The Role of Parents in ABA Therapy: Why Your Involvement is Important
Parents play a fundamental role in the success of their child in any area of life. In ABA therapy, parents have a primary role, unlike other types of therapy where the focus is more on the child. While therapists work closely with your child during sessions, your participation at home can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the therapy, as you will have the task of practicing with the child during the time the therapist is not present. Additionally, parents report new behaviors in different environments that the therapist may not have access to. By reinforcing the skills learned during ABA, you help your child generalize these skills to real-life situations. For example, if your child is learning to ask for help during therapy, encouraging them to use the same language at home will strengthen their communication skills in different environments. This will also give you a greater sense of confidence in your parenting abilities and in applying interventions across different areas of life.
Therapists will guide you on how to use specific ABA strategies, such as offering choices to prevent frustration or using token systems to reward positive behaviors. Your involvement not only helps your child develop new skills, but it also fosters a sense of consistency and security, which is especially important for children. It has been observed that when parents are involved in their child’s ABA treatment, progress is achieved more quickly, and parents feel a greater sense of self-esteem in their role.
Scenarios:
Here we provide two scenarios, one where the parent strengthens the outcomes of ABA through their participation and another where the parent hinders this development.
Example of how the parent helps meet ABA goals:
During therapy, the child is learning to ask for help when frustrated. At home, the parent consistently encourages the child to use the phrase "help, please" instead of crying or getting upset. The parent uses positive reinforcement, such as praise or a small reward, when the child successfully asks for help, creating consistency between therapy and home. This reinforces the child’s ability to generalize the skill across different environments, accelerating their progress.
Example of how the parent does not help meet ABA goals:
In therapy, the child is learning to complete tasks independently, such as putting on shoes. However, at home, when the child becomes frustrated and cries, the parent intervenes and puts the shoes on for them instead of encouraging the child to try. This inconsistency may delay progress, as the child learns that crying leads to someone completing the task for them, counteracting the goals set in therapy for achieving independence.