Upon starting services with Rainbow ABA, it is important to be aware of both the benefits and potential risks of ABA therapy.
ABA therapy has a multitude of benefits, including developing important life skills, supporting families, improving quality of life, and reducing challenging behaviors.
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ABA therapy has a multitude of benefits, including but not limited to the following:
1. Develops, improves, and maintains a variety of skill sets, including:
a. Adaptive & self care skills
b. Attending & social referencing
c. Cognitive functioning
d. Community participation
e. Coping & tolerance skills
f. Emotional development
g. Family relationships
h. Language and communication
i. Play and leisure skills
j. Pre-academic skills
k. Safety skills
l. Self advocacy & independence
m. Self management skills
n. Social relationships
o. Vocational skills
2. Learner’s needs are individualized and programmed into a customizable treatment package.
3. Provides strong levels of parent/guardian support to help navigate otherwise difficult obstacles, as well as educate on basic ABA principles that can help increase skills.
4. Helps increase the quality of life of parents/caregivers and learners.
5. Minimizes challenging behaviors such as self-injury, aggression, elopement, and property destruction.
Risks pertaining to participation in ABA therapy vary and are unique to each participant. These risks are listed below:
1. ABA therapy is a comprehensive service that may include a large amount of service hours per week. At times, the amount of services provided per week may become time consuming and cumbersome for families.
2. Progress takes time and results from therapy are not immediate. This can cause families to feel upset, defeated, or as if the services are not helping their child.
3. Due to the high frequency of therapy sessions, learners may become prompt dependent on the care they are provided. Rainbow ABA programs for generalization and maintenance throughout services to reduce prompt dependency, as well as create ample opportunities to play, socialize, and be involved in community outings outside of the primary therapy location.
4. ABA therapy can be expensive if families' primary or secondary insurance funder(s) do not cover ABA services.
5. Therapy may be ineffective if recommended interventions are not being utilized by all caregivers involved. This may be especially true for families that have many caregivers involved in the learner’s care.
6. Sometimes when a new treatment/intervention is implemented, maladaptive behavior can become more intense before it lessens. This is called an extinction burst. This can be stressful on families and difficult to navigate without consistent support from a BCBA and/or Behavior Technician.
7. The field of ABA has recently struggled with increased rates of staff turnover. Staff turnover may lead to case interruptions and delay learner progress.
Rainbow ABA strives to ensure all families thoroughly understand the risks and benefits mentioned above and have the opportunity to discuss any and all concerns with their provider at the start of services, as well as ongoing.