Kids and their development issues always seem to haunt parents. They seem to live in their own world which is quite different from our perceptions. So, understanding their behavior and acting according to it poses a major threat to parents. No matter what we do this parenting thing catches us off guard and often questions our beliefs. This problem is even more gruesome for those couples who have a mentally challenged kid.
These special kids often suffer from severe neurological and mental disorders like autism, schizophrenia etc. which makes quite difficult for them and their parents. Clinical symptoms of these diseases are impaired growth and personality development. Hence, these children are in adept in cognitive abilities like speaking, reading, learning etc. On the contrary, they have an artistic bend of mind, which sees things differently. So, often these kids behave differently which doesn’t fit the dictums of our society, making them vulnerable to bullying and ridiculing.
It’s for kids like these, that the medical world has prepared a finely-crafted therapy known as the Applied Behavior Analysis. From the name itself, the nature of the treatment is clear. ABA is not much of a treatment but rather a comprehensive service, which seeks to develop a child’s cognitive and vocational abilities. Applied Behavior Analysis Services has become a well-known phenomenon in the States and more and more parents opting for these services.
As it doesn’t employ any harmful medications or surgeries but stresses on healthy learning and interaction based on each and every child’s behavior hence it has been readily accepted by common people. In this method, children as young as 10 or less than 10 who are diagnosed with autism get free of cost medical benefits. Then the first step of the behavioral therapy autism starts. This is nothing but knowing about a child’s temperament, his abilities, his ways of thinking and his natural ways of seeing things and the subsequent reaction to it. Generally, this is done in a one-to-one session as these kids are unable to cope up with the crowd. As soon as their behavior pattern gets established, the doctor moves onto enhancing his cognitive abilities by easy steps of environment-friendly learning. When they start responding to this program, they are gradually taken to group learning activities. This is the first step in developing social skills and brings them out in the society. After this specific social interaction programs are undertaken to make them fit in the crowd. Lastly, any discrepancies in their behavior pattern that may pose a threat to them at home or in the community are eliminated in individual workshops.
In this way, ABA clinics help in the growth and development of autistic kids.