Havens 1

Destiny Havens

Professor Hellmers

ENG 1201

16 April 2021

ABA Therapy should be provided in schools.

There is no known cause or cure for those who are diagnosed with autism spectrum

disorder, or most other behavioral disorders but applied behavioral analysis, otherwise known

as ABA therapy, has made life much easier and normal for those with these disabilities. My

experience with ABA therapy has been an incredible adventure. My son was diagnosed with

autism at the age of 2. Following this diagnosis he was kicked out of multiple daycares and

eventually schools due to behaviors. My son was kicked out of pre-k and was on a pending

behavioral contract before I could even enroll him into kindergarten because of these

behaviors. On top of not being able to find adequate childcare or schooling, I honestly believed

that I would never hear my son's voice and I was learning how to live with that when I finally

found applied behavioral analysis. When I first enrolled my son into this therapy program, he

couldn’t tell me if he was hungry or thirsty, he couldn’t tell me if he was sad or happy, he

couldn’t tell me if he was hurt, and worst of all he couldn’t even say he loved me. Within a few

months my son was forming words and had little to no behaviors. My son has now been seeing

his behavioral therapist for almost two years and can form full sentences and tells very detailed

stories about aliens, dragons and other things that boys enjoy at a young age. His therapist also

helped him learn how to make friends and start conversations. This therapy gave my son the

help he needed to start living a somewhat normal life. Now, I am being pressured to make the
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decision on if my son should be switched to regular schooling again or continue with ABA. If my

son had a different kind of learning disability or special need a special education service would

be provided during school hours but for some odd reason ABA is not yet provided in schools,

though it is scientifically proven that this therapy is the most effective treatment for behavioral

disorders or disabilities. (Walsh, Mary Beth.) In this paper I will explain how and why ABA

therapy should be included as a special education service in schools. I will also explain how this

service could help give those with developmental disabilities a more stable schedule, free time

and a better education overall.

To fully understand the issue at hand, one must understand what ABA therapy is, what

it does and how helpful it is for the individual and their families. Applied behavioral analysis is a

form of therapy or treatment that can improve social, communication, and learning skills

through positive reinforcement. This therapy applies behavioral principles to everyday

situations to either increase or decrease targeted behaviors. (ABA Roswell) ABA therapy, if used

with an early diagnosis of autism or other behavioral disorders, has been proven to improve

and increase children's language and language development. (Siti Ithriyah) The average

language skills of children with autism increased with only one or two treatments of ABA

therapy. (Siti Ithriyah) ABA therapists help to teach parents and family members how to

measure their loved ones progress and guide them on how to work with and handle certain

behaviors. (Walsh, Mary Beth) This therapy has gone above and beyond the standards of just

“working.” It helps these children gain control of their voice, their behavior, their mind and

their life. With these kinds of results it's hard to argue against this treatment, but somehow this

treatment is still not provided as a special education service in schools.

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Special education is the instruction and support provided to students with mental,

physical, social, and/or emotional disabilities. “In the United States, legislation protects the

educational rights of children with special needs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

(IDEA) defines special education as specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to

meet the unique needs of a child with a disability.” (Angela Harmon) Currently schools can

provide speech-language, occupational, psychological services, physical therapy, occupational

therapy, therapeutic recreation, assistive technology, social work services, counseling services,

and school nurse services as special education services. (The Center for Autism Research)

These services provided in schools are meant to help students with disabilities live somewhat

normal lives and take some of the pressure off of parents in terms of educational needs.“In

1975 Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) to ensure that

children who had disabilities that negatively affect their ability to learn were provided with free

public special education.” (Angela Harmon). Children with developmental disabilities should

have the same public and easy access to services as any other special education service

according to these laws. However, all of the services listed above are provided at most public

schools at no cost because of the EHA but ABA therapy is not yet included in these services. This

means that the parent has to look outside of school to find a treatment for their child and pay

out of pocket to make sure there child has a chance at normalcy

Currently, ABA therapy is only provided at ABA specific clinics. These clinics are being

used only as outside resources that help treat those with disabilities . ABA clinics are very pricey

, ranging between $16,000 and $25,000 a year, or rely on the parents insurance to pay the cost

but not all parents are able to afford these prices. This is why it is very important for schools to
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provide these services to guarantee the student is getting the education they deserve. As a

parent of a child with a developmental disability, it is hard to decide if you should take your

child out of a traditional school setting and place them into an ABA clinic. It is also hard to find

an ABA clinic in your area and hard to get into them, due to them typically being at max

capacity for students. Children with these developmental issues thrive when they have set

routines. The way ABA services and special educational services in schools are set up does not

allow them to have this stability of routine and instead only give them unpredictable schedules.

As stated before, ABA therapy is scientifically proven to help treat those with behavioral issues

or developmental disorders. So, why is ABA not provided in the list of special education

services? Allowing this therapy into schools would take the pressure off of parents for the costs

for this therapy and finding a center near them.

Most children go to school for around eight hours then get to head home or off to an after

school sport etc. but not a child who has ABA therapy. Because these services are

provided in a clinic specifically for this service the child will either have to attend ABA

therapy full time and not go to school at all or have to go to school and therapy in one

day leaving little free time for any after school activities or family time. A typical day for

a child that has school and ABA therapy is long and requires them to attend school and

then therapy for a few hours. One dad from Colorado explains the difficulties that come

along with raising a child with autism, and the struggle of getting them to and from

school and therapy each day just to make sure they get the treatment they need. (Erica

Meltzer) Children with these disabilities already struggle with reaching normalcy but if
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ABA services were provided in school the days of these children would look a lot more

like normal kids. (Erica Meltzer) Having to place a kid in an ABA clinic after school takes

away from any after school activities they could have, free time, study/homework time

and time with their parents. Placing ABA in schools would allow these children to have a

chance at a more normal schedule and allow for other activities after school such as

football, baseball or karate. Why should a kid already dealing with a disability have to

miss out on even more just to attend a service that could be provided to them during

school hours?

So, how would ABA therapy work in a school setting? Some ABA techniques are already used in

special education and in general education programs, such as the Individualized

Education Program (IEP), the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), and the Behavioral

Intervention Plan (BIP).These techniques are just used more extensively with those in

ABA therapy. “Behavior analysis can be a powerful teaching tool regardless of the

material or students.” (Appliedbehavioralanalysis.org) These therapists can work hand

in hand with the general education teachers in making sure students are getting what

they need out of their education. “ABA therapists can be more effective when they work

with children in the classroom and can be an asset to general education

teachers.”(Meltzer, Erica.) Therapists would be able to apply their techniques while in

the general education setting with the teachers to keep the students on task and

engaged. As stated before this therapy is currently being used as a program to get them

ready for school again. Eventually the goal of the ABA therapist is to have the child

graduate the program and be able to attend a traditional school. However, even after a
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child has graduated from ABA therapy into a school program they have to be closely

monitored to make sure they are participating, understanding and benefiting from that

environment. Most often these children fall behind and get placed right back into ABA

therapy because “teachers are often not properly trained to work with children on the

spectrum and may simply allow the child to be in the classroom without active

participation.” (Christin Raches) By integrating this therapy into schools it would

eliminate the monitoring and the potential withdrawal from school back into therapy.

Parents in Colorado have already addressed the issue of the lack of support for those

with developmental disabilities in schools and have started the conversation about

getting behavioral aids into the classroom. “ David Quinlan and other parents of children

with autism are pushing for legislation that would require all school districts to allow

applied behavior analysis therapists into the classroom. This would also stop the

paralyzing decision for parents on whether or not their child should go to therapy,

school or try to fit both onto their schedule. “While IDEA does not specifically mandate

ABA services, both parents and school administrators are increasingly concluding that

such treatments offer the best outcomes for children.” (Appledbehavioralanalysis.org)

Parents and most school administrators agree that ABA therapy would be useful in

schools but the issue lies in the funding that is provided to school districts or lack

thereof.

The downside to putting ABA therapies in schools would be the cost to the community. Public

educational services are mostly government funded but when the budget has been

reached it is up to the community to help cover the cost of these services in our schools.
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(Max Marchetillo) This is where the problem lies in getting ABA services into special

educational services. These children deserve to have open access to treatment and

support for their needs just as someone in a wheelchair or a hearing impairment would

but schools are not providing these services due to a lack of funding. Schools such as

this one in Colorado are pushing back on this service due to the lack of funding or

undermining of funding they currently have for school nurses, health aides, and

school/medical supplies. (Erica Metzler) By adding this service to schools they would be

taking funding away from another service unless the community steps in to help pay for

the new costs associated with these services.

Honestly, without ABA therapy I don’t know if my son ever would have ever started talking. For

my son, this therapy gave him a chance to learn and thrive with people who understood

how to teach him. Soon he will be placed in a traditional school setting and will no

longer have the schedule he is used to or the therapists who understand his disability.

He will have to be monitored to make sure he continues to learn in this new school

environment and could potentially be placed back into therapy. This cluster of events

could be easily solved if ABA therapy was as readily available in schools as other special

education services are. Children with these disabilities, such as my son, should have the

same public and easy access to services as any other special education service. The

conversation is started but the lack of services in school is still making the lives of those

with these disabilities difficult. It is preventing them from gaining or keeping the

normalcy they need in life. Adding Applied Behavioral Analysis to schools would greatly

impact these children for the better by giving them that chance at a “normal” life.
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Bibliography

“Academy ABA Roswell Sheds Some Light on All What ABA Therapy Entails.” ABNewswire, 18
Mar. 2021.

Akin-Little, Angeleque, and Steven G. Little. “Behavioral Interventions in Schools : Evidence-

Based Positive Strategies. Second Addition,” American Psychological Association, 2019.
Accessed 8 April, 2021

“Applied Behavioral Analysis for Special Education Services.” Applied Behavioral Analysis
Education organization. 2021 Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Education Teachers
(appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org). Accessed 2 April, 2021

Autism Research Institute: Advocates for Autism. 2021 The Autism Research Institute |
Advocates for Autism Science | Home. Accessed 8 April, 2021

Furukawa, Toshi A., et al. “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Modifies the Naturalistic Course of
Social Anxiety Disorder: Findings from an ABA Design Study in Routine Clinical
Practices.” Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, vol. 67, no. 3, Apr. 2013, p. 139.
Accessed 7 April, 2021

Harmon, Angela. “Special Education.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. Accessed 20 April 2021

Marchitello, Max, et al. “California’s Special Education Funding System Creates Challenges and
Opportunities for District and Charter Schools.” Bellwether Education Partners,
Bellwether Education Partners, 1 May 2019. Accessed 20 April 2021

Meltzer, Erica. “Parents of students with autism want behavior therapists allowed in Colorado
classrooms.” The Colorado Sun. Thecoloradosun.com, 3, March 2020. Accessed 8, April
2021.

Raches, Christine and James, Christy. “Child Development - Choosing Between ABA therapy and
School.” Indiana School of Medicine. 27, December 2018. Child Development - Choosing
Between ABA therapy and School (iu.edu) Accessed 7 April, 2021

Simons Foundation. Spectrum News. 2021 Spectrum | Autism Research News & Opinion
(spectrumnews.org). Accessed 6, April 2021
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Siti Ithriyah. “Effectiveness of ABA Therapy for Children with Special Needs of Autism: A Study
of Psycholinguistics View.” Ethical Lingua: Journal of Language Teaching and Literature,
vol. 5, no. 2, Sept. 2018, pp. 149–158.
https://doaj.org/article/e4c0faf1f60e40d7a4bc229127c7f0d7 Accessed 8 April, 2021

The Center for Autism Research and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. “WHAT KINDS OF
SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE?” 29 May 2020
https://www.carautismroadmap.org/what-kinds-of-special-education-services-are-available/
Accessed 20, April 2021

Walsh, Mary Beth. “The Top 10 Reasons Children With Autism Deserve ABA.” National Center
for Biotechnology Information. 2011. The Top 10 Reasons Children With Autism Deserve
ABA (nih.gov). Accessed 7, April 2021