Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a therapeutic approach to establishing skills and improving socially important behavior.  This therapy is based on the science of learning and behavior that has been studied by scientists since the early 1960s.  Most notably, ABA services are known to be a highly effective therapeutic resource for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 

In fact, ABA is the only autism therapy that has shown significant behavioral improvement across numerous research studies.  Of those studies conducted to show the efficacy of ABA for individuals with ASD, more than 20 of them are focused specifically on the benefits of early intervention for those that are newly diagnosed and under the age of 4-years-old.

ABA programming focuses on two types of goals – skill acquisition and behavior reduction – which are always highly individualized to each client’s specific needs.  Skill acquisition goals target deficits in developmental milestones or age-appropriate skills to provide clients with the tools they need to more actively and successfully participate in their daily life.  These goals can target skills such as language/communication, feeding programs, pre-academic skills, self-help, coping, self-regulation, toilet training, and social skills.

Behavior reduction goals focus on decreasing problem behaviors that are preventing someone’s ability to actively participate in various settings and make or maintain meaningful social relationships.  These goals target behavioral excesses such as tantrums, non-compliance, physical aggression, property destruction, and more.  And while remediating problem behaviors is a key component to successful ABA programming, teaching what to do instead of engaging in those behaviors (i.e., teaching a replacement behavior) is just as critical to long-term success in behavior reduction.  While it is certainly critical to ensure that an individual knows what behavior isn’t appropriate, there must be a counterbalance by teaching what is appropriate.

At Breakthrough ABA, we are proud to offer the best ABA therapy in the greater Houston area!  Our professional behavior analysts appreciate that all individuals have highly differentiated needs, so we offer services across all three environments discussed above.  We offer both center-based ABA in Houston at our Cypress clinic and in home ABA therapy in the Greater Houston Metro. Breakthrough ABA services can also be hybrid with a combination of clinic-based and home-based ABA!