Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is a scientific approach in understanding behaviour, understanding the best way for your child to learn as well as how the environment affects behaviour change.
The long term goal of ABA is to increase the quality life of your child, increase their ability to learn, while reserving their dignity and building independence.
Using research-supported strategies, ABA can help increase desired skills such as: communication, social skills, self-help skills, learning, gross and fine motor skills, feeding, sleeping, toilet training etc. and well as decrease undesired skills, such as: problem behaviour, tantrums, non-compliance, or non-functional behaviours, staying up all night, only playing on screen, etc. These are just examples; ABA can be applied with any type of behaviour and does NOT need a particular diagnosis. Behaviour is behaviour!
ABA therapy is individualized to each child, in which assessment, data collection, supervision, treatment intensity, and parent training are critical components in treatment success. To achieve behaviour change, Behaviour Analysts, identify the function, or purpose, of why the child does a certain behavior and develops a program that matches that intendent function.
Behaviour Analysts are skilled in motivation and reinforcement. This means, that we understand the science in what will make the child willing participate and with participation (independently or with prompting) reinforcement is delivered immediately to show the child that they engaged in a desired response. Our goal is to fade the use of reinforcement, motivators, and incentive for this behaviour to maintain naturally in day-to-day life.
The goal of a great ABA program is to teach behaviour, not force it.