Applied behavior analysis (ABA) can generally be described as “the science of behavior”.  It is a part of our daily lives whether we recognize it or not.  For example, we all do certain things because they result in things we like; just as we all try to avoid things that result in what we don’t like.  These are just two of the ways the principles of ABA influence us all.  But ABA has been around since the early 1960s- so why are we hearing about it so much now?  Well for starters, we are in the middle of a world-wide autism epidemic and ABA has decades of research to demonstrate it is the most effective treatment approach for individuals on the autism spectrum!  Sometimes parents and teachers think that ABA is a new treatment intended only for young children with autism or that it can only be done in a therapy setting.  It isn’t new, it isn’t just a private therapy, and it is not just for people with autism- ABA has been used in schools, homes, and all types of other settings for many years with all kinds of learners.  It has gained popularity for teaching individuals with ASD because it systematically breaks learning into specific behavior-environment connections.  This helps people on the spectrum understand when and how to do things we want them to learn to do.  Let us know if we can be of any help in clarifying and describing how ABA is the ideal fit for learners on the autism spectrum.  Bev and Susan