How Does ABA Therapy Work? A Step-by-Step Breakdown
If ABA therapy has come up as an option for your child, you probably have questions.
What does the process look like from the very first contact to an ongoing program? What are you agreeing to, and what should you expect?
Step 1: The First Call
The process toward starting ABA therapy begins by reaching out to an ABA provider. Someone will gather some basic information: your child’s age, their diagnosis if they have one, and what brought you to this point. You can ask questions here too. About the provider’s approach, the age range they serve, and what happens next.
You do not need to have everything figured out before you make this call. Most families are still sorting through a lot when they first reach out, and a good provider will meet you where you are.
“Family involvement isn’t a nice-to-have in ABA — it’s the mechanism through which treatment becomes meaningful. The intake process should feel like a conversation, not an interrogation.”
— Dr. Gregory Hanley, BCBA-D, Professor of Psychology, Western New England University 1
Step 2: The Assessment
Before any therapy begins, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst conducts a comprehensive evaluation of your child.
The BCBA reviews your child’s history, interviews you about what you are observing at home, and directly observes your child in structured and naturalistic settings. They use this information to understand where your child is right now, what they are already doing well, and what skills they need to build.
“A meaningful assessment goes beyond identifying deficits. It should paint a full picture of the child — their strengths, their motivations, the environments they navigate — so that the intervention is built around a real person, not a diagnosis.”
— Dr. Jill Hollway, PhD, BCBA-D, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Nationwide Children’s Hospital 2
The assessment is the foundation of everything that follows. A thoughtful, thorough evaluation is one of the clearest signs of a quality ABA program.
Step 3: The Treatment Plan
Based on the assessment, the BCBA creates an individualized treatment plan. This plan outlines the specific skills your child will work on, the methods that will be used to teach them, how progress will be measured, and the recommended number of therapy hours per week.
You review this plan together before therapy starts. You will have the chance to ask questions, share your priorities, and make sure the goals feel meaningful for your child’s actual life. Good ABA is a collaboration. It is not something that happens to your child without your input.
Step 4: Starting Sessions
Once the treatment plan is in place, therapy begins. Sessions are typically delivered by a Registered Behavior Technician or Behavior Technician working directly with your child, supervised by the BCBA who designed the program.
The first few sessions often focus on building the relationship between your child and their therapist. For younger children especially, establishing trust and comfort comes before intensive skill teaching. This phase takes a different amount of time for every child. Be patient with it. That relationship is the foundation of everything else.
Step 5: Data and Progress Monitoring
One of the things that sets ABA apart from many other therapy approaches is its emphasis on measurement. Therapists collect data during every session on how your child responds to each teaching program. The BCBA reviews that data regularly to evaluate what is working, what needs to change, and whether goals should be updated.
You should always be able to ask to see your child’s data and have it explained to you in plain language. Understanding what the numbers show is part of being an informed partner in your child’s care. A good BCBA will want you to understand it.
“Data collection in ABA is not bureaucratic overhead — it is the ethical obligation to know whether what you are doing is actually working. Families deserve providers who take that responsibility seriously.”
— Dr. Gregory Hanley, BCBA-D, Professor of Psychology, Western New England University 3
Step 6: Ongoing Revisions
ABA is not a fixed program. As your child grows and their needs change, the treatment plan changes too. Goals are added, adjusted, and retired on an ongoing basis. The BCBA meets with you regularly to review progress and plan what comes next.
This responsiveness is what makes ABA a living, evolving program rather than a generic curriculum. What works for your child at three may look very different from what works at five. The program moves with your child.
Step 7: Transition and What Comes After
ABA is not meant to continue indefinitely. As children build skills and become more independent, the intensity of services typically decreases. The goal is always for your child to carry their gains into daily life with less and less support over time.
A good provider will talk with you about transition planning well before services end and make sure that skills are solid before stepping back.
We Walk This Path with You
At Westside, we guide families through every step of this process. From the first phone call through assessment, treatment planning, and ongoing progress review, we are here to make the path feel clear rather than overwhelming.
If you have questions about how ABA therapy works or want to talk through whether it might be a good fit for your child, we would love to hear from you. Call us at 815-783-2544 or submit a contact form.
Know a family who has been given an ABA recommendation and is trying to figure out what that actually means? Share this with them.
Clinically verified by Morgan Pawula, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Westside Children’s Therapy.
- Hanley, G.P., Functional Assessment of Problem Behavior: Dispelling Myths, Overcoming Implementation Obstacles, and Developing New Lore, Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2012
- Hollway, J., Comprehensive Behavioral Assessment in ABA Practice, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2014
- Hanley, G.P., Functional Assessment of Problem Behavior, Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2012
