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What is Discrete Trial Training?

There’s so much about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is unfortunately misunderstood in today’s society. Not only do many people confuse what the developmental disorder itself is, but they also confuse some of the most popular treatments for it.

ASD is an umbrella term that’s used today to describe five different but related developmental disorders. That’s why you may hear some people still refer to what they call “high-functioning autism” as Asperger’s syndrome. Even though it’s no longer called that today in the medical world, some still call it that since it was less than 20 years ago that ASD lumped five different disorders under one umbrella.

A similar example exists in one of the most common and effective methods of treating ASD — applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy.

Many times, people will refer to ABA therapy when they’re actually referring to what’s known as discrete trial training (DTT), and vice versa. The reality is that DTT is a type of teaching strategies that exists under the ABA umbrella.

So, what exactly is Discrete Trial Training, and how does it differ from ABA therapy?

Let’s take a look.

Table Of Contents

What is ABA Therapy?

It’s important to understand what ABA therapy is first before diving into DTT. ABA therapy uses a science-based approach to treat autism, especially in children. It’s called “behaviorism,” and it seeks to create meaningful and long-lasting change in a person’s actions.

According to the ABA therapy approach, there are three steps to every behavior — its antecedent, the behavior itself and the resulting consequence. It’s a process that everyone follows, as can be seen with this example …

When you feel cold (the antecedent), you might grab a sweater (the behavior), which then makes you feel warmer and more comfortable (the consequence).

In this example, you experience a positive consequence from your behavior, which will make you repeat that behavior again in the future if the same antecedent or a similar one occurs.

ABA therapy applies this principle in practice to help bring about positive changes in one’s behavior. It’s not just used to treat children with autism, but it’s more commonly associated with it.

This approach has proven effective, because children with autism often have bigger challenges with exhibiting the appropriate or “correct” behaviors when they experience certain antecedents. ABA therapy helps them learn the communication and social skills they need to be more successful in this area.

How Does DTT Differ?

DTT is a specific technique of ABA therapy that will break down skills into smaller, or “discrete,” components. The ABA therapist will teach their patients each of these skills one at a time, reinforcing the desired behaviors through tangible means along the way.

For children, trainers use simple rewards as a way to teach certain skills. A simple example is teaching children their colors. If the trainer is trying to teach a child to learn the color blue, they may ask that child to point to a card that’s blue.

When the child points at the correct color, the trainer will give them a reward. This could be anything from a toy that they like to play with, a lot of praise or something else that makes them happy.

The trainer will then increase the difficulty of the task, by asking the child to correctly identify multiple colors. In this way, they’re able to build upon the first skill by layering on more on top of it.

DTT has been proven to be very effective to teach skills, particularly with children who have autism It was, after all, one of the first intervention treatments that was developed for people with autism.

Getting Help Using DTT and ABA

While DTT and ABA therapy are technically different, they use similar principles and approaches to treat children with autism. Many studies have proven over the years that these treatments are extremely effective, which is why they’re used in so many different treatment applications for children with ASD around the country.

At Blue Gems ABA, we have trained, licensed and expert BCBAs who work with children who have autism every day to administer ABA therapy to them. We use the tried-and-true practices of DTT as part of an overall holistic approach to helping children with autism build the skills they need to be successful in life.

We are focused on helping all the children we work with, and their families, get the care and treatment they need and deserve.

We also have a team of licensed and experienced clinical psychologists who assess children for autism spectrum disorder. If your child is diagnosed with ASD, we can then create a personalized ABA therapy treatment plan for them.

For more information, please contact us today.

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