Overview
ABA therapy is not a single technique — it's a framework from which many specific teaching methods are drawn. Understanding the most common techniques helps you know what your child's therapist is doing, why they're doing it, and how you can apply the same principles at home.
Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
DTT is the most structured ABA technique. Each teaching opportunity — called a "trial" — has three parts: a clear instruction, the child's response, and an immediate consequence. Trials are repeated multiple times in a session.
Best for: Teaching foundational skills like matching, imitation, following directions, and early language in a controlled, structured setting.
Example: Holding up a picture of a dog and saying "What is this?" — child responds "dog" — parent says "Great, that's right!" and gives a small reinforcer.
Natural Environment Teaching (NET)
NET embeds learning in everyday activities and play. Rather than a structured table setting, teaching happens wherever the child naturally is — in the backyard, at snack time, during a bath.
Best for: Building skills that generalize to real life. Communication goals, social skills, and play skills respond especially well to NET.
Example: During snack time, pausing before giving a preferred food to create an opportunity for the child to request it.
Prompting
A prompt is any assistance that helps a child perform a skill they can't yet do independently. Types of prompts from most to least intrusive:
- Full physical — guiding the child's hands through the motion
- Partial physical — a light touch to initiate the movement
- Modeling — demonstrating the correct response
- Gestural — pointing to the correct answer
- Verbal — providing a verbal hint or partial answer
- Independent — no prompt needed
The goal is always to fade prompts as quickly as possible so the child develops true independence. Using the least intrusive prompt needed is a key principle.
Shaping
Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior — rewarding behaviors that are getting closer and closer to the goal, rather than waiting for the perfect response.
Example: Teaching a child to say "more" — first reinforcing any vocalization, then reinforcing "m" sounds, then "muh," then "more." Each step builds on the last.
Chaining
Chaining teaches complex skills by breaking them into steps and teaching the steps in sequence. Forward chaining teaches from the first step; backward chaining teaches from the last step (so the child always finishes with success).
Best for: Self-care sequences like handwashing, dressing, tooth brushing, and other multi-step daily living skills.
Extinction
Extinction means withdrawing the reinforcement that was previously maintaining an unwanted behavior. If a child has learned that tantrumming produces attention, consistently providing no attention during tantrums removes the reinforcement — and the behavior eventually decreases.
Important: extinction should be implemented carefully and consistently. Inconsistent extinction — sometimes giving in, sometimes not — actually makes behaviors more persistent. Always have professional guidance before implementing extinction for significant challenging behaviors.
Choosing the right technique
No single technique works for every skill or every child. In practice, effective ABA programs blend multiple techniques depending on the skill being taught, the child's learning style, and the setting. A good rule of thumb:
- Use DTT for foundational skills that need clear, repeated practice
- Use NET to generalize skills and make learning feel natural
- Use shaping when the target skill is far above the child's current level
- Use chaining for multi-step daily living sequences
- Use extinction — with professional guidance — for behaviors maintained by attention or avoidance