Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Treatment Program

What is applied behavior analysis (ABA)?

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is treatment that is widely used for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder. There is solid evidence from years of study that ABA therapy is effective. In ABA therapy at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, many important life skills are taught by breaking them down into smaller parts until the child can do the entire skill or activity. In addition, our therapists work to decrease challenging behaviors by teaching communication, replacement behaviors, and by rewarding only appropriate behaviors.

Why you should choose Henry Ford Health

There are many organizations that offer ABA therapy, so what makes Henry Ford different?

• Our therapist turnover rates are significantly lower than turnover for most centers.
• We have higher training standards for our therapists. We require a bachelor’s degree, whereas many places require only a high school diploma. 
• Our board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA) carry a very small caseload of patients, giving them time to provide more individualized treatment.
• Our sites have individual therapy rooms where children get one-on-one therapy.

How to begin ABA therapy

 What is the ABA process?

Our board-certified behavior analysts (BCBA) create a treatment plan that is unique to the needs of each child. Children work directly with a behavior technician on the plan recommended by the BCBA. Children and their behavior technician are observed weekly by the BCBA to make sure they are making progress toward their goals. A typical therapy plan consists of individualized goals which may include:

• Naming items
• Learning how to ask for what they want
• Social and conversation skills
• Play skills
• Group skills
• Activities of daily living (toileting, getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc.)
• Decreasing challenging behaviors (aggression, flipping, wandering off)

Center-based ABA therapy for children ages 2-7 years

We offer center-based ABA therapy at three locations in metro Detroit, as well as online telehealth ABA therapy for children ages 2-18 years. We offer only telehealth ABA services for children ages 8-18 years.

ABA one-on-one therapy

Children ages 2-7 years who need to build various life skills, learn activities of daily living or improve challenging behaviors can benefit from individual therapy. With one-on-one therapy, children receive individual care with their own therapist to bridge the gap between current skills and age-appropriate skills. One-on-one therapy can help children learn how to:

• Communicate their needs/wants
• Name things
• Imitate others
• Play with others
• Toilet themselves
• Reduce challenging behaviors

ABA group therapy ages 2-7 years

Group therapy can help children ages 2-7 years with ASD with their social, group and classroom readiness skills. Two children are paired together with one behavior technician. Each child continues to have individual goals along with goals that can be worked on with other children in their group. The focus is to prepare children for a smooth transition into the school setting or to improve skills for children already attending school. Group therapy can help with:

• Social skills such as collaborative play, asking questions, taking turns
• Group skills such as participating in circle time, following group instructions, learning in a group setting
• Classroom skills such as unpacking items, following instructions, getting materials to do a task

Telehealth ABA training (ages 2-18 years)

Parents of patients ages 2-18 years can participate in weekly telehealth training sessions with our experienced board certified behavior analysts (BCBA) from the comfort of their own home with an Internet connection. Parents work with the BCBA to determine what skills are most important in the home setting. The BCBA then creates goals and a plan that parents can follow in the home setting. Parents also can get real-time feedback from the BCBA.

Telehealth ABA training can help parents:

• Teach their child how to follow a schedule
• Decrease challenging behaviors in the home
• Teach skills like toilet training, daily living skills, playing and following directions

Additional services

Child behavioral health & speech-language pathology

Children receiving care at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD) can add speech-language therapy and behavioral health care to their treatment plans. Speech-language therapy is available on site at all our therapy locations. Behavioral health services are not offered at our CADD locations but can be scheduled separately. The speech and behavioral health providers partner with families and the ABA therapy team to design unique treatment plans for each child.