Applied Behavioral Analysis in Nashville
If you have a child who is on the autism spectrum, you know about the range of challenges in education and everyday living that can arise. Many techniques for handling problematic behaviors do exist, and specialized programs offer supervision and behavior modification changes. The gold standard in helping children on the autism spectrum is applied behavior analysis therapy. JoyBridge Kids offers this therapy.
What is Applied Behavior Analysis?
Applied Behavior Analysis therapy, or ABA, is a research-based strategy for understanding a person’s behavior and encouraging them to change problem behaviors. Positive reinforcement is the foundation of ABA, because people tend to repeat behaviors that get rewarded. This principle has become the foundation of many scientific techniques for changing undesirable behaviors or replacing bad habits with better habits.
How it Works
Every treatment program begins with setting measurable goals related to socializing, self-control, learning, personal hygiene, or other areas of successful living. A trained ABA counselor will use positive reinforcement to guide a student toward achieving their personal development goals. We don’t have to guess that ABA helps children with autism because over 30 peer-reviewed studies have shown that these kinds of interventions help, given time.
A counselor training in using ABA will use a three-step process to identify why undesirable behaviors happen and how to encourage change. This is a tailored process of observing and designing interventions that help a specific child achieve specific goals. The basic “framework” for ABA involves looking at antecedents, behaviors, and consequences. In brief, the idea here is to look at what actions or words precede a behavior and what happens as a result of that behavior. Through some expert application of ABA techniques, a counselor helps a child adopt new, positive behaviors.
In short, ABA therapy can help your child interact more effectively with other children and with adults, reduce problematic behaviors, improve communication skills, and improve academic performance by improving memory and attention span.
After School Care for Students with Autism
If you have a child with autism and live in the Nashville area, JoyBridge Kids offers an After School Excellence program that might be the ideal solution.
