ABA Therapy

[Gina]

I have been reading a lot of information and talking to some parents and professionals. I am very confused about what therapy to do. My son is very young at 23 months and does not have any real behavioral problems. I have read that ABA is good for children with autism but many people have told me that my son would not be suitable as he does not have the behavior issues. Some people have even said it might be harmful to him and make him robotic and this is definatley not what I want. Does anyone else have any experience with doing ABA and young children?

[tobym]

It can be a very confusing situation as a parent to decide upon a therapy. We recommend that parents be guided by research and evidence as opposed to promises of quick cures and magical treatments. ABA as you may of read is the most scientifically based therapy available today. ABA is certainly not just about behavior problems. It is about teaching skills. Often we may teach skills to replace disruptive behaviors but we spend most of our time teaching language and communication, play and leisure skills and social and relationship building abilities. Some children may need programs to help them self regulate their emotions, increase their attention or reduce sensitivity to loud noises or other sensory irregularities.
An ABA program for a very young child is very different from one that might be for older children. We typically will spend the session on the floor and work through play. We may be targeting lots of spontaneous language and play skills. I do not see why this could be at all harmful. In terms of children becoming robotic I dont see this happening as a result of a good ABA program. A good ABA program should utilize natural tones and be fun and natural. Sometimes children with autism may lack skills such as language. If you are learning a new language sometimes you do not have the vocabulary or range of words and have to rely upon phrases and words that you know. People learning new languages sometimes sounds a little robotic as they may be limited in their ability to communicate the full extent of the language. As their skills improve they become more fluent and less dependant on the phrases or limited vocabulary.