Easterseals Central Illinois has been helping children reach their full potential for the last 102 years. Throughout that time, we have seen thousands of families with a variety of concerns. Many of you can picture it- a physical therapist teaching a child to walk using a walker, a speech therapist working with a toddler on their letter sounds, or even an occupational therapist working with a child on their fine motor skills. In addition to these services, we also provide counseling and Applied Behavior Analysis, or as it is commonly referred to, ABA therapy. Ever heard of ABA therapy? Many parents have not. Although ABA therapy is expanding rapidly across the globe, many parents and caregivers have never even heard of it.
ABA Therapy uses a scientific approach to help children build social, communication, and learning skills while reducing problem behaviors. This is the shortest and most straightforward definition I could find, and it is still a mouthful. Here is my best (informal and unofficial) description that I give to other parents when I am asked:
ABA therapy focuses on your child's behaviors the way physical therapy would your child's muscles. The therapist and caregivers discuss what behaviors they want to grow or reduce, set goals for what they want the child to do, and a plan of action to make it happen.
Let me give you a few examples that may help explain what ABA therapy can look like:
- A few months after starting preschool Johnny was having 5-6 meltdowns a day. This made it hard for Johnny to learn and play with his classmates. His parents brought him to Easterseals. Through ABA therapy, they realized that his meltdowns were happening every time there was a transition from one activity to the next. The ABA team worked in a classroom setting to develop strategies to help Johnny feel more comfortable with changes- like a picture schedule and transition song. They also taught Johnny’s parents how to do all of these things to help him at home, in school and out in the community.
- Gabby's parents were lost after a third daycare asked them to leave because she repeatedly bit other children. In ABA therapy, Gabby's team helped her learn more positive ways of communicating her needs and frustrations to her friends. They taught her other ways of expressing herself rather than biting.
- Andy was diagnosed with autism a year ago and recently started eloping. Eloping is a common behavior in children with autism that causes them to wander or run away from a caregiver or secure location. In a matter of seconds, he can get out of the house and down the street. Concerned for their son's safety, his family started working with an ABA therapist to come up with strategies to use at home and out in the community that will help Andy be safe. This included teaching his parents ways to prevent him from eloping and how to act when he tries to do so.
There are as many examples of ABA therapy in progress as there are behaviors in a child. I do need to clarify that the above examples are anecdotal, and results vary with each child. Because of strict privacy guidelines, I cannot share real success stories with you, but believe me- for some families, this has been life-changing.
With any service at Easterseals, the additional bonus is our collaborative care model. Our therapists work together, ensuring that the child's strategies learned in ABA therapy are reinforced in speech therapy or occupational therapy, etc. Everyone works together every day to provide seamless support across the services a child is getting to make the most significant impact. If you are interested in learning more about ABA therapy or other services at Easterseals, give us a call at (309)686-1177 or visit eastersealsci.com.
