8 ways through which ABA Therapy can help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism is a neurological illness that affects a person’s entire cognitive, emotional, social, and physical well-being. It also has an impact on the nervous system.
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Autism is a neurological illness that affects a person’s entire cognitive, emotional, social, and physical well-being. It also has an impact on the nervous system. It results from a synthesis of environmental and genetic influences. While not all individuals with autism share the same symptoms, some do. There are five distinct forms of autism: Asperger’s syndrome, Rett syndrome, Kanner’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and PDD-NOS.
About ABA therapy
A complicated neurodevelopmental disorder known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects a large number of youngsters globally.
“Invented by Dr Ivar Lovaas in the 1960s, Applied Behaviour Analysis, or ABA therapy is a widely used approach to help children on the autism spectrum. It focuses on breaking down skills into small steps and rewarding desired behaviours – allowing autistic children to learn new communication, social, and daily living skills, as well as reducing challenging behaviours. ABA therapy is a versatile and adaptable intervention, which can be tailored to address the specific needs of each individual, ensuring a personalized approach to skill development across a plethora of social settings, fostering learning at home, school, and within the broader community,” stated Dr. Meenakshi Kamble, Occupational Therapist at Surya Mother and child super speciality Hospital, Pune.
“ABA therapy is a widely recognized and evidence-based intervention that recognises the individuality of each autistic child. Therapists meticulously assess the child’s strengths, challenges, and unique needs. Then, they create a plan that focuses on specific areas needing improvement, like communication or social skills. This personalised approach ensures that interventions are precisely targeted, maximizing their effectiveness in promoting development and well-being,” added Dr. Sonam Kothari, Co-Founder and CEO at Butterfly Learnings.
8 merits of ABC therapy to help children with autism
1. Skill development: The treatment can successfully assist youngsters in learning and generalizing these skills in a variety of contexts by breaking these skills down into smaller steps and offering positive reinforcement.
2. Positive Reinforcement: ABA therapy employs incentives to encourage desired behaviors. By assisting kids in connecting positive behavior with favorable results, it encourages them to repeat those behaviors.
3. Behavioral change: ABA therapy focuses on difficult behaviors, such violence, self-harm, or repetitive actions, that are frequently observed in children with autism. ABA therapy works to drastically reduce problem behaviors and enhance overall functioning by recognizing triggers and putting methods in place to replace these behaviors with more suitable ones.
4. Lessens challenges: ABA therapy lessens challenging behaviors like meltdowns and repetitive acts by emphasizing positive behaviors.
5. Development of social skills: ABA therapy can help children with social deficiencies by teaching them how to start and carry on conversations, read nonverbal clues, and form friendships. This will improve their social interactions and relationships.
6. Enhance social and attentional skills: As a child learns to finish activities, ABA can help them become more focused and attentive. Through role-playing and practicing desired behaviors in social settings, it also explicitly teaches social skills.
7. Self-help and independence: ABA therapy teaches autistic children how to take charge of their daily routines, including taking care of their personal hygiene, clothing, and brushing their teeth.
8. Parental backing: ABA therapy helps parents and other caregivers in addition to the kid by offering them helpful guidance and assistance.
Note: The article is for informational purposes only.
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