Can ABA Therapy Help with Waiting Patiently?

Waiting is a difficult concept for many children to grasp. The passage of time can feel like an eternity, whether they’re waiting for their turn on the swings, for a favorite snack or are in line at the store.

For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), these moments of waiting can be especially challenging.

Without a clear understanding of when the wait will end or what to do in the meantime, children with autism may experience increased anxiety, frustration or sensory overwhelm. This often leads to challenging behaviors as the child tries to communicate their discomfort or gain a sense of control.

Fortunately, applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) offers a variety of evidence-based strategies to help children build the skill of waiting patiently.

We’ll cover that topic in this article below.

Table Of Contents

Why Waiting is Difficult for Children with Autism

Children with autism typically thrive on predictability. When a child is asked to wait, that gets broken temporarily.

There are several reasons why this specific skill is so complex for neurodivergent children:

• Executive Functioning Demands: Waiting requires a high level of impulse control and emotional regulation, and involves the ability to inhibit the desire for immediate gratification.
• Difficulty with Abstract Concepts: Time is abstract. Telling a child to wait five minutes is meaningless if they don’t have a concrete grasp of how long five minutes feels.
• Communication Barriers: If a child can’t easily express that they are bored, hungry or anxious while waiting, they may exhibit physical behaviors to get a reaction or end the wait.
• Sensory Sensitivities: Waiting in environments such as a crowded doctor’s office or a noisy cafeteria can be overstimulating. The lack of an engaging activity makes the child more likely to focus on uncomfortable sensory input.

How ABA Therapy Teaches Waiting Skills

ABA therapy is highly effective for teaching waiting skills because it breaks the skills down into smaller, manageable and measurable steps.

Rather than expecting a child to wait for a long period immediately, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) use a systematic approach to build tolerance over time.

Evidence-Based Strategies to Support Waiting Patiently

In ABA therapy, the goal is to make waiting a teachable moment rather than a source of stress.

Here are some core strategies used to build this essential life skill.

Functional Communication Training (FCT)

Before teaching a child to wait, it’s helpful to make sure they can ask for what they want. Once they have an effective way to communicate, a therapist can introduce the wait prompt.

By teaching the child that their request has been heard and that the item they want is coming, the therapist reduces the child’s need to use challenging behaviors to communicate their point.

Building Tolerance Gradually

This involves starting with a wait time that you know the child can handle, even if it is only a few seconds. When the child waits successfully for that time, they are immediately rewarded with the item they wanted.

Gradually, the therapist increases the duration and ensures the child stays successful at each step.

Visual Supports and Timers

Because time is abstract, ABA therapists use visual aids, which can make it concrete. A sand timer, a countdown app or a visual schedule can show a child exactly how much time is left.

Seeing the red disappear on a timer or watching the sand drop provides a sense of control and predictability, which helps to lower anxiety based on anticipation.

Teaching Appropriate Behaviors

Waiting is often thought of as the absence of movement, but it’s actually a set of active skills.

ABA therapists often teach children what to do with their bodies while waiting, such as keeping quiet hands or sitting in a chair. They may also introduce waiting activities such as looking at a book or playing with a fidget toy, which can help the child pass the time in a constructive manner.

Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is a cornerstone of ABA therapy. When a child successfully waits patiently, they receive meaningful praise or a preferred reward such as time with a toy they love.

This helps the child associate the act of waiting with something positive, which shifts their perspective from a negative experience to a rewarding one.

Blue Gems ABA Supports Long-Term Independence

Learning to wait is about building the self-regulation skills necessary for long-term independence. Whether a child is preparing for the classroom, social outings or future employment, the ability to wait is a fundamental building block for success.

At Blue Gems ABA, our team of experienced therapists understands that every child is unique. We tailor our waiting programs to meet each child where they are, using consistent, compassionate strategies to help them navigate the world with less stress and more confidence.

We work closely with families to ensure that the tools we use can be easily transitioned to the home and community, creating a supportive environment for growth.

To learn more, please contact us today.