How Action Behavior Delivers Meaningful Outcomes in ABA Therapy

At Action Behavior Centers, we focus on what truly matters to families: meaningful outcomes for their children. In everything we do, we strive to provide quality care, contribute to scientific research, and deepen our understanding of applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for children on the autism spectrum.

From the initial tour to intake, and from Family Guidance to graduation, we carefully design each step of our processes to provide the best early intervention services for the children we serve. Throughout your child’s time with us, Clinical Directors regularly review their progress through a thorough case review to ensure the highest quality of care.

In order to do this, we focus on:

• Hiring and training skilled teammates
• Maintaining small clinician-to-child caseloads 
• Involving families in assessments and therapies whenever possible

Setting goals that matter most to families

We track how well ABA therapy works by focusing on specific, practical goals families often have when seeking early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services:

• Help their child develop language, social, and adaptive skills to prepare for school
• Address behaviors that impact their child’s health and safety
• Improve their child’s quality of life
• Reduce stress for the whole family

We evaluate progress at intake, during treatment, at discharge, and through follow-ups. Progress is measured through standardized assessment tools, observations during treatment, and feedback from the family.

Real results: 86% drop in challenging behaviors

Many families worry about behaviors that affect their child’s health and safety, such as self-injury (e.g., biting, head-banging), aggression, property destruction, and elopement (wandering away). To address these, we work with families to create individualized behavior intervention plans. One of our goals is to help children reduce challenging behaviors by at least 80% within their first year of ABA therapy.

In a 2021 study involving 20 children ages 2 to 6 who received at least one year of ABA therapy, we found:

• Challenging behaviors decreased by 86%
• Improvements were sustained even with a 20% reduction in weekly therapy hours
• Aggression and property destruction showed the most significant reductions

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Access the full White Paper here →

Reducing parental stress through ABA therapy

The PSI-4 SF is a survey that measures the stress associated with parenting. Parents of children with ASD have been shown to often experience higher levels of stress.¹ At Action Behavior, parents complete the PSI at intake and every six months. In our October 2023 analysis of 298 families:

• Average parenting stress scores dropped from the 57th to the 53rd percentile after one year.
  
  
• Families reporting the highest stress levels (93rd percentile) saw scores fall to the 80th percentile. 

This data highlights the tangible impact of ABA therapy not just on children with ASD, but also on their families. By reducing this stress, families are better able to focus on building positive connections, supporting their child's progress, and enjoying day-to-day life.

Early intervention supports school readiness

At Action Behavior Centers, our early intervention services can help children with autism start school on time alongside their peers. In fact, many younger children with autism make significant progress with ABA therapy, and by the time they reach school age, they are often functioning at the same level as their neurotypical classmates.

No matter your child’s needs, our autism therapy services aim to prepare them for the least restrictive and most inclusive school environments possible. To measure our impact in this area, we surveyed 77 families whose children completed our ABA programs:

• Of the 47 families who chose school rather than continuing services, 22 responded (47%). Among those, 10 families (45%) indicated their child was in a general education placement for at least half of the day.
  
  
• Of the 30 families with a program graduate, 19 responded (63%), and 17 families (89%) reported their child was in a general education placement for at least half of the day.

A follow-up survey later in the year showed that all 13 families who responded confirmed their child’s school placement remained the same.

Ongoing research efforts

At Action Behavior Centers, we are continually collecting data to better serve families. You can view our latest research updates here. Our outcomes research evaluates progress using a variety of assessment tools, such as:

• Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA-3): This standardized assessment is one measure of a child’s school readiness that examines their understanding of basic concepts like colors and numbers. We use the BSRA-3  throughout treatment as one measure of progress.
  
  
• Skill assessments: At intake and every six months, our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) use special tools to assess a child’s skills. These results guide our goal setting and curriculum selection, which can help children build strong foundations in learning, communication, adaptive skills, and social interactions. Some of the tools we use may include:
  
  • Verbal Behavior Milestones and Placement Program (VB-MAPP)
  • Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS-R)
    
    
• Autism Impact Measure (AIM): The AIM tracks how autism affects a child’s day-to-day life. While early research supports AIM’s reliability, most studies lack diversity. To address this, Action Behavior Centers is partnering with Western Psychological Services (the publisher of the AIM), Dr. Ivy Chong (Little Leaves, Inc.), and Dr. Ryan Martin (Mosaic Pediatric Therapy) to ensure our research includes children from diverse racial, ethnic, and language backgrounds.

Our commitment to families

At Action Behavior, we combine evidence-based practices with frequent Family Guidance to make a real difference in the lives of children with autism. We are more than just an ABA therapy center – we’re a supportive community that welcomes families with open arms. We are here for every milestone, every challenge, and every success.

• We promise to celebrate your child’s individuality  
• We promise to help your child reach milestone moments
• We promise to advocate for your child in everything we do

We promise to honor your family’s dynamics and values