Applied behavior analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968; Sulzer-Azaroff & Mayer, 1991).

This is a common question we get asked. Speech therapy teaches speech, occupational therapy works on motor strength, what does ABA teach?

The primary goal of ABA therapy for children on the autism spectrum include – enhancing language and communication skills, to improve age-appropriate social skills, to build school readiness skills along with decreasing inappropriate behaviors or challenging behaviors

Each ABA therapy program is individually developed. If your child experiences a language delay, that's where we start.If your child has difficulty attending to adult- or peer-led tasks, we begin there.If your child isn't sure how to play appropriately with toys, we will work on appropriate play. We tap into your child's strengths and learn about what they find fun so we can help them to build more functional abilities.

At Samarth, we have a 4-step treatment process –

Step 1: Consultation and parent interview along with direct observation of the client and understanding the family needsStep 2: Assessing the skill sets of the child using an assessment tool (VB-Mapp, AFL’s, EFL)Step 3: Start treatment process under strict supervision while collecting dataStep 4: Ongoing review and revision of the plan

Along with parent training.

The duration of ABA therapy required by a child depends on his/her individual needs. The main factors affecting this include the age at which the intervention begins, the range of skill sets that need to be developed, and the child’s learning rate.If you are seeking ABA therapy for a very early learner, such as a 2yr old with Autism, then the therapy is implemented to teach the child a wide range of behavioral skills over a longer duration of time, to enable them eventually to better integrate into more typical school environments.

Our team at Samarth will make sure to do everything they can to help achieve this quickly, but this is a process, and it is going to take as much time as it needs.

Research has documented that ABA is an effective method for teaching and increasing a wide variety of valuable skills (including language and communication, social skills, self-help skills, academic skills) and reducing problem behavior for individuals with autism and related disorders.So yes, if your child has no challenging behaviors, but has difficulty acquiring skills, ABA can be an effective treatment for your child.

Our ABA therapy sessions are run by a trained ABA therapist, supervised by a supervisor who is a BCBA or a lead Behavior therapist, and coordinated by our clinical director.Our therapists undergo an intensive training in ABA before they start the process of working with the child.While the individual sessions are by your child's ABA therapist, the supervisor/clinician observe the session regularly, update the current curriculum or write new program, and provide on-going, hands-on training to the therapist and the parent

Parents play a vital and critical role in the ABA treatment process. They help their child generalize the skills learnt in the therapy sessions to other settings like home and community settings. Also, as the child spends most of the time with their parents, they can create lot of learning opportunities to practice the skill while building the skill faster thus hastening the treatment process.For eg: If the child is practicing communication skill in the therapy sessions, this skill needs to be practiced in other settings too for quicker acquisition of the skill besides generalization which can be facilitated only by the parent

A Board-Certified Behavior Analyst is a trained behavior analyst who holds a master’s degree in behavior therapy (with 1500 hours of supervised field work) and has passed the BCBA board certification examination. A BCBA designs and supervises behavior analytic interventions. BCBAs effectively develop and implement appropriate assessments and intervention methods to use towards a variety of skill deficits.The BCBA is also involved in training other technicians, as well as the parents, to carry out ethical and effective behavior analytic interventions, that are based on published research and designs.At Samarth, BCBAs supervise the work of the technician team to ensure that effective interventions are being performed, appropriate methodologies are being used, and progress is being made. By having a BCBA, you are ensuring that your ABA program is professionally designed and managed.

ABA Therapy is effective if your child is having difficulty learning, acquiring critical skills, trouble communicating or exhibiting problem behaviors that get in the way of functioning.

ABA is said to be the gold standard treatment for children with Autism, as it has been studied for decades and has the largest body of research to support its efficacy. Research comparing ABA with other therapy and education programs shows that children who receive ABA treatment make greater improvements in more skill areas than children who participate in other programs. In one long-lasting research study of ABA Therapy, results showed that 90% of the test children substantially improved their learning and communication skills.

The goal of any therapy is to work on the core deficits of the condition, while also changing the developmental trajectories to match that of a typically developing peer.Since teaching children with Autism who exhibit complicated behaviors are challenging, they require as much time as possible with the ABA therapist. The research show that 30-40 hours per week of intensive ABA is needed, that focus on the core deficits of language, social and play skills. The amount of therapy depends on other factors like age and learning rate of the client. In the initial stages of the child’s learning process a high rate is advised while systematically tapering down the hours.We, at Samarth, develop each child’s treatment Plan individually, and make recommendations tailored to the child’s needs and development goals.We do require a minimum of 7.5 hours/week of therapy to achieve measurable progress.

ABA as a science analyses the behavior by systematically collecting data on the behavior by direct observation, and then analysing the same to identify the function of the behavior. Once the function of the behavior is identified, a replacement behavior while keeping the functions intact is taught to the childe.x: if the child is crying to get access to an item; after analysis a communication behavior (asking for the item) is taught in place of crying thus reducing the challenging behavior

ABA therapy sessions covers a variety of skills such as -a.Language and communication skillsb.Receptive language skills such as following instructions, identifying itemsc.Expressive language skills such as labeling objects, people, emotions, requesting for thingsd.Adaptive living skills including bathing, toileting, dressing, groominge.Play and leisure skills including playing with toys, expanding of interestsf.Social skills including initiating conversations, waiting for their turn, sharing of toysg.Academic skills including reading, writing, mathh.Readiness skills (increasing sitting span, attention span, tolerating delay, denial…)

ABA treats speech or vocal sounds production as a behavior and is highly effective in implementing a program that elicits speech sounds while systematically making changes to the environment.We have seen that children with Autism with right treatment which is based on evidence and science develop speech which eventually is shaped into language