Table of Contents

What is ABA Therapy?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior. It involves using specific techniques to increase or decrease behaviors. ABA therapy is most commonly associated with helping children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but it can be used in various settings and for a variety of behaviors. ABA is one of the most evidence-based therapies due to its strong reliance on data and numerous research studies demonstrating how effective it can be.

Some examples of populations and settings where ABA is used include:

  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
  • Developmental disabilities
  • Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
  • Mental health disorders
  • Substance abuse and addiction
  • Elderly populations (Dementia/Alzheimer’s)
  • Workplace behavior and performance
  • Educational settings (for non-ASD populations)
  • Sports performance and coaching

What Behaviors Does ABA Therapy Address?

ABA is based on the principle that behaviors are learned and can be modified. It involves teaching skills and behaviors in a systematic way, using reinforcement to encourage positive behaviors and sometimes using other strategies to discourage maladaptive behaviors.

Within the ASD and children with developmental disabilities populations, examples of skills that can be addressed in ABA therapy include:

  • Increasing communication skills (ex., signing, one-word requests, maintaining a conversation)
  • Increasing social skills (ex., greeting others, sharing, taking turns, making and keeping friends)
  • Increasing daily living and adaptive skills (ex., dressing, brushing teeth, age-appropriate household responsibilities)
  • Increasing play skills (ex., functionally playing with a toy, pretend/imaginative play, age-appropriate play)
  • Increasing academic skills (ex., recognizing letters and numbers, following 2-step directions, reading, writing)
  • Addressing feeding, toileting, and bedtime difficulties
  • Decreasing verbal and physical aggression (ex., hitting, biting, yelling, cursing)
  • Decreasing disruptive behaviors (ex., throwing/breaking things, running off)
  • Decreasing self-injury and self-stimulatory behaviors (ex., head-banging, biting or scratching themself, verbal scripting, pacing)

Who Provides ABA Therapy?

ABA therapy is often provided by or overseen/supervised by Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) or Board-Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBAs). Some states also require behavior analysts to be licensed in their state. Psychologists and social workers, who are also not a BCBA/BCaBA, may also have strong behavioral training and provide ABA therapy. It is important to confirm this level of training and expertise with the provider prior to beginning services.

More intensive ABA therapy programs (multiple hours a week) also involve therapists, or registered behavior technicians (RBTs). These therapists are trained and supervised by the BCBA or BCaBA and provide most of the direct work with the individual, practicing skills and working towards the individualized goals written by the BCBA.

What Does ABA Therapy Look Like?

ABA can be used to teach communication, social skills, self-care, and academic skills, or to reduce challenging behaviors such as aggression or self-injury. It typically involves one-on-one sessions with a trained therapist, but it can also be adapted to work in group settings or within families.

Some common ABA therapy models include:

  • Discrete trial training (DTT): A structured method that breaks down learning into small, manageable steps and tasks.
  • Natural environment teaching (NET): Where learning occurs in natural settings, helping promote generalization of skills.
  • Verbal behavior therapy (VBT): Focuses on teaching communication through the use of language and speech.

The frequency and intensity of these ABA therapy models varies depending on multiple factors (e.g., the individual’s needs and goals) and can range from a weekly, hourly appointment, to 40 hours of intensive therapy a week.

Steps of intensive ABA therapy (multiple hours a week) include:

  • Initial assessment. A comprehensive evaluation is conducted to assess the individual’s current skills, behaviors, and areas of need. This includes caregiver interviews and direct assessments as part of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to understand the reasons behind the target behaviors.
  • Developing a treatment plan. Based on the assessment, an individualized treatment plan is created to target specific goals (e.g., communication, social skills, self-care, behavior reduction), and measurable objectives are created to monitor progress.
  • Behavioral interventions, ongoing data collection, regular reviews, and adjustments. Behavioral interventions are implemented using strategies such as discrete trial training (DTT), natural environment teaching (NET), and task analyses to teach new skills and address maladaptive behaviors. Interventions focus on the use of positive reinforcement to increase appropriate behaviors. The effectiveness of these strategies is continuously monitored and recorded through precise data collection. The data are regularly reviewed, and intervention strategies are adjusted based on the data to improve outcomes.
  • Parent and caregiver training: Parents, caregivers, and other family members are provided training to help ensure the consistency and carryover of strategies outside of therapy session and to encourage their active involvement in reinforcing behaviors and implementing interventions.
  • Skill generalization, fading, and transition: Once a skill has been learned within the therapy setting, it is then generalized across different settings, situations, and people (e.g., at home, school, or in the community). As these skills become more natural, new target skills can be addressed. The frequency of therapy sessions can also be reduced as the individual reaches their goals, or they can be transitioned to less intensive interventions, if appropriate, to maintain these skills.

References

Autism Learning Partners. Misconceptions about ABA. Autism Learning Partners. Retrieved from https://autismlearningpartners.com/misconceptions-about-aba/.
Autism Speaks. Applied behavior analysis (ABA). Autism Speaks. Retrieved from https://www.autismspeaks.org/applied-behavior-analysis
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. About behavior analysis. Behavior Analyst Certification Board. Retrieved from https://www.bacb.com/about-behavior-analysis/.
Cooper, J. O., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (2020). Applied Behavior Analysis (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Leaf, J. B., & McEachin, J. J. (2016). A Work in Progress: Behavior Management Strategies and a Curriculum for Intensive Behavioral Treatment of Autism (2nd ed.). DRL Books.
Lovaas, O. I., & Smith, T. (2003). Early and intensive behavioral intervention in autism. In A. E. Kazdin & J. R. Weisz (Eds.), Evidence-based psychotherapies for children and adolescents (pp. 325–340). New York: Guilford Press.
Schreibman, L., & Ingersoll, B. R. (2005). Teaching communication to children with autism: The verbal behavior approach. Brookline Books.
photo of LifeStance provider Stephanie Bader, PhD, BCBA

Clinically Reviewed By:

Stephanie Bader, PhD, BCBA
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Dr. Bader is a NY licensed psychologist and behavior analyst, as well as a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She has over 10 years of experience working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental and intellectual disabilities, and other challenging behaviors using evidence-based behavioral interventions. Her clinical and research interests include the development of behavioral interventions and parent-training to increase adaptive behaviors (daily living skills, communication skills, social skills) and reduce maladaptive behaviors (noncompliance, tantrums, aggression) in individuals with and without a developmental disability.

Dr. Bader enjoys working with clients and their families to address unique challenging behaviors while building the parent’s skills to continue to manage behaviors that may arise both in the present and in the future. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She then attended internship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) in Little Rock, Arkansas and went on to complete her postdoctoral fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and John’s Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.