with the topic of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy, the most traditional form of therapy used to help our kiddos learn functional behaviours and skills to help them with day-to-day living and increase quality of life.

👉 So what is ABA therapy? and how did it start? 

ABA therapy is based on the foundations of behavioural science starting way back with B.F Skinner who set out to discover what motivates behaviour and if behaviour can be taught with certain stimuli in our environment. The studies Skinner conducted actually had nothing to do with Autism at all. However, he was curious to see how we learn, adapt, and change our behaviours. The findings of Skinner’s studies were not generalized into other populations until Ivar Lovass conducted a study with a group of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The success and results of his studies were profound and have been replicated many times. Eventually, now it is widely known as ABA therapy.  

Our behaviours and actions are all a product of what we learned from our environments from the moment we were born. We very quickly learned things that feel good to us and things that feel not so good. I for one, learned that I absolutely hate apple sauce! However, I will literally do anything for a delicious ice cream cone. Can you tell I’m ready for summer already? When I said I would do anything for ice cream, I would finish many tasks I had been procrastinating on, if ice-cream was the reward! 

Motivation

The foundation of ABA therapy relies on one’s motivations. If one is not motivated to complete certain tasks, finding a reward will help us complete the tasks. For instance, many of us go to work on a daily basis even if on some days, we really don’t feel like it. But the reward? Money! And helping others! With this motivation, certain tasks and behaviours can more easily be taught. Skills are taught in a structured manner with the end result being a reward for all the hard learning that was done. Now, the reward doesn’t always have to be ice-cream (though I wish!). It can be anything from working for a break or access to preferred items and activities such as toys, games, electronics, food, or anything at all! Interesting right? But I won’t give away too much for our first blog. Hang with us to learn more about how ABA works!  

👉 So what does ABA therapy do for you? 

Using the scientific findings on how behaviours are learned and changed over time, ABA professionals assess current skills and develop programming to help improve various aspects of living such as communication and daily living skills needed to function in one’s personal lives. For the programs implemented, data is systematically collected, monitored, and continuously evaluated to track progress and effectiveness. From seeing the effectiveness of ABA therapy first-hand, it is one of the most incredible processes to be apart of.  

There you have it! An intro to ABA therapy. To dive in deeper, stick around to learn more about the ins and outs of ABA and new cutting edge findings on the combination of ABA therapy and psychotherapy! 

Any questions?  

Feel free to contact our Step By Step team.  

Arshiya Choudhury 
Behaviour Therapist, Psychotherapist