ABA provides support to individuals and families by creating family-centered and specific interventions that meet the individual where they are, placing them at the core. This is accomplished with parent training, ongoing data collection and assessments, collaboration with other members of the individual's team, and frequent communication with parents and caregivers.
One main goal of ABA is to better support a individual’s family and support unit which assists the individual in generalizing their skills, decreasing maladaptive behaviors, and increasing their independence. Generalization involves multiple people in different settings using different materials. Through parent training, parents and caregivers being involved in each session, and practicing these strategies together, the whole child is supported.
The purpose of ABA is to improve and increase desired behaviors while decreasing maladaptive and unwanted behaviors. ABA therapy will address the developmental deficiencies identified during an initial assessment of your child’s functioning across dozens of areas.This often includes areas of verbal communication, like the ability to converse with parents and peers, requesting items, and communicating emotions and needs. Nonverbal communication, like making gestures and understanding social cues, can also be developed. Other important target areas of ABA include social skills, play skills, potty training, self-care skills (brushing teeth, washing hands, etc.), and day-to-day living skills (getting dressed, table manners, etc.).