ABA Therapy Techniques to Try At Home

ABA therapy is a recommended form of support and treatment for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The goal of ABA is to help people with ASD improve their life and social skills, functioning, and self-regulation. ABA therapy is typically provided by qualified professionals. 

That being said, there are many ABA techniques that parents can try for their Autistic child at home. In this article, I'll outline what ABA therapy is and what it's used for. Then, I will discuss ABA therapy techniques that parents can try at home, such as color matching activities, sitting in a chair, and using positive reinforcement.

What Is ABA Therapy?

If you are reading this, you have probably heard of ABA therapy before, but what is it? ABA stands for "applied behavior analysis." ABA therapy is a well-known and effective form of therapy for children with ASD, which is statistically more common in people who have an ADHD diagnosis. 

There are different types of ABA therapy, or rather, different teaching techniques that can be used in ABA therapy. These include discrete trial training and pivotal response training. Professionals who provide ABA therapy, typically a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), will adjust goals and techniques to meet the needs of an individual. After all, every person will have a different skill set and starting point.

ABA therapy focuses on:

• Helping kids learn and implement life and social skills.
• Reducing problem behaviors (e.g., self-harming behaviors).

In ABA therapy, trained professionals break new skills down into small steps to help individuals learn these skills and use them in their daily life. Positive and negative reinforcements are used to promote these skills, as well as behavior modification. This form of therapy has been changed and improved throughout the years. 

Typically, children start ABA therapy between the ages of two and six years old, though it can be used for people of all ages, including teens and adults. Lastly, it is beneficial to start your child off with this type of therapy at a younger ages so they can develop healthier behaviors before starting school. ABA telehealth offers a valuable alternative to in-person ADHD therapy services

Techniques to Try At Home

If your child already works with an ABA therapist, the therapist may have provided you with some techniques to use at home. If your child doesn't yet have an ABA therapist but you want to use ABA techniques to help your child, however, it is still possible for your family to implement and use ABA therapy techniques at home. Here are some techniques that you can start with.

Identify emotions

Alexithymia is common in people with a type of Autism, as is trouble understanding other people's facial expressions or making facial expressions that match how one feels themselves. Emotional regulation, too, can be a challenge. To support your child with this, you can try activities where your child identifies emotions. Use cards or printouts with different facial expressions. Often, these will look like emojis. Then, prompt your child to or help them identify the associated emotions (e.g., sad, angry). You can also discuss emotions that a character might be feeling when you read a book or watch a TV show together. These activities are an excellent starting point for conversations about feelings and emotional regulation tools.

Matching colors

There are a number of ways that an ABA therapist may teach kids with Autism to match, identify, or differentiate colors. Often, colored cards and sorting activities are used for this purpose. For example, you may have a set of cards that are entirely solid colors and another set of cards that have pictures of colored items. So, one card would be solid red, and another card might have red items, like a fire truck or a red apple. You would then ask the child to match the red card to the card with red items. If you don't have cards designed for this purpose, you can use household items and have your child group them by color.

Sitting in a chair

Sitting in a chair is a critical functional skill that you can help your child learn at home. Help your child practice sitting down in a chair by seating your child in the chair, sitting opposite to them, and asking them to face you. When they do, give your child verbal praise. You might implement fun activities (e.g., blowing bubbles, playing a game like patty cake, or something more specific that your child enjoys) at some point when you do this. You can also implement practice with making eye contact into this technique.

For example, you may sit across from each other and work on looking each other in the eyes. Those who do choose to work on eye contact may find it particularly useful to use tools such as blowing bubbles or holding specific objects to prompt the child to look into your eyes. Since it only requires a chair and can be integrated into many daily activities, such as family meals, this is an accessible technique for families to use.

Sorting items

Sorting activities can be used for more than color identification. For example, you may teach a child to sort cards with objects on them into groups such as foods, clothes, body parts, and drinks. Similar to cards that would be used for color matching or identifying emotions, you should be able to find cards that help kids sort items online. Typically, these are inexpensive, under $10, and they can be found at a variety of online stores. Again, you can use household objects in addition to (or if you don't yet have) a set of flash cards. When you do this, you can point out the name of items yourself, and when/if possible, prompt your child to name items. So, you might hold up a pair of pants and ask, "What are these called? Do you know?"

Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a building block of ABA therapy. Rewards that you may use include but aren't necessarily limited to:

• Verbal praise (e.g., "great job!")
• A set amount of time to play a video game or use an electronic device, such as an iPad. 
• Small items that motivate your child (e.g., stickers). 

Make sure that any rewards that will be used are clear and consistent. The child should know why they are being rewarded, and when it comes to rewards like time spent on technology, you want to make sure that you tell them how long they can use the device in advance. Verbal praise should be used alongside other positive reinforcement and rewards.

Play and social skills

Social skills are necessary for school, work, and other parts of life. They refer to the skills we use to communicate and connect with others. ABA therapists work with children to help them develop play and social skills. Activities you can try at home for the purpose of building play and social skills include: 

• Taking turns. For example, playing a game or having a conversation where you take turns. 
• Conversations. You may practice having a back-and-forth conversation with your child. Listening skills, appropriate verbiage and conversation skills, and so on, are things you may highlight. You may also role-play with your child.
• Practice with body language. This can include working on one's own body language and identifying what another person's body language might mean, which can be challenging for people with ASD.
• Parallel play. This refers to playing alongside others. 
• Sharing. You may practice sharing objects with your child or have them practice with other kids in the household, such as siblings.

These are only some examples of techniques you might try. If you identify a specific skill that your child has difficulty with, it may be something that you focus on or collaborate with a therapist on. 

If you are looking for an ABA therapist in your area, you may be able to get a recommendation from another professional, such as a pediatrician, or look online. Lastly, Speech Therapists may also be able to help your child practice these skills - but with slightly different techniques to improve social and play skills.

Takeaway

ABA therapy helps children learn and implement necessary life skills. While it is often provided by a professional, there are many ABA techniques that parents can use with their children at home. If your child has an ABA therapist, they may recommend at-home activities and practices that you can use. The six techniques listed in this article are examples of activities that families can use with their children at home.