About ABA

Applied Behavior Analysis is the science of behavior. 

In our application it is a type of research-based behavioral therapy for people with autism and other developmental disorders.  It is based on the premise that if certain behaviors are rewarded or reinforced, those behaviors will increase.  When behaviors are not reinforced, they will decrease and possibly go away altogether.  ABA has been shown to help people with autism:

  • Improve Social Interactions

  • Learn New Skills

  • Increase Positive Behaviors

  • Decrease Challenging Behavior

There are many studies showing that ABA can significantly affect socialization, communication, receptive and expressive language, and with early intervention, can produce gains in development reducing the need for special services when the child enters the education system or later in life.

Steps to Get Started

  • 1

    The first thing you want to do is tour the facility and meet the staff of the center you’re considering. You want to be sure you feel you can work closely with the BCBA assigned to your case. 

  • 2

    Once you’re confident you’ve found a good fit, you’ll be ready to start the process. If you’ve selected Gulfport Premier ABA, I’ll ask you to get a referral from your provider and I’ll give you a copy of our intake paperwork. I’m afraid there’s quite a bit of paperwork involved. 

  • 3

    We’ll schedule an intake interview where I’ll ask you about your concerns and goals, conduct initial observations of your child, and depending on your child’s abilities and comfort level with me, I may attempt some limited initial assessment. This may take 1 to 3 visits. 

  • 4

    When I feel I have enough information, I’ll write the initial Treatment Plan and review it with you. We submit that to insurance and once approved, we can begin services. 

Techniques

There are a number of techniques used in an ABA session including prompting, modeling, Functional Communication Training (FTC), and reinforcement.  You may hear the term Discrete Trial Training (DTT) which simply means that each “trial” is scored as a discrete unit. This is very effective and can be practiced very formally as table work or quite informally on the floor with your child.  This depends on the child. We are very much child-centered and practice meeting them where they are rather than where we want them to be.  We use Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) quite a lot.  This therapy focuses on play and other activities that are a normal part of the child’s life.  PRT encourages the child to guide the session and uses reinforcement related to the activity. This is sometimes called Natural Environment Training (NET) but in practice PRT targets specific behaviors and skills and although it is play based is more structured than NET tends to be. There is also the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) which uses play based activities just as PRT does, but also uses DTT when appropriate.

All of these will be discussed during Parent Meetings.  I very much encourage parents to become as educated as they are able as they are the child’s primary therapist.  Your understanding of the principals of ABA will help with continuing these interventions in the home environment and will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the therapy we provide.

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See if Gulfport Premier ABA is a good fit