For numerous years, Applied Behavior Analysis or otherwise known as ABA has been the top choice among professionals for treating children with autism spectrum disorder. With ABA therapy, it is teaching children to learn and think and helps in fostering positive behavior without punishing them for their negative behavior. On the other hand, there are lots of parents who turn down this idea after performing initial assessments and studies regarding ABA therapy.
This is because they thought their kids are being taught to act like robots and imitate their movements or words. However, what parents should understand is that, there is a process in treating autism and what these robotic responses they see are crucial to help a child think independently and critically. Putting a normal person to learn a new language is one way to have better understanding of ABA principles.
Before you start to learn how to use grammatical structure and put sentences together, you should spend big amount of your time in repeating new words. Well at first, your intonations are more than having robotic repetitions but as you devote your energy and time to learn these words as well as their meanings, you’ll gradually understand the language, develop the ability to use the words and make sentences as well as paragraphs with it.
Studying a new language and doing ABA therapy, both are almost the same actually. To the brain of an autistic child, constantly repeating commands and words as well are crucial for it practices their mind to understand its meanings. This will soon allow them to think critically, independently and at the same time, understand broader concepts. While words for sky and water might be repeatable, it takes understanding of both of to know the concept of raining.
Kids with autism spectrum disorder should keep practicing these repetitions for them to achieve this level of understanding and it won’t be easy and quick but when they does, it’s worth it. While a lot of loving parents are afraid of the way ABA is taught, those who personally experienced or saw the impact of doing ABA therapy knows why repetition is important.
ABA is created to assist children to reach their full potential of learning as well as functioning both in the society and classroom. Believe it or not, there are countless of children who are developing normal or at least, near normal cognitive functioning by enrolling in intensive ABA therapy. For a number of times, the results serve as proof of its effectiveness. After all, ABA therapy is focused on assisting kids understand basic commands, concepts and language.