ABA still the best treatment

Recently the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced plans to change autism diagnostic categories in the newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.  What is most significant about this is that a broad category of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been proposed that will include Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDDNOS).  In other words, Asperger’s and PDD will no longer be considered a stand- alone diagnosis.

The news has left many confused how this would affect treatment of the disorder and whether or not services would be cut. However, because behavior analysis focuses on behaviors, regardless of the diagnosis, treatment standards should remain the same.   Treating children diagnosed with ASD using applied behavior analysis (ABA), is still the best practice. ABA is the study of behavior and the relationship between behaviors and the environmental factors that trigger and maintain those behaviors.  When we understand what purpose a behavior is serving, we can work to change it.  Any quality ABA program should treat each child as unique, focusing on his/her individual needs and not the label or diagnosis.