ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis is the oldest, most established method of intervention for children on the autism spectrum.

ABA embraces the idea that we do everything in life to either get a positive outcome, or to avoid a negative outcome, and that all human behavior can be traced back to this root.

Good behavior analysis involves knowing what a child perceives as positive and negative to gradually shape a child's behavior and learning. A good ABA therapist can identify what works and what doesn't, and can flow with moment-to-moment changes in a child.

In ABA, skills are chunked down into smaller tasks, with each task taught individually. Then the tasks are tied together again, creating the larger skill. During a typical ABA session, a child can work on any number of different tasks and skills, from just a few to many, depending on the child's present level, abilities, and tolerance…see more