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At Fantastic Futures we have only what is best for your child in mind. Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA), a one-on-one direct teaching and behavioural management program, has proven to offer an alternative approach to treatment of autism. ABA is the result of the research efforts of LoVaas (1987) and McEachin (1993) and presents a real hope for autistic children and their families. The result of early intervention and the ABA program can lead to a 47 percent cure (being indistinguishable from their peers) rate and an 89 percent rate of significant improvement.
Children with Autism have great difficulty learning the way their peers do in traditional environments, but can learn a great deal when given the right kind of instruction. In an ABA program, every skill the child cannot demonstrate is systematically broken down into manageable steps which can then be chained together to form more complex and functional achievements. As each of these steps is being taught, a correct response is rewarded, thereby increasing the likelihood of the child responding the same way again. Incorrect or problematic responses, such as tantrums, self-stimulatory behaviors and self-injury, are definitely not reinforced. The child is prompted to respond appropriately and then reinforced for maintaining the correct answer, leading to the extinction of the problematic behavior.
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Language, social, play, academic and self help skills are all addressed. Children are taught, for example, how to pay attention, imitate, use communicative language, and show and receive affection, all of which are things other children learn naturally. While a program will start with the child working one on one with a therapist, as skills are acquired they are generalised into everyday situations and environments.
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As ABA is a home based program, it enables the whole family to contribute to the therapy for the child with Autism. Parental involvement is particularly important and their training is provided in the establishment stage of the program to allow for consistency inside and outside therapy hours. The therapy is supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (see Behavior Analysis Certification Board) and is conducted by trained therapy facilitators (such as what we offer) within the child's home, until such time as the child has acquired sufficient skills to enable them to be integrated into a mainstream school. A facilitator or aide ideally remains with the child during this integration/socialisation phase, and is gradually phased out as the child learns to cope independently.
Therefore it is never to early
to start, even before the diagnosis is final!
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