FAQ: Will ABA Change My Child's Personality?

The Straight Answer

No. It shouldn’t. Real ABA is tailored to each child and works along with their personality. Therefore, if anything, it should actually foster the confidence and autonomy to allow their personality to flourish!

Why the Misconception?

In past times, ABA has taken a more coercive and compliance based approach. For example, forcing eye contact, attempting to stop (safe) stimming and attempting to force masking. In application, this can suppress one’s true personality, and add additional stress to their already taxed nervous systems. But what about now?

The Reality

Like any medical field, ABA has come a long way in shaping the practice to support autistic individuals, not supress them. ABA clinics now do not force habits that are wholly unnecessary and may be needlessly stressful to autistic individuals like eye contact, or supress sensory needs that may be met through (safe) stimming. The focus is put, not on attempting to make an autistic child “normal,” but on teaching that child skills to navigate the world with as little additional stress as possible. For example, an autistic child may not know how to effectively communicate their needs, resulting in unsafe behaviors, confusion from others, and isolation and frustration for the individual themselves. ABA can come alongside that child, using evidence based and child led approaches to understand where the child is coming from, why they are behaving the way they are, and what would help them to communicate their need in a way that is simple for both them and those to which they need to communicate it to. This fosters connection between the child and their community, as well as autonomy and confidence because the child is growing their ability to express themselves. ABA can help a child to connect with those around them, access and implement coping skills effectively, understand themselves and their needs, succeed in the the things they want to do, and all-in-all spend less time feeling stressed and more time being them.

So no, ABA will not change your child’s personality. Each and every child is unique and deserves the opportunity to live their life to the full—and that’s exactly what we aim to do.

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What is it? NET is one of the main ways that children practice and learn social, emotional and behavioral skills in ABA Therapy. As the name suggests, this style of teaching leans into the natural environment, utilizing play sessions to teach a child how to safely interact, communicate, and regulate. How does this work? How it Works During an NET session, the client comes into contact with many different toys, people, choices and interactions. All of these can be utilized in a fun and engaging way to naturally expand and test a child’s abilities. NET also allows the client opportunity to choose what to play with, building confidence and rapport with those around them. This allows the skills taught during ABA to become more relevant to the child’s life and easier to generalize into their daily routine. NET can also encourage a child to WANT to learn more, being that what they are learning highly relates to activities and people that they prefer to engage with. When it Shines NET is often paired with structured learning as well. This is sometimes referred to as “DTT” or “Table Time.” During these sessions, a child learns how to perform tasks such as labeling items/people, answering questions, following simple directions or imitating gross motor movements in a structured environment. These skills are then naturally brought up during NET. For example, let’s say a child learns the word “apple” during Table Time. Then, in a play session using the play kitchen, the child interacts with a toy apple. The therapist may make use of this, bringing the apple into play. By utilizing these two forms together, the child gets a vary well rounded session.