July 17, 2012

Back To School

Going back to school can be hard for any child, especially one diagnosed with autism. Here are some suggestions for making the transition back to school as smooth as possible:

1. Get a calendar for your child and mark the day school starts. Cross off the days as they pass leading up to that first day, reminding them each time how many days remain until school begins.

2. Include your child in back to school shopping: Allow the child to pick his or her new outfit, school supplies, or lunch box for the first day of school.

3. Try using these newly bought back to school items to role play the first day of school. You can pretend to be various adults (teacher, bus driver, etc.) that the child will have to interact with at school. This can help to get your child excited or at least reduce any anxiety that he or she may feel about returning to school.

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October 7, 2026

The 4 Functions of Behavior in ABA Therapy: Understanding Your Child’s Behavior

In ABA therapy, understanding the functions of behavior help clinicians (and you) uncover what your child is trying to communicate through their behavior. And once we unlock the “why,” we also reveal the pathway to teaching new ways to communicate that same need (thus reducing challenging behaviors like tantrums, aggression, or throwing things) and setting up your child for success.

October 7, 2026

Differential Reinforcement in ABA: The Most Powerful Tool Behavior Therapists Use

Differential reinforcement is a behavior-support strategy that strengthens one response while reducing another. It has two moving parts: reinforcing the behavior you want to see more of, and reducing reinforcement for the challenging behavior that isn’t meeting your child’s needs in the best way.

September 8, 2026

7 Famous People with Autism Who've Shared Their Diagnosis

An autism diagnosis never determines your success. For many of the most creative, driven, and groundbreaking minds in history, it may have been the very thing that fueled it. An intense focus, pattern recognition, and a willingness to see the world differently are not limitations. They're superpowers. And when a person with autism is given the right support and space to grow, truly incredible things can happen.

September 8, 2026

What Is DRA in ABA Therapy? (Differential Reinforcement of Alternative Behavior)

Every time your child wants to play with a toy, they have big emotions until they get it. At school, when presented with difficult work, they might run away. These are all examples of behaviors your child might exhibit to serve a communicative purpose. They might need something or want your attention. Or maybe they just want access to an opportunity. Whatever the behavior might be—it works, so it continues. Sometimes, we as adults may reinforce these behaviors without realizing it.

September 8, 2026

The 7 Dimensions of ABA Therapy (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968)

What guides every intervention in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy?The 7 dimensions of ABA.Think of ABA therapy like a multi-dimensional figure. It has many angles, perspectives, and ways to evaluate it. That is exactly what the dimensions do. They give clinicians and families a complete way to see how well an intervention is working, from every angle.

September 8, 2026

Errorless Learning in ABA: How and Why Behavior Therapists Use It

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, errorless learning is a way to teach new skills by giving the right amount of support from the very beginning.When your child with autism is learning something new, mistakes are part of the process. But for some kiddos, too many mistakes too quickly can feel uncomfortable, frustrating, or discouraging. The last thing we want is for your child to shut down, guess, avoid the task, or lose confidence before the skill has a chance to grow. That's where errorless learning can help.