Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

ABA should be fun. Plain and simple. There are so many ways to teach, learn, and grow, while having fun. A motto of mine in the workplace is that if you’re not having fun with your clients, your clients probably aren’t having fun with you either. And if there’s not fun, then there’s not a productive learning environment.

There’s so many ways we can put the fun into ABA sessions- when we’re working on an early learner identifying colors, we can finger paint and have a creative, sensory immersion experience while we do it. While we’re learning what different textures mean, we can go outside and sit in the grass. We can feel rough sticks, smooth rocks, and cool water while grounding ourselves in nature.

Potty training? It’s a potty party. We can sing songs, read our favorite books, and learn imitation skills along the way by making silly faces in the mirror. Food tolerance therapy? We’re all dinosaurs, munching on broccoli trees and stomping grape boulders with our big, scary Dino-teeth. Learning opportunities are all around us- we are all learning and growing as humans each and every day.

A trademark of a high-quality teacher is the ability to identify and introduce these learning opportunities in the most naturalistic of ways- always meeting the learner where they’re at and following their guide and interests. Letters can be learned by writing our name in the sand, or by practicing reading the labels while picking out our favorite donut flavor.

But life isn’t fun all the time, shouldn’t kids learn that in therapy, like they would in school? Absolutely correct. As young as kindergarten, kids begin to learn that we can’t always have fun. We are required to work during certain times of the day and play during certain times of the day.

So how does “fun all day” therapy teach these skills? As in any environment, there are still rules; for safety and productivity. We focus on teaching tolerance of less preferred activities, as well as self-advocacy and problem-solving skills to make tough situations a little bit easier. This is a skill many of us are still learning in adulthood- even though something isn’t fun, we can find creative solutions to make it less not-fun.

Writing with our favorite pencil, listening to soft music to help us focus, choosing a book based on our interests for free reading time- there are so many resources all around us that we can utilize and contrive to make our days a little more fun. As a child (or adult) begins to recognize this, we develop self-advocacy and coping skills to take with us throughout our lives

In ABA, we should be using as many natural based consequences as possible. These are things that are indicative of the environment around us, not a rule that’s made by an adult. If we are being silly and dump a box of crayons, we have to pick them all back up  (and they never go back in the same way). If we climb on a wet playground, we may slip and fall.

Natural consequences hold such high value with learners (which is all of us humans) because they are a direct result of their behavior on the environment, as opposed to someone else’s requirements. There is a direct correlation between the action and the consequence. 

Fun is all around us. The ability to pull the fun into ordinary environments is what marks a phenomenal teacher. When we can make work feel like play, we can increase our learning ability, productivity, and enjoyments of our days. The roots of this can be taught through creativity, coping skills, and self-advocacy from a young age- and this is why it’s important to make ABA fun.

Enjoy!