5 Everyday ABA Strategies Parents Can Use at Home

Parenting a child with autism or behavioral challenges is a journey full of love, patience, and—let’s be honest—some days where you wish you had just ONE more tool in your back pocket. That’s where ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) can help. While it’s often used in therapy sessions, many strategies work beautifully at home too. And the best part? You don’t have to be a therapist to use them. 👀

Here are five simple, family-friendly ABA strategies you can start using in your daily routine to support your child’s growth, independence, and confidence.

1. Positive Reinforcement: Celebrate the Wins

One of the most effective ABA tools is also the simplest—celebrating the behaviors you want to see more of.

Example: If your child puts away their toys, follow it with praise: “I love how you cleaned up right when I asked—thank you!”. If you want to kick it up a notch, you can offer a small reward like extra lovin’, extra playtime or a fist bump. You know your child best and some kids may give you a side eye if you clap and cheer (yes…. I’ve been turned down a lot in my career by my threenagers).

The key is being specific, consistent, and genuine. Instead of a generic “Good job,” let them know exactly what you’re proud of. That little detail goes a long way.

2. Visual Schedules: Take the Guesswork Out of the Day

Kids thrive when they know what’s coming next, and visual schedules make that crystal clear.

Example: Create a simple picture chart with the day’s events—breakfast, playtime, bath, bedtime. Photos, drawings, or printable icons all work.

Visuals help reduce anxiety, make transitions smoother, and give your child a sense of control over their day.

3. First-Then/When-Then Statements: Set Clear Expectations

This is a go-to strategy for reducing power struggles while building structure.

Example: “First we brush teeth, then we read your favorite book” OR “When our toys are in the bin, then we can go outside”

It helps kids connect a less-preferred activity (like brushing teeth) with a preferred one (like storytime). Clear, simple, and predictable.

4. Modeling: Be the Example

Sometimes the best teaching tool is simply showing the behavior yourself.

Example: Want your child to learn how to ask for help? Try: “I need help opening this jar. Can you please help me?”

Kids learn so much by watching the people around them. The more they see a skill modeled, the more likely they are to try it out themselves.

5. Offer Choices: Build Independence

Giving kids small, meaningful choices throughout the day helps them feel empowered and reduces resistance.

Example: “Do you want to wear the red shirt or the blue shirt?” or “Do you want to start with blocks or puzzles?”

Even limited choices build communication, independence, and problem-solving skills.

Final Thoughts

ABA at home doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Small, intentional changes in your routines can create structure, lower stress, and open doors for your child’s growth.

Remember—it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. Every small win matters.

Want more tips like this? Follow us on social or reach out at amarilys@amabehavioralconsulting.com to see how our team can support your family’s unique journey.

Can ABA Help My Child with ADHD?

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Can ABA help your child with ADHD?

Research shows that ABA therapy is evidence-based therapy that can help other diagnoses including ADHD. Research shows that a combination of ABA therapy and medication can make significant changes in a child’s behavior. 

Oftentimes, we’ve worked with children who engage in behaviors that may seem “impulsive”, “off-task” and “disruptive” to others in their environment. From our experience, some of these behaviors typically have a reasoning as to why they're occurring. Sometimes the learner may be engaging in these behaviors because they cannot communicate their wants and needs. Sometimes these learners cannot concentrate on their tasks because they are distracted by something in their environment. Sometimes these learners don’t realize they are being disruptive with their actions to others around them. 

Step right up Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)! What do we do in these types of situations? One of our primary goals in ABA is to provide our learners with the tools to help them advocate for themselves. We teach our learners to request for needs and wants appropriately instead of being impulsive and grabbing whatever they may need (be it materials or someone's attention).

We observe the learner in their natural environment and analyze the patterns of their behaviors. We conduct in depth analysis of their environment to determine what could be distracting them in times that they are off-task. We add tools to help them cope in environments that may be overstimulating to them. 

We provide our learners with tools to teach them recognize the behaviors they are engaging in and then help them correct this behavior (should it need to be corrected). One of our learners had a very challenging time completing tasks that involved more than 1 step (i.e. homework). We created a visual support to help with the completion of these steps. We then taught him self-management strategies to keep himself on track and complete these tasks from start to finish. An example of this program can be found below. We also taught this learner to track his “on-task” behavior using a vibrating timer at every 3 minute interval. When the timer went off, he had to evaluate his current actions and label if he was on or off task. Depending on the current action, he would either continue working OR redirect himself to the task he was supposed to be engaging in. This strategy was taken from Finn et al in 2014. 

In summary, ABA can be of immense help in helping your child with ADHD. Board Certified Behavior Analyst will evaluate your child’s current skill set, help create programs to help them develop the skills they need to communicate and teach any replacement or self-management behaviors to help them in the most challenging times of their day. Give us a call to learn more about how we can help! 

Resource: 

Finn, Lisa & Ramasamy, Rangasamy & Dukes, Charles & Scott, John. (2014). Using WatchMinder to Increase the On-Task Behavior of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 45. 10.1007/s10803-014-2300-x. 

Therapies that help a child with an Autism Diagnosis...

Read Time: 8 Minutes

Your child has received a diagnosis and you are provided with a list of recommended therapies and acronyms you may have never heard of. Don’t worry! We are here to help! We hope that this blog can help you understand what each of these therapies mean and how they will benefit your child. 

1. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA Therapy): Your child may have been referred to ABA or Applied Behavior Analysis therapy. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the application of the principles of learning and motivation from behavior analysis which produce socially significant changes through the analysis, observation, design, implementation and evaluation of past and current environmental events (antecedents and consequences). ABA therapy programs will help your child increase functional communication and language, attention, social skills, memory and academics. There is also an emphasis on decreasing any challenging behaviors that the child may exhibit by teaching the child self regulation or replacement behaviors. ABA therapy can be provided in a variety of settings including home, school, clinic, community and group home settings. ABA therapy is individualized for each child and their family. Opportunities for parent support and collaboration with other professionals who are working with the child are also a part of our treatment plans. - Amarilys Morales, M.S., Board Certified Behavior Analyst

2. Pediatric occupational therapy (OT) is focused on assisting children develop and enhance the skills that they require to grow and function throughout the various stages of development and into adulthood. Developmental delays, neurological impairments, physical impairment, and a host of other areas can hamper a child's ability to perform common tasks or progress at the developmentally expected level through the stages of motor, social, or cognitive development. Focus areas can include fine motor skills, visual motor skills, coordination, sensory integration, self-regulation, and strengthening to assist children with the ability to perform daily tasks and socialize at an age appropriate level. - Kathleen Pici, OTR/L, CAS

3. Pediatric Speech Therapy is specialized in developing and enhancing children’s ability to both express and understand verbal and written language. Various areas of focus include auditory processing, receptive language, expressive language, articulation, pragmatic skills, apraxia, dysfluency, and oral motor strengthening. In addition to communication skills, speech therapists can work on assisting a child that is experiencing feeding difficulties. Developmental delays, neurological impairments, as well as physical impairments can impact a child’s ability to produce language, understand language, and tolerate eating/swallowing age appropriate foods. - Kathleen Pici, OTR/L, CAS

4. Physical Therapy (PT) Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit motor impairments that include deficits in visual-motor and bilateral coordination, low tone, motor apraxia, toe walking and/or gross motor delays. Physical activity poses a challenge for those on the spectrum due to poor motor functioning, low motivation, and trouble engaging in a team environment. Children with ASD also have a higher incidence of obesity due to the movement difficulties that they face. Physical therapists have the ability to improve motor delay, increase social participation, and decrease developmental and daily functional obstacles that exist. Physical therapists treat gross motor delay by improving strength, gross motor skills, stability, stretching tight and underdeveloped musculature, and helping the child gain confidence in day-to-day activities and participation in sports. -Karly Zengel, PT, DPT

5. Licensed Psychologist: You may also be referred to a licensed school psychologist. Some licensed school psychologists also complete private psychoeducational evaluations. Psychoeducational assessments are completed for a variety of purposes, including eligibility determination for special education and related services, evaluation of progress, and the development of appropriate behavioral and/or educational interventions. Evaluations may include assessment of domains including, but not limited to: intellectual, academic, cognitive processing, adaptive, and social/emotional development. These results can be shared with the schools to assist in determining the need for a 504 Plan, Individual Education Plan (IEP), or College Board exam accommodation. Some licensed school psychologist may also assess for Learning Disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia), academically gifted program (AGP), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and more. Licensed school psychologists help to find a child's strengths and weaknesses so you can walk away with a clear path to what they can do to help your child. The testing will provide concrete strategies and recommendations on what to do next  to help your child become more successful at school and home. -Stacy Zebrick, Licensed School Psychologist

As you can see, each professional and field has skills to help your child be successful in various areas. When providers collaborate with each other, we see the most significant differences in our children. We also always encourage our families to read about evidence-based practices that are available to your child as these will make the most significant differences. A special THANK YOU TO our wonderful community partners for sharing what they do with our readers!

Should you have any questions or would like to receive a copy of our referral list for Hillsborough County, please contact us!

Teaching Your Child/Adult to Tolerate Wearing a Mask

Read time: 5 minutes

For some of our children/adults, clothing in general may present discomfort. With the pandemic we are facing today, it may be necessary for your child or adult to wear a mask while out in public. In this article we will teach you 5 steps to help your child/adult tolerate wearing a mask while out in public. 

1. Allow the child/adult to become familiar with the mask by playing with it, modeling how it is used on a favorite stuffed animal or on yourself. We want our child/adult to know that there is nothing scary about the mask! 

2. As part of the teaching process, we can use a social story if the child/adult understands the concept. We would not solely suggest this as the only method but it may be helpful if the child/adult understands the information being provided. A link to a social story about wearing masks can be found here: Wearing a Mask Social Story

3. When the child/adult has become more familiar with the mask, begin requiring that the child/adult wear the mask and time how long they are able to tolerate it. This will be our starting point! If the child/adult takes it off after 1 minute, we may need to start at 45 seconds and provide praise and lots of reinforcement once you hit 45 seconds when you practice. 

4. We will then start increasing the time required to wear the mask. If we had 3 successful times of tolerating the mask at 45 seconds, we can then move onto 1 minute, then 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 10 minutes and so on while doing other things at the same time (i.e. reading a book, playing with blocks, going for a walk). Our mission is to increase the time gradually and successfully while making the process for the child/adult less aversive. This is a procedure we call shaping. Think of it as creating the shape of a clay bowl: we must work on the small steps over and over again until we can achieve our biggest goal.  

5. The next step will be to test in the natural environment. Take your child/adult to a place where a mask may be required (i.e. grocery store). Remind the child/adult of the expectations before arriving and remind them of what was practiced at home. If the child/adult does not tolerate the mask in a public place, we may need to take a few steps back and test again to see where we need to work on and try again. 

Additional COVID-19 social stories: Autism Little Learners

We hope these steps are useful to you in these times! If you have any questions, please email me at amarilys@amabehavioralconsulting.com

Teaching Your Child To Be More Independent

Read Time: 5 minutes

Teaching activities of daily living are one of my favorite areas to teach as a behavior analyst. With each daily living skill I teach, I am able to provide each learner with a skill that they will be able to perform for the rest of their lives. We are able to teach a range of daily living skills from riding a bike, to getting dressed, to learning how to dial a caregivers phone number to making food for themselves.

As behavior analyst, we individualize our teaching procedures for each of our learners. We will talk about the three primary ways we teach a long list of steps like teaching activities of daily living. 

Selecting a teaching technique varies greatly by the learner. It is important to consider the following: 

1. How many steps does the learner already know?

2. Will the child need to access to reinforcement quickly (i.e. a break, praise, etc)?

3. How strong are the child’s motor skills (as this will influence how much prompting will be required)?

The first technique is forward chaining. In forward chaining, we teach each learner to complete the very first step of the task and help them through the rest of the steps in the task. Once the first step has been acquired, the second step is taught. When the second step is acquired, the third step is taught and so on. For example, when teaching a child to comb their hair, the first step would be to teach him/her to pick up the hair brush and prompt through the rest of the steps. Once the child has acquired picking up the hair brush on their own, we would then require the learner to pick up the brush (step 1) and place the brush on their head (step 2) and so on until we are able to require them to complete the entire task. 

The second technique is backward chaining. In backward chaining we only require the learner to complete the final step of the task. Similar to forward chaining the learner is taught one step at a time and then required to complete the acquired step and the previous step in the routine. When teaching shoe tying, the learner would be helped through the entire task and then required to complete the last step (i.e. pulling the loops to complete the tie). Once this final step is mastered, the learner would be required to make the loops and also pull the loops to complete the tie. The same sequence would continue until the learner knows all of the steps.

The final technique used is called total task chaining. In this technique the learner is taught the entire task receiving assistance as needed. This technique is great to use if the learner already knows some of the steps and may only need a little assistance. When teaching to make a PB and J sandwich, the learner may know how to gather the ingredients to make the sandwich but may need assistance with spreading the peanut butter and jelly and putting the ingredients away. In this example, the person assisting would refrain from prompting the learner in the areas they know and assist in the steps the learner has not yet acquired. 

Our learner in this video, learned to complete his shoe tying task using forward chaining in which we taught the first steps of the chain and continued to add on to the task as he acquired the steps. In a very short period of time, our lovely guy was asking for the rest of the steps to complete the task on his own! We are so proud of him! You may also be able to hear his brother providing him with positive reinforcement by cheering him on!

Graphed through Central Reach