Why Do Some ABA Therapists Recommend Family Outings?

Applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy, is widely regarded as the leading treatment option for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It can address a number of different issues that children may be facing, particularly improving social and communication skills, dealing with sensory sensitivities and modifying certain problematic behaviors.

ABA therapy is very intensive, conducted for multiple hours per week in either a home-based or clinic-based setting. During sessions, children will learn new skills and behavior modifications that are important to their particular life.

While building these skills and modifying behaviors during sessions is certainly important, the ultimate goal of ABA therapy is skill generalization. This occurs when children are able to apply the skills they learned during therapy sessions outside of sessions in real-world scenarios.

This is why some ABA therapists recommend family outings, as they can reinforce the skills learned during sessions to actual real-life situations.

In this article, we’ll discuss skill generalization and family outings more, including the benefits of doing so.

Table Of Contents

What is Skill Generalization?

Skill generalization is the ability to take something that is learned in a specific, controlled setting and apply it to a real-world situation. ABA therapy is very beneficial for children with ASD, because it provides them with a controlled and safe environment in which they can learn, build skills and modify behaviors.

In-home ABA therapy even integrates the child’s natural environment where they spend most of their time, which helps to address some of the potential concerns about generalization.

Even in that setting, though, there’s only so much an ABA therapist can do to mimic real-world scenarios. They can teach children replacement behaviors for any problematic behaviors they might be exhibiting, but that doesn’t ensure that the child will carry over what they’ve learned to other settings.

In other words, the child may learn to do very well at not throwing a tantrum or banging their head when they don’t get something they want at home, but they may not understand how to apply those replacement behaviors if they’re in the grocery store.

This is why parental involvement is so essential in ABA therapy. When parents learn the strategies and tools that their child’s therapist uses in sessions, they can reinforce those strategies and tools when the therapist is no longer around.

What Are Family Outings?

A family outing is simply any scenario in which the child and their family will go outside of the house with the ABA therapist to practice the skills and behavior modifications that are being taught.

A common example could be the grocery store, as mentioned above, but it could also be a trip to the park or playground, or any other location where the child may frequent. The goal of family outings is to take the therapy outside of the typical teaching environment and work to reinforce those skills and positive behaviors.

Having the ABA therapist present with the family members allows them to provide hands-on support to both the child and the family members — helping the child to cope and apply the skills they’ve learned while also helping the family members understand how they can reinforce the skills on their own.

The therapist can help the child work on their social skills and behavior modifications while ensuring the child is safe in what could be foreign environments to them.

Why Are Family Outings Important?

Family outings are important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they help to improve skill generalization, which again is one of the key goals of any ABA therapy treatment plan.

Being able to take what they’ve learned in therapy sessions and applying it to other scenarios and other settings shows that the child is well on their way to mastering those skills.

Family outings are also fun ways to integrate your child with ASD into everyday situations. It’s a great way to get them out of the house, to expose them to things they don’t often see, and to interact with the world around them.

Finally, family outings also open up the possibilities to a fulfilling life for the child and for the family as a whole. If families only expose their children to certain scenarios they are familiar with or are confident they won’t have trouble with, they are doing not only their children a disservice but them a disservice as well.

It can be very freeing for family members when their children are able to learn skills to comfortably navigate multiple settings outside of the house and therapy sessions. Plus, it helps the child foster a sense of independence, which will be essential for later in life.

Blue Gems ABA Integrates Family Outings into Therapy Where Appropriate

Family outings can be a great way to reinforce the skills learned in ABA therapy sessions to real-world scenarios. This helps children with ASD generalize their skills, which helps them become more independent.

At Blue Gems ABA, we integrate family outings into our ABA therapy plans where appropriate. We take into consideration each individual child’s unique strengths, challenges and preferences when doing so, as well as their current abilities and progress in treatment.

By taking this personalized approach, we are better able to support the children we serve, as well as their families.

To learn more, please contact us today.