Why is ABA important?

Many children with autism require more time to learn important skills. The longer it takes to get children into care, the farther behind they fall with respect to their typically developing same-aged peers. Additionally, for children on the autism spectrum, behaviors can become highly rigid and maladaptive. The longer you wait to address the behaviors through therapy, the more difficult the behaviors are to change. ABA is the most successful, evidence-based therapy designed to teach children new positive behaviors through the science of positive reinforcement. ABA helps children learn new, positive, social behaviors while also helping reduce or eliminate negative and self-harming behaviors over time. In many studies, ABA has also been shown to help close the achievement gap for children on the spectrum. However, this depends on how quickly a child can begin receiving care, as well as how intensively; that is, the higher the number of hours per week, the greater the likelihood of both remediating learning deficits and reducing interfering behavior.