Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry I don’t have a teen but ABA was transformative for my HFA child. He had a hard time with social skills to include interrupting, talking about things out of context etc. The therapists were young and energetic and played so many games with him and taught him how to interact. I think if you could find someone who could coach your son in this manner maybe there could be a benefit. We did also have a horrible ABA and I think about that and feel bad I put my 6 yo through that. At 8 though he’s doing great.

That's speech therapy, not ABA.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_behavior_analysis

It's great that clinics doing speech therapy and calling it ABA for advertising/billing , instead of actual (bad) ABA.
But you can also skip the ABA facade and go directly to a speech therapist.

What makes you think it was speech therapy? Did I miss something?

Anonymous wrote:Sorry I don’t have a teen but ABA was transformative for my HFA child. He had a hard time with social skills to include interrupting, talking about things out of context etc. The therapists were young and energetic and played so many games with him and taught him how to interact. I think if you could find someone who could coach your son in this manner maybe there could be a benefit. We did also have a horrible ABA and I think about that and feel bad I put my 6 yo through that. At 8 though he’s doing great.

I'd love to know which practice worked for your child as well, and if you're able to share the name of the practice/therapist that did NOT work, that would be helpful as well. Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry I don’t have a teen but ABA was transformative for my HFA child. He had a hard time with social skills to include interrupting, talking about things out of context etc. The therapists were young and energetic and played so many games with him and taught him how to interact. I think if you could find someone who could coach your son in this manner maybe there could be a benefit. We did also have a horrible ABA and I think about that and feel bad I put my 6 yo through that. At 8 though he’s doing great.

That's speech therapy, not ABA.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_behavior_analysis

It's great that clinics doing speech therapy and calling it ABA for advertising/billing , instead of actual (bad) ABA.
But you can also skip the ABA facade and go directly to a speech therapist.

So you think qualified BCBAs are passing off speech therapy as ABA? What is your clinical background?

Anonymous wrote:Sorry I don’t have a teen but ABA was transformative for my HFA child. He had a hard time with social skills to include interrupting, talking about things out of context etc. The therapists were young and energetic and played so many games with him and taught him how to interact. I think if you could find someone who could coach your son in this manner maybe there could be a benefit. We did also have a horrible ABA and I think about that and feel bad I put my 6 yo through that. At 8 though he’s doing great.

That's speech therapy, not ABA.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_behavior_analysis

It's great that clinics doing speech therapy and calling it ABA for advertising/billing , instead of actual (bad) ABA.
But you can also skip the ABA facade and go directly to a speech therapist.

For the previous poster, would you mind sharing your ABA practice?

Sorry I don’t have a teen but ABA was transformative for my HFA child. He had a hard time with social skills to include interrupting, talking about things out of context etc. The therapists were young and energetic and played so many games with him and taught him how to interact. I think if you could find someone who could coach your son in this manner maybe there could be a benefit. We did also have a horrible ABA and I think about that and feel bad I put my 6 yo through that. At 8 though he’s doing great.

He needs something intensive as any type of therapy that occurs once a week is not effective for him. I also like that ABA occurs in the home where the therapist can witness his behaviors, as opposed to in an office where he is always on his best behavior and portrays everything to be just fine. That has not been helpful at all.
My son is very immature and, if he had his way, he would sit on his computer all day long playing video games and never stepping outside. So, while he is age 16, it feels like we are dealing with a much younger child. There is A LOT of background here, but I do not feel that he knows what is best for him.
Has anyone had success with ABA for their teen?

Anonymous wrote:Depending on the challenges a social skills group or therapy are likely to be more effective.

You could also look at Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It has a terrible name but seems to be a more focused type of CBT I have seen work for teens on the spectrum.

Uneducated response

Anonymous wrote:Your child is nowhere near the profile of an ABA candidate (and it's questionable if anyone is.).

Have you asked your nearly adult son for his opinion?

Anonymous wrote:My son was diagnosed at 11, and ABA was suggested. We ultimately decided against it because it didn’t seem age appropriate.

ABA does NOT have an age limit.

Depending on the challenges a social skills group or therapy are likely to be more effective.

You could also look at Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It has a terrible name but seems to be a more focused type of CBT I have seen work for teens on the spectrum.

Your child is nowhere near the profile of an ABA candidate (and it's questionable if anyone is.).

Have you asked your nearly adult son for his opinion?

My son was diagnosed at 11, and ABA was suggested. We ultimately decided against it because it didn’t seem age appropriate.

We are doing ABA but for a much younger child. Most of the companies will do home visits. We are using Brighter Strides ABA. Verbal Beginnings was also recommended to us.

My 16-year-old son waas just recently diagnosed with mild Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have been reading about ABA therapy. Has anyone had a good experience with it and actually seen results/change in their teen child? Any recommendations for good ABA therapists in the area would be greatly appreciated. I'm in Montgomery County and prefer a therapist that will come to our home.
Thank you.