How long is ABA therapy going to last? Chances are that thought is running through your mind if you are a parent that has a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and you are considering Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services. The short answer is, “it depends”. It is important to note that the treatment plan for your child is individualized to best fit the needs of your family. ASD expresses itself differently in everyone and influences the course of treatment for each individual. Factors that play a role in how long therapy can last include current functioning across language, social skills, and intellectual abilities. Additionally, environment plays a huge role in progression. Ultimately it is important to remember that every single person whether they are neurotypical or not, learn in different ways and at different rates. While ABA therapy can seem daunting there are a number of things each family can do to support best outcomes:

Get tested early
Today, a diagnosis for autism can be obtained before a child is even a year old. Research supports that early intervention coupled with intensive treatment predict better long-term outcomes. Some benefits in early intervention include supporting school readiness, joint attention, and social skills.

Get involved
Parent involvement is a key component to success of therapy. Once of the goals in ABA therapy is to equip each family with the tools necessary to manage behaviors and to achieve success with learning new skills. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn concepts.

Be consistent
Prioritizing ABA is crucial in ensuring that the full treatment or dosage is being provided based on the recommendation of a trained professional. This recommendation is determined by standardized assessment measures. Prioritizing ABA ensure that deficits are worked on.

Ask for help
Your ABA team is here to work with YOU. Asking for help ensures that your clinical team is targeting items that are important to your family.

Anusha Preston, M.A., BCBA
Associate Clinical Director, Ventura
Tuesday, December 22, 2020

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Social distancing and school closures during the Coronavirus pandemic have made it difficult for our kids to stay connected. As we all know, social interaction, especially in the earlier years of development, is extremely important. In this blog post, you will find a few helpful tips and tricks to keep your kiddos engaged in social interaction through virtual playdates.

• There are many different apps and services such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, and WhatsApp that make it possible to virtually connect. While on these apps, the kids can connect by playing games together, completing school assignments as a team or just talking. There are also many different apps that allow kids to play virtual games together other than video games. For example, the app Pogo has games such as Monopoly and Yahtzee. For our younger kiddos, there are simpler games such as Uno.

• Another option for a virtual play date could be a virtual movie night. If you have a Netflix subscription, Netflix Party allows kids to watch movies together through the app. Within this app, only those that are invited can join the movie link. Pop some popcorn and grab all of the yummy movie snacks for a fun virtual movie night.

• Host a virtual story time! This one will involve one parent to assist. One adult can read a story to all of the children, and then talk to the kids about it. If you have any early readers, challenge them to read a story to their friends.

• Do some art together! Have each participant/family print off the same coloring page and then each child can color it however they would like with the materials they have on hand. After they color the picture, they can share their wonderful creations with each other! Download a packet of coloring packages from us!

• Have a shared playtime. It’s likely that each child will have play dough on hand. Give the children a prompt of what you would like them to sculpt, or just let them each pick what they make. Again, the biggest fun comes when they get to show off their sculptures!

All in all, virtual playdates are better than no playdates! Let’s show our kids that we can still connect with others and have fun doing so during this pandemic. We are all in this together!

Taylor Bernardez, M.A., BCBA, Behavior Supervisor, Ventura
Tuesday, December 15, 2020

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The holidays can be a very special time. They can also be very overwhelming to children with sensory issues or ASD. With that in mind, we have prepared a guide that you can share with your children to help them understand why things may look so different around the house right now. This fun picture book covers what a holiday is, what changes children might see around the house, and how they can participate.

Download this free resource

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