How ABA Teaches Polite Disagreement

Disagreements are a part of everyday life. Being able to navigate through them successfully has a significant effect on a person’s daily life — from relationships to school progress to career advancement. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have trouble handling disagreements, primarily because they commonly face deficits in communication and social interactions. This can […]

Teaching Boundaries: ‘No Means No’

Children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly struggle to understand what’s socially acceptable. This may cause them to not know and respect other people’s boundaries and personal space. As a result, they may have a tougher time establishing and maintaining relationships or even having meaningful social interactions. Being able to identify and respect personal […]

ABA Strategies for Approaching New Foods at Restaurants

Getting kids to try new foods can be quite the challenge for any parent. This might be even more difficult for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to some of the symptoms of their neurodevelopmental disorder. It’s common for children with autism to have feeding problems. This could stem from sensory sensitivities […]

Improving Time Estimation Skills in Children with Autism

Time estimation and management are critical skills people need to learn to successfully navigate their day. These skills are built gradually as a child gets older, but they can be extremely challenging skills for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to master. Time estimation skills are essential to complete homework, to interact with other people […]

Teaching Kids to Handle Unexpected Cancellations

Unexpected cancellations can cause children to feel emotionally overwhelmed,  especially if the thing that is being cancelled is something they were looking forward to. If a friend unexpectedly gets sick and can’t come over to play, for instance, the child may act out because of the sadness and anger they feel, coupled with a lack […]

How ABA Can Support Bilingual Families

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) looks different for every person who has it. Because of this, the interventions and support that is provided to individuals with autism and their families needs to be specifically tailored to their unique needs. This is one of the reasons why applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy) is considered the leading treatment […]

Using ABA to Reduce Hoarding or Collecting Behavior

The most typical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are deficits with communication and social interaction, coupled with sensory sensitivities, restrictive interests and repetitive behaviors. Some children on the autism spectrum may additionally exhibit other challenging behaviors as a result of their neurodevelopmental disorder. Common examples include self-stimulatory behaviors — with some being self-harmful — and hoarding. […]

ABA Strategies for Teaching Children How to Organize Their Rooms

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) thrive on structure. Generally speaking, they do much better when things are in order — whether that’s following a predictable daily routine or having everything in its place in their room. Organization is great for any child, as it helps them find what they’re looking for and teaches them important […]

Teaching Autistic Children How to Take Turns During Games

Turn taking is an important skill that children first start to learn when they are young. While the skill may seem trivial, it’s an important building block for lifelong learning, social relationships and professional opportunities. It’s not easy to teach children how to take turns, as they are often impatient and have trouble sharing. Doing […]

How to Prepare a Child with Autism for the Arrival of a New Sibling

The arrival of a new child is a wonderful event for families. A new baby in the household brings a lot of joy, but also a lot of change and challenges, especially if you have another child who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). So much of daily life needs to be altered when a new […]