27 Jul Why Early ABA Therapy Can Make a Difference for Children With Autism
Mental Health Notice: If you are concerned about your child's development, safety, or mental health, contact a qualified healthcare provider as soon as possible. If you are not sure whether your child is safe, contact help immediately. Call 911 in an emergency, or reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 (24/7). This post is for background information only and is not a complete guide to autism assessment or ABA therapy.
Early childhood is a period of rapid brain development, when attention, language, movement, and social response are still taking shape. For children with autism, that timing can matter because repeated teaching is more likely to influence daily function while patterns remain flexible. Applied behavior analysis helps break broad goals into small, teachable actions. Families often notice practical changes first, including smoother meals, clearer requests, and less distress during routine transitions.
For a foundational overview of how ABA therapy works and what families can expect, see this guide to what ABA therapy is and how it works.
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Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy is an evidence-based treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders. ABA therapy is a personalized treatment plan that focuses on improving behavior, social interaction, and more, simultaneously focusing on the person’s strengths and weaknesses. For this reason, it is crucial to plan the treatment effectively. While the treatment itself has been groundbreaking, it does come with a set of challenges. This article explores the challenges of ABA treatment planning with practical solutions.
Dr. Walsh[/caption]
Christopher Walsh, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Genetics and Genomics
Bullard Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at Harvard Medical School
and researcher who has used material donated to the brain bank
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Many different types of genetic variants contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Copy number variants are large pieces of genetic material that are duplicated or deleted. We have known for many years that many copy number variants at certain genetic locations are linked to autism. Because these copy number variants may include lots of different genes, it has been difficult to understand how these copy number variants alter human brain function. Furthermore, although animal models are important, autism is in many ways defined by differences in uniquely human cognitive and social functioning. Better understanding of how these copy number variants change human brain function will shed light on universal mechanisms that regulate neurodevelopment. We studied a copy number variant called dup15q, that is associated with almost 40-fold higher rates of autism vs. the general population. We studied post-mortem human brain tissue from individuals with dup15q, individuals with autism not related to dup15q, and neurotypical controls, to better understand how the human brain is impacted by dup15q. We focused on frontal cortex, an important brain region in executive function and social perspective taking. We applied cutting edge techniques that allow us to assess individual cells in the brain. 
Dr. Pierce[/caption]
Karen Pierce, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neurosciences, UCSD
Co-Director, Autism Center of Excellence, UCSD
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The mean age of ASD diagnosis and eventual treatment remains at ~52 months in the United States1 - years beyond the disorder’s prenatal origins2, and beyond the age when it can be reliably diagnosed in many cases3.
Currently the only way to determine if a child has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is to receive a developmental evaluation from an experienced clinician (usually a licensed clinical psychologist). There are often long waiting lists, and only a small number of clinicians have the experience required to make early-age (i.e., between 12-36 months) diagnoses of ASD. Thus, there are many places in the country as well as world wide wherein children wait months or years to receive a formal diagnosis due to a lack of available expertise. Moreover, diagnostic evaluations are expensive and usually cost the parent and/or insurance approximately ~$2,000 or more per evaluation. Finally, clinical evaluations usually take between 2-3 hours to complete and result in fatigue for both the parent and toddler.
Eye-tracking, which generates biologically-relevant, objective, and quantifiable metrics of both visual and auditory preference profiles in babies and toddlers in just minutes, is a technology that can dramatically change how ASD is diagnosed.
