Can ABA Therapy Help Treat Anxiety?

Applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) is prized for its ability to provide treatment and support to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One of the reasons why it’s considered the leading treatment option is because of its versatility.

ABA therapy can be used to treat many of the common signs of autism, including deficits with communication and social interaction, repetitive and/or negative behaviors, and sensory sensitivities. It also helps children learn essential daily life skills so they can live as independently as possible.

Many children who have autism also frequently experience anxiety. There are many reasons for this, such as frustrations with expressing themselves or being understood, dealing with sensory sensitivities and navigating what to them may be challenging social situations.

In this article, we’ll discuss how ABA therapy can help treat anxiety in children on the autism spectrum.

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How Can ABA Therapy Help Treat Anxiety?

ABA therapy takes a very structured approach to supporting children with ASD. This applies whether the goal is to build new skills, target problematic behaviors or build confidence in interacting with peers.

While children with autism share many common symptoms, each child is unique and can have vastly different needs than their peers on the autism spectrum. That’s why ABA therapy is always personalized to meet the specific needs, challenges, strengths and preferences of each child.

Like all aspects of ABA therapy, the first step to treating anxiety is identifying the core reasons why the child is experiencing it. In other words, the therapy team will first work to identify and understand what makes the child anxious.

Some children may become anxious, for example, when they are about to encounter a new experience or environment. Others may become anxious when exposed to certain sensory stimuli, such as loud noises or bright lights.

By first identifying what some of the triggers and underlying causes of the anxiety are, ABA therapy teams can craft a targeted intervention approach to help treat the anxiety.

 

What Role Does Behavioral Activation Play in Treating Anxiety?

In ABA therapy, there are many different tools, techniques and strategies that are used in treatment. Again, which ones are used in which situations for which patients depends on a number of factors.

That being said, Behavioral Activation (BA) is considered a primary strategy for helping to treat anxiety with ABA therapy. In general, BA looks to decrease what are known as avoidance behaviors by using positive reinforcements.

When a child with ASD experiences anxiety, they are likely to avoid the situations that make them feel that way. They might not want to go to school, for example, if being in a large crowd in an environment with loud sounds and bright lights makes them feel anxious.

What BA does is use strategies that are designed to help children with autism modify how they approach these situations that cause them anxiety. In essence, it helps them reduce fears by gradually and safely exposing them to these situations, and then rewarding them when they successfully attempt it.

Part of BA is helping the patient understand and become aware of what is causing them anxiety. After they can understand the pattern that has developed, then the ABA therapy team can help them to engage in healthy behaviors for these situations.

Therapists will provide their patients with various coping strategies that they can use if they begin to feel anxious either before or during a scenario. For some, this may include taking breaks when necessary or using a fidget toy to center themselves.

The skills will first be practiced in a controlled ABA therapy setting, with the patient receiving positive reinforcement when they successfully attempt to engage in the situation or use one of the coping mechanisms.

Gradually over time, the therapist may then expose the patient to the anxiety-inducing situation — first in a semi-controlled setting and then in the real-world. The usage of Natural Environment Teaching (NET) in this aspect of ABA therapy will ultimately help the patient generalize the skills they learned during therapy sessions across various settings, in various situations and with various people.

Blue Gems ABA Helps Treat Anxiety

Children with ASD face many challenges throughout their daily life. Many experience anxiety at higher rates than their neurotypical peers because of the symptoms of their autism.

At Blue Gems ABA, we help treat anxiety by providing our patients with tools and strategies for overcoming their fears and coping with anxiety when they are feeling it. We do this by crafting individualized treatment plans that are catered specifically to each child’s unique characteristics.

To learn more, please contact us today.