Parents in ABA therapy often face challenges like school issues, buy-in, and burnout—but clear communication and teamwork can help families stay on track.
It’s no secret that I am a believer in applied behavior analysis. I have my bachelor’s in psychology and my master’s in ABA. I started as a behavior technician years ago and have made my way up to working as a BCBA. I have taken jobs as an assistant in research, a tutor for ABA students, and have written many articles along the way. If you’ve skimmed any of the articles I’ve written, you’d know that I am a strong advocate for high-quality ABA services. If you’ve done a deep dive on some of the articles I’ve written, you’d know I am a fan of 2000s dad rock. Kudos to anybody who has found the hidden lyrics!
Even as an ABA-liever, I know that there are challenges parents face when starting ABA that, if not handled properly, can make therapy less effective. In this article, I want to highlight the most common of these challenges and offer tips on how parents can handle them and get the most out of the ABA experience.
- Understanding the Parents’ Role in ABA
- Challenge 1: Navigating School Collaboration
- Challenge 2: Getting “Buy-In” From Other Adults
- Challenge 3: Concerns With Behavior Technicians (BTs)
- Challenge 4: Managing Expectations and Progress
- Challenge 5: Balancing ABA With Family Life
- Challenge 6: Emotional Hurdles for Parents
- Final Thoughts
Understanding the Parents’ Role in ABA
Before I go into some of the most specific challenges, it is important to go over the importance of caregiver involvement in ABA.
Behavior technicians are the ones who run ABA sessions, but ABA principles should ideally be applied across all settings with everyone. This is where caregivers come in. If the BCBA has created a behavior plan that a behavior technician has started implementing, it is important for the parents to continue it at home. If the behavior technician is working on a particular skill, parents should try and find ways to implement said skills into their daily routine outside of therapy time.
Parent involvement is a solid predictor in long-term success of ABA. Consistency is important in therapy, including between sessions when the child is spending time without behavior technicians present. For example, if the child is learning to use words to request items that they want, the parents should be having them practice the skill outside of sessions, too. Parents are the key in helping children bridge the gap between the things that they’ve learned in a structured environment and the real world.
Challenge 1: Navigating School Collaboration
A big challenge for parents is coordinating with the child’s school. I’ve worked with enough schools in my career to know that sometimes, they are not the easiest to deal with. They are often juggling many students, IEPs, staff, programs, resource limitations, and budgets that can make it hard for children to receive the services they need in a timely manner.
Some school special education departments do not include ABA services and may be unfamiliar with how they work. Some classrooms may not be as equipped as others to run behavior plans and programs due to a lack of support or a lack of paraprofessionals. There are a lot of ways things can go wrong in schools, and sadly, it is on the parents to make sure that their child is getting what they need.
The best way to build a strong partnership between schools and the child’s ABA therapy is through continuous communication. Parents should always try to share data, progress, goals, and successful strategies with their child’s teachers. If possible, parents can try to coordinate a meeting between everyone, including the school and ABA professionals, so that everybody is aligned. Or, having the child’s BCBA sit in during IEP meetings can be incredibly helpful for everyone. If school administration is not cooperative or is hard to navigate, BCBAs are typically happy to help parents figure out how to best approach the situation.
As a BCBA, I can honestly say that teachers are open to behavioral strategies and possible interventions to use in the classroom. The main struggle for teachers is that with a classroom full of children, some specific types of behavior plans can be hard to implement without extra assistance. This is why having collaboration between the ABA professionals and teachers can be helpful, even if ABA services cannot be provided in school.
Approach meetings with the mindset that you and the teachers have a common goal: helping your child succeed in the best possible way they can.
Obtén terapia ABA en casa, con cariño
Completa el formulario para conversar sobre cómo tu hijo puede comenzar la terapia rápidamente y sin estrés:
- Therapists Available
- Help With Insurance
- Quick Response
Challenge 2: Getting “Buy-In” From Other Adults
Even with the success I’ve had teaching children skills and reducing problem behaviors, I’ve certainly come across my fair share of skeptics. Sometimes, not all family members are on board with the interventions that are used.
This is especially true when the interventions are not typically used with neurotypical children. Or, the intervention takes some time before it is effective, and so implementing a program doesn’t seem to be making any meaningful changes.
Whatever the reason, having even one adult who does not “buy into” treatment can certainly cause problems. More specifically, this situation can lead to something called behavioral contrast. Behavioral contrast occurs when a child’s behavior changes depending on the environment or the person they are with. For example, if a child uses curse words around their friends but not around their parents, this would be a behavioral contrast. This can occur with any problem behaviors that a child might engage in.
Behavioral contrast can also lead to the behavior occurring in new areas or even eventually reoccurring in environments where the behavior was previously diminished. A colleague of mine experienced this when her client started engaging in aggression more often. The behavior had stopped occurring after a successful intervention, but started to recur when the child started spending half of his time at his father’s house. The child’s father did not buy into treatment, and so the client started engaging in aggression there. Over time, the client’s aggression began to recur at his mother’s house and at school.
This BCBA figured out the solution by showing the client’s father tangible evidence that the intervention worked. The client’s mother had also voiced her support for the intervention, and the client’s teacher also got involved in supporting the intervention to the client’s father. It took a team, but thankfully, the father started to participate. Talking to all adults who are involved in the child’s life is important to ensure that all members are on the same page.
Challenge 3: Concerns With Behavior Technicians (BTs)
Sometimes, there are concerns with the behavior technician assigned to work with your child. When behavior technicians start calling out excessively, stop running trials correctly, are not properly trained, or are just not a great personality fit, parents can feel like they are in an uncomfortable and frustrating position.
If at any point parents feel like their behavior technician is not working up to the right standards, I implore them to communicate concerns with the BCBA immediately. Voicing concerns as soon as they arise is always the best possible course of action. Sometimes, a bit more training and some support are all that a behavior technician needs to get back on course. In some cases, a new behavior technician assignment may be best.
Challenge 4: Managing Expectations and Progress
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Rome wasn’t even built in a few weeks. For ABA sessions, it is most certainly a marathon and not a sprint. Parents can find this frustrating, especially when they are seeing targets being run that seem irrelevant to what they want their children to be working on. They don’t understand why a child might be working on matching targets when they want their child to be able to complete their homework on their own. This can be especially frustrating if the child engages in a lot of problem behaviors.
I know it seems like a big ask, but trust in the child’s BCBA. If there are concerns or questions, do not be afraid to bring them up. BCBAs love graphs and data, and they would be more than happy to share progress with caregivers. As for the targets that seem irrelevant to significant progress, each target presented is with good reason. Sometimes, prerequisite skills must be worked on before bigger goals are targeted. This can make progress seem a lot slower than it actually is, but in time, these mastered prerequisite skills set them up to master the bigger skills that parents often like to see.
It is also important to know that progress does not look the same for all children. We can write goals and work on them as much as possible, but some children might achieve things at a slower pace.
Some children’s progress also might look different from the parents’ expectations of what progress may be. Some children may not learn to speak, but they might succeed in learning to communicate in other ways. Some children may take longer to learn how to brush their teeth because they need to build their gross and fine motor skills.
Parents might find it helpful to reach out to other parents and their BCBA to help manage expectations on what progress may look like. They should also focus on celebrating the small wins. After all, the small wins are what make the entire progress successful.
Challenge 5: Balancing ABA With Family Life
ABA sessions are often every day for multiple hours a day. In-home sessions require a significant time commitment, and a caregiver must be home during that time. Obviously, life happens, and some sessions will need to be canceled or rescheduled, but for the most part, there will be a behavior technician in the home daily. This can also be stressful for siblings, since their brother or sister who receives services may be the person they enjoy spending time with after school in the home. This also means that any absences, sickness, vacations, funerals, appointments, traffic, blown pipes, and other schedule-changing events need to be shared with the ABA team as soon as they come up. There are already hundreds of things that parents have to balance in their daily lives, so adding such a time commitment to the schedule can obviously cause a lot of stress.
Parents can make this obstacle a bit easier by finding ways to include others in the session, talking to the behavior technician, and trying to find ways to alleviate burnout if they start to feel it setting in. Siblings typically want to be involved in sessions. They are fun and engaging, so it’s no surprise that they want to play too. This is a great time for behavior technicians to work on social type goals, turn-taking, coping skills, and many others. Just be sure to prepare the sibling for times when they may not be able to participate or when they may need to play a more supportive role.
Parents can also find comfort in knowing that the behavior technician is trained and able to care for the child while you are in another area of the home. Some parents may feel the need to be in the same room supervising sessions, but this is not necessary. Of course, I always encourage parents to be involved in sessions and ask any questions they may have.
But many parents find session times ideal for catching up on other home tasks or for relaxing and engaging in preferred activities. Caring for an autistic child takes a lot of time and supervision. ABA is certainly not babysitting and should not be treated as such, but it is a great time for parents to focus on other things if necessary.
Challenge 6: Emotional Hurdles for Parents
ABA therapy can stir up a lot of emotions for parents. Guilt, frustration, worry, and even grief are all common. Parents may feel guilty for not starting therapy sooner, or they might get frustrated that progress seems slower than expected. These negative feelings may come up especially when comparing their child’s journey to their neurotypical peers.
These feelings are normal and totally valid. Parenting a child with behavioral or developmental needs comes with its own set of challenges, and it is okay to acknowledge those challenges. Tough days can be really, really tough. What matters, really, is how you respond to these emotions. Talking with your BCBA, talking to a close friend or family member, joining parent support groups, or seeking counseling can help to create healthy outlets. Self-care is just as important as other types of help and support.
Final Thoughts
Every family experiences bumps in the road during ABA therapy. I have run into every one of these obstacles multiple times in my career. No treatment ever comes with no possible complications, and ABA is no different. The good news is that these challenges are common and solvable.
