...Okay, so maybe it is a four-letter word, but not the bad kind!
Very often when people think about Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), they immediately picture a miserable-looking child sitting at a desk with a therapist who is running mass trials (i.e. drilling the child). The therapist presents all instructions and praise using a monotone and robotic voice, then pats the child on the head, hands over a cookie, and records some data. Yes, I too have seen these scary YouTube videos! I'll be honest with you: these types of therapists and programs do exist. In my opinion, this type of therapy is grossly outdated. This is what you need to know: although that type of ABA may exist, it does not represent all therapists or all programs. It certainly does not represent our "Getting the Words Out" team, if we haven't already made that clear! Our core behavioral belief system is probably pretty consistent with those therapists [see posts on ABA and Behavior Modification], but our implementation and practice is quite different! It's those old-school-totally-uncool-therapists who give our beloved ABA a bad reputation!
