Did you start hearing a lot about ABA when you first got started with your child?
Did you think, “What on earth is ABA and why is everybody talking about it?”
If you’ve ever wondered what’s the big deal with ABA, here are some facts.
ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis.
ABA is widely acknowledged to be the most effective way to teach skills and manage behaviors in children with autism.
Why? It is based on decades of scientific experiment and verification.
ABA is a science
Applied Behavior Analysis is a science, just like biology, chemistry or physics. Scientists in this field use the scientific method to explore questions about behavior and learning. Remember the scientific method from high school science classes? Here are steps:
- observation of phenomena
- development of a hypothesis explaining these phenomena
- experiments to test the hypothesis
- collection of data from the experiments
- analysis of data
- development of a conclusion.
This process is replicated to refine and validate the results. When the process is completed, if the results meet certain criteria (the results are stable, they last over time, they can be replicated), the scientific method results in the discovery of new scientific “laws.”
The good thing about these “laws” is that we know they are valid. They are real. And they work. Read More