Proven Treatment For Autism: ABA Therapy at ABC

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a scientific, evidence-based behavioral therapy designed to promote real changes in children on the autism spectrum. At Action Behavior Centers, our team of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) carefully assess each child to create and carry out personalized therapy plans. We check each child’s progress often, which gives us the chance to adjust therapy to ensure optimal individual outcomes. 

In addition to ensuring that each child receives effective care, it is equally important to understand large-scale, organizational impact. To address this important question for our families at Action Behavior Centers, we conducted a study in 2021 to examine how children respond to ABA therapy. Specifically, we focused on behaviors like aggression, elopement (running to unsafe areas), property destruction, and self-injury. These behaviors can be very difficult on both children and their families, often making community and school involvement challenging.

What we did
We looked at the data for 20 children with autism, ages 2–6, who had been receiving full-time ABA therapy (at least 30 hours per week) for at least 12 months at Action Behavior Centers. All participants were diagnosed with autism within 24 months of their first treatment session. Each child showed behaviors including  aggression, elopement, property destruction and/or self-injury. Participants spent an average of 27 months in therapy, ranging from 14 to 37 months.

The main goal of each child’s therapy plan was to teach appropriate replacement behaviors for challenging behaviors. For example, if a child ran out of the room when asked to put away a favorite toy, the child would be taught to ask for more time with the item and reinforced for staying in a safe environment.

What we found
We saw a collective 86% reduction across all four target behaviors. The graphs below show specifically how aggression, elopement, property destruction, and self-injury decreased after ABA therapy:

What do these numbers mean?

• Aggression went down by 92%
• Elopement (running away) was reduced by 74%
• Property destruction dropped by 97%
• Self-injury was reduced by 59%

These are exciting results! They show that ABA therapy really helped reduce target behaviors, which makes a real difference in the everyday lives of children with autism and their families. 

How does this help autism communities?
At Action Behavior Centers, we know our therapy works because we collect data every day. However, these results demonstrate that ABA works across a broader group of children and provides a model of care. This information can also help parents, clinicians, and researchers understand how effective ABA therapy really is. Knowledge is power!

What’s next?
We’re excited to plan more research to strengthen our findings. Action Behavior Centers remains committed to helping children with autism and their families reach milestone moments. 

Children displayed in this blog post are not associated with our ABA services. At Action Behavior Centers, we strive to provide compassionate care for children on the autism spectrum. We believe that early Intervention can be a great foundation in building a brighter future with Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy. ABC is committed to getting your child started as soon as possible because every moment counts.