I just got an iPhone, and I'm an app addict. I've got a button to quickly check the weather in case of rain. I've got a button to get directions in case I'm lost. I've even got a lightsaber button with appropriate sounds and music...just in case. It's like the commercial says. Got a problem? "There's an app for that."

Competent programming in ABA therapy is like iPhone apps. Sure, there are basic programs like learning to request for objects or answer basic social questions. But a good behavior consultant can identify particular deficits for an individual child and design programs accordingly. Problems with joint attention? There's a program for that. Your child won't raise his hand in class? There's a program for that. Your child doesn't seem to care if he wins or loses a game?...Your child cares too much? Yep, there are programs for that too.

ABA therapy isn't a cookie-cutter approach with a list of specific skills that must be taught and mastered by all children. ABA therapy is an approach based on the scientific principles of applied behavior analysis, with different research studies demonstrating different results with different procedures used on different children, and all this information can be used by an experienced behavior consultant to design individualized programming for a child with autism.

Need to teach a skill? Let's design a program for that. That's a core philosophy I learned at the Lovaas Institute.