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What Happens During the First ABA Therapy Session?

Did You Know?

• Early ABA sessions often include time dedicated to pairing and rapport building.
• Pairing involves creating positive interactions and experiences that help the child become comfortable with members of the treatment team.

What to Expect

Parents are encouraged to attend pairing sessions to help their child feel comfortable and relaxed around new people.

• Having your child’s favorite toys, activities, or other preferred items available can help the team learn about their interests.
• Early sessions may look a lot like play. These interactions allow the team to build rapport, identify preferences, and begin establishing a positive therapeutic relationship.

Meeting the ABA Therapy Team

Chaz and his mother greet their new BCBA and RBT at their front door. Chaz hides behind his mother’s knees as she opens the door and welcomes the therapists into their home.

“Hi Chaz!” The BCBA and RBT smile and wave.

“Chaz, can you say hi?” Chaz’s mother looks down at him. Chaz peers around his mom’s leg with one eye and takes off running down the hallway.

“He’s a little bit shy,” his mother explains. “Sometimes it takes time for him to warm up to new people.”

“That’s ok! We brought some fun toys we think he might like.” Chaz’s BCBA carries a bin full of all sorts of wonders.

Pairing and Building Rapport During ABA Therapy

In the living room, Chaz’s BCBA and RBT start unpacking their bin of wonders, including some cause-and-effect toys, a mini musical instruments, Magna-Tiles, plushy stuffed animals, light-up toys, picture books, cars and trucks and trains, and bubbles!

“Oh, he’ll love these.” Chaz’s mom picks up one of the plushies. “Chaz, look what they brought!” Chaz is now standing beside the couch, not quite ready to join yet. “He loves anything to do with alligators,” his mom explains.

Chaz’s RBT picks up the plushy alligator and starts crawling it slowly across the floor towards Chaz.

“I’m a hungry alligator!” growls the alligator as it approaches Chaz, who runs off squealing with laughter down the hallway. In just a moment, he’s back again, waiting beside the couch for the alligator to appear.

While the RBT and Chaz continue playing their game, the BCBA turns to Chaz’s mom. “Does he have any other special toys or things that he likes?”

“Yes, he has a purple stuffy he’s very attached to. Also, he loves watching Peppa Pig. And anything to do with reptiles. He’s also fascinated with lights, and he’ll spend forever turning them off and on if I let him. I can sometimes get him to look at books if they have reptiles. Should I go get some of them?”

“Yes, that would be great!” says the BCBA. “Today, we’re focused on getting to know Chaz, learning what he enjoys, and helping him become comfortable with us. We’ll follow his lead and give him time to warm up!”

“Oh ok, I wasn’t sure if he was just going to dive right into working on behaviors or something.”

“Not yet. ABA is about taking small steps at first that build over time. Once we’ve built that trust and figured out what motivates Chaz, that’s when the progress really starts to show. We can’t skip that first step, though. It’s the most important step since we’ll be spending so much time together!”

What the Beginning of ABA Therapy Can Look Like

When Chaz’s mom returns to the living room with his favorite stuffy and some of his reptile books, she looks up to see Chaz now playing in the middle of the living room with the BCBA and RBT. He’s banging on the little toy drum, having a grand time. When he stops and looks up, the RBT and BCBA applaud his performance. “Wow, Chaz, that was awesome!”

“Oh my goodness, what beautiful music!” says his mom, smiling.

Ready to Learn More About ABA Therapy?

If your child hasn’t started ABA, but you’re interested in learning more, please get in touch with Golden Steps to find out more. We can’t wait to meet your family!