What to Expect During Your Child's First ABA Session
If you’re interested in beginning ABA services with your child, you may have a lot of questions. How soon will my child begin to show results? Will our Behavior Technician mesh well with our child and family? What does a session of ABA therapy even look like? In this article, we will answer that question, and show how a successful ABA program begins with the groundwork that is laid in the very first session.
The first few sessions are dedicated to building a positive relationship between the child, the family, and the behavior team. During your first session, your child's ABA technician will work on getting to know your child, learn what they enjoy, and build rapport! They will:
Engage in play. This may look like just fun and games, but it is actually helping your technician learn a lot about your child and their skills! More than that, by engaging in things your child enjoys, your technician is showing them that session time is fun and that their technician is someone they don’t need to fear. This means that future sessions will be something your child looks forward to!
Ask questions. These questions may be directed at your child, which can help to gauge their ability levels in certain areas, or to you and your family, to better understand what your needs may be. Our technicians’ goal is to mesh well with your family and schedule, so they may ask about things like meal and snack times, your child’s preferences, chores your child is expected to do, if shoes are allowed in the house, and more.
Get to know your child! Your child will have significantly better outcomes if they have a rapport with their technician. Your technician will spend the first session learning about what motivates your child, their likes and dislikes, and how they can best support your child on this journey. They do this through interacting with your child, learning about preferred toys and rewards for a job well-done.
The first session is the opportunity for your child to build positive associations with session time and with their technician! In addition to this, the information that your technician is able to learn about your child and your family will help to provide the best possible outcomes as the ABA program progresses. This is all part of building a dedicated behavior team that can create a world without limits for your child!