Tuesday, September 6, 2011

ABA Therapy Works to Lessen Autism Symptoms

Whenever a child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, it is absolutely heartbreaking for parents. Because parents often hear phrases such as "no cure" and "learning disability", it can be frightening. Many parents also believe that children with autism disorders are unable to love or to show emotion. The truth, however, is that these are incredibly loving and intelligent children who simply learn and interact differently than their peers. That is where ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, therapy comes into play. ABA can be incredibly helpful at lessening the symptoms of autism.

While it is true that there is not a cure for autism, ABA therapy can help children learn to interact with their parents, educators, and peers. It can also help them learn how to learn concepts and ideas in the same way as their peers so that they can learn to function in a traditional classroom setting. The therapy is very specific, but it also has decades of experience and research that show it to be the most effective means of treating autism symptoms and helping children with these disorders to learn to interact and live in a similar way to their peers. Many people who undergo early intervention with ABA therapy go on to live normal lives and have successful relationships and careers as adults.

ABA therapy is incredible beneficial because it helps to break emotions, actions, and concepts into very basic steps or lessons. These steps are taught using prompts that are gradually reduced until a behavior or answer can be mimicked. While this may seem like simple memorization, studies show that it actually helps to rewire pathways in the brain that are responsible for learning and for making inferences from the things that are observed in the world around us. Simply put, ABA is incredibly effective.

Autism may not have a cure, but symptom reduction can be incredible. ABA therapy can often help to relieve a large percentage of the symptoms of autism, especially when introduced at a very early age. Many children are diagnosed with autism whenever they start to show delays in speech and communication. When ABA therapy is started this early, it is most effective, though studies show that it can be effective at any time. Reducing symptoms may be the best option parents have until a cure is found, but with ABA therapy, it is incredibly effective.

Garrett Butch is the father of a 6 year old with autism and the founder of Maximum Potential Group.

Maximum Potential has developed courses that train parents and school systems how to work with children with autism.

http://www.maximumpotentialkids.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Garrett_Butch



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