FAQ

At what age should early comprehensive intensive ABA treatment begin?

• Treatment should start as soon as possible.
• Developmental gaps widen over time. It’s easier to put your child on a faster learning path when the gaps are small rather than large.
• Due to brain plasticity, a young child’s brain is believed to be particularly receptive to new learning. The benefits of early comprehensive intensive ABA treatment are maximized during this critical period.
• Children who begin treatment later do benefit from ABA treatment, but they may have a harder time catching up. (Klintwall et al., 2015)

What skills are addressed in an early comprehensive intensive ABA treatment for young children?

•  Young autistic children often show learning delays across many skill areas. Comprehensive ABA treatment addresses all areas to enhance your child's overall functioning both now and in the future. 
• ABA treatment also teaches foundational or “learning to learn” skills, enabling your child to become an independent learner after treatment. These skills include imitation, focusing on other people and activities in the environment, and asking questions.

What are the outcomes of early comprehensive intensive ABA treatment?

• The higher the intensity (more hours per week), the greater the gains across your child's cognitive function and everyday skills.
• The graph below shows the results of a study across 341 children who received ABA treatment at different intensity levels.

• Children who received early comprehensive ABA Treatment vs. other approaches also demonstrated improved school readiness, requiring less support in general education after treatment.
• The graph below shows the percentage of children who demonstrated school readiness. Notice the difference in school readiness skills of children who received early comprehensive ABA Treatment as compared to other interventions.

Will my child achieve these outcomes from early comprehensive intensive, treatment?

• No one can guarantee how any individual child will respond to treatment. However, after a year or so of early comprehensive intensive ABA treatment, progress in narrowing gaps in development can be assessed.
• While research indicates that early comprehensive intensive ABA provides the best chance for improvement, we also know that not every child will score in the average or typical range of cognitive or self-help functioning after treatment.
• Regardless of the size of the gains on test scores, every child shows growth during ABA treatment. Here are some of the ways families say their children benefit from ABA treatment:
  • improved language and communication (learning the names of things, asking for things, sharing feelings with others)
  • ongoing learning by watching others and asking questions
  • independence (toileting, teeth brushing, self-feeding, dressing; getting haircuts and cooperating in dental and medical care)
  • greater participation in family life (weekend activities, visits with family and friends)
  • fewer behavioral challenges
• These skills also improve your child’s chances of succeeding in school with fewer supports and in the community, and help build the independence they will need as an adult.
• Follow-up studies show that children who receive early, comprehensive ABA treatment continue to maintain the benefits of treatment during adolescence and the teenage years compared to children who received other therapies.

Regardless of the size of gains on tests, early comprehensive intensive ABA significantly increases your child's chances for significant developmental growth. Following the guidelines below will give them the best chance to achieve their highest level of independence and learning— now and in the future.

1. Start treatment as soon as possible. Early intervention takes advantage of the time-limited opportunity to close gaps in development and perhaps catch up to peers. This is because the brains of younger children are thought to be more malleable, a term called “brain plasticity” (Dawson, 1999).
2. Developmental gaps grow bigger over time. This is why starting treatment early and providing many, many learning opportunities every week matters. To take just one area of development, the average 2-year-old has a speaking vocabulary of approximately 20 words. By the time they are 3 years old, the average speaking vocabulary has grown to 1,000 words. And new words are added at the rate of approximately 70 per month.
3. Treatment should be comprehensive, cover important skill areas, and accelerate your child’s development in all essential areas. Examples include problem solving, social skills, language and communication skills, cognitive functioning, self-management, behavior. Refer to the second image on this page for additional examples.
4. Treatment should average 30-40 hours per week of direct therapy for two or more years. Read the CASP’s White Paper on the role of treatment intensity in comprehensive ABA treatment for young children.
5. Treatment should help your child become an independent learner. Examples of these skills are the ability to imitate others, learn from watching what others do, and when and how to ask questions.
6. Treatment should help improve your child’s ability to function effectively in every critical environment (home, school, community).
7. Your child’s care should be individualized and delivered with a compassionate understanding of your child’s and family’s preferences, strengths, and needs.

Why does early comprehensive treatment need to be intensive?

• The number of treatment hours is shorthand for the number of learning opportunities. During therapy, there are both structured and spontaneous opportunities to practice new learning in all the different areas where your child needs to grow.
• Research suggests that when treatment is less intensive, there are not enough learning opportunities to catch up in all areas. Fewer learning opportunities generally means slower progress or progress in fewer areas. 

What if it is not possible to receive intensive treatment?

• There will always be challenges to ensuring early comprehensive intensive treatment. Life is full of unexpected turns of events. But, begin treatment without delay and strive to ensure that treatment is at the level to provide maximum benefits for you child.