Autism

Homebased Services for Children with Autism

by Ashley Lengyel
On 27 October, 2020

"When children feel safe development takes off and they can reach their highest potential.” - Dr. Mona Delahooke

The home is the first learning environment that children enter when they are born. In the home setting, they learn communication, self-help skills, how to interact with peers and adults, and so much more. Due to the different forms of parenting needed for children with special needs, parents may be interested in receiving home-based ABA therapy services vs center-based. With home-based ABA therapy services, parents receive parent training and get to see directly how to teach their children to learn novel skills. In addition, the child can learn in an environment in which they are already comfortable. In the absence of the therapist, the parents can follow through with prompts and teaching techniques that further the learning process for the child.

Here are some ways home-based ABA services can be beneficial:

Naturalistic Learning – The child gets to learn in their environment. The behavior analyst gets to observe the environment in which the skill will be taking place and make recommendations for adjustment of the environment to ensure optimal success in the child’s ability to care out the skill.
Teaching Sibling/Peer Interaction – If your child has siblings or family friends whom they engage with on a regular basis, the behavior analyst can assist with teaching various social skills such as sharing and turn-taking. The behavior analyst also assists with helping the other sibling/peer know how to engage with their sibling/peer. For example, a timer may be introduced to help with assessing the duration of turn with a toy when sharing.
Support – Parents have hands-on support with navigating behaviors, teaching skills, and how to respond. This also provides parents with encouragement that they are not on the journey alone.