Parent Training in ABA Therapy: How Families Become Part of the Treatment Team

When your child participates in ABA Therapy, you become an adjunct partner in the process. No, you’re not required to become a therapist or study hard. However, your willingness to participate in the ABA Therapy parent training process directly impacts your child’s overall success with their new skill sets.

Studies overwhelmingly show that children whose parents participate in parent training and implement the skills at home experience fewer behavioral problems and respond more positively to the training than their counterparts.

Your Child's BCBA Has a Role for You, and It's an Important One

In most therapeutic settings, clinicians work one-on-one with their clients. While that can be true for certain parts of ABA sessions, your BCBA will likely offer plenty of opportunities for you to be part of the experience.

Ethical ABA practices build parent training into the program because it’s one of the most important ways we can improve your child’s outcome. BACB Ethics Code Standard 2.09 requires BCBAs to involve parents and caregivers throughout the service relationship.

Based on the most recent evidence-based outcomes, ART maintains an open-door policy for our clients and their parents/caregivers. You have an essential role in the process and should never be thought of as a drop-off and pick-up bystander. By partnering with us in the child and parent training process, your child benefits at home, in the classroom, and in the wider community.

Why What Happens at Home Changes What Happens in Therapy

The skills your child learns in ART’s therapy sessions should always be relatable and actionable enough to transfer into their real life. Just as a child who takes music lessons must practice their instrument daily, children participating in ABA must transfer what they learn in real-world settings, or else the therapy exists in a vacuum and has no relevance to them.

Keep in mind that on average, there are about 16 waking hours in a day, times seven days a week. Time spent in an ABA clinic is only a fraction of those hours, so daily routines are where the skills they learn with us can really take hold. For example, requesting a preferred item with the BCBA is one thing; learning to request it spontaneously with a grandparent in the market is another. Using ABA therapy at home, reinforcing skills across daily life supports your child’s development.

This movement towards parent training has become more prevalent after a significant study published in 2019 outlined the difference in outcomes between children with ASD whose parents participated in and implemented ABA parent training and those who did not. The research showed that parent involvement produces measurably bigger differences than parent education alone.

What Parent Training Actually Looks Like

Parent training isn’t a one-and-done orientation or instruction session. Instead, the process is coached, structured, and practiced repeatedly. It’s also a healthy model for your child that adults have to learn and practice new skills, too. This reality can help inspire their commitment because you are all working hard together.

Behavioral Skills Training teaches parents through instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and BCBA feedback.

1. Instruction. The BCBA will explain a new strategy or skill clearly. They’ll tell you what to do, why you’re doing it, and what correct use of the strategy looks like. You’ll also receive written materials to help guide you at home.
2. Modeling. Once you understand the strategy, the therapist demonstrates it for you. In some cases, this might be live with your child present. In other cases, they may use a video that demonstrates examples. You should always have the opportunity to watch or witness the strategy first before you try it out.
3. Rehearsal. Now you get to practice what you’ve learned about and seen in action. This may take place using a role-play scenario or directly with your child. This is the most important step because it turns what you’ve learned in theory into an actionable step you can use.
4. Feedback. The BCBA provides specific feedback immediately after you’ve tried something new. This feedback should be constructive: reinforce what went well, then address any errors or adjustments that can improve the strategy's implementation or outcome.

BCBAs focus on measurable outcomes, using benchmarks, timelines, and other verifiable data. For that reason, we’re interested in measuring accuracy rather than just effort. This helps us to keep the training sessions alive and customized to what’s happening for clients and their families in real life.

Similarly, as a child grows and changes, and/or goals evolve, we introduce new strategies. Learning continues alongside the child and is targeted to their needs.

What Parent Training Is (And Is Not)

Parent training isn’t just about learning to manage or redirect severe behaviors, although it certainly can support that. ABA therapy and parent training cover communication, social skills, play, joint attention, emotional regulation, and adaptive daily living. It is appropriate regardless of the child with ASD’s level of need.

Again, you are not being asked to be a therapist. You are not expected to create programs, model the ABA clinic at home, or in any way become a “clinician.” Your job is to be a loving, supportive parent or caregiver, whom we can train to continue implementing and reinforcing your child’s program outside of the clinic session hours.

Also, parent training is not a substitute for a child’s clinic sessions. Quite the opposite. Parent training supplements what happens in our office, giving your child many opportunities to practice what they’ve learned and integrate new living skills into daily life. This isn’t about giving you more homework or adding one more thing to your already-too-full plate. Our sessions should equip you with the skills and strategies you need to make your home life more structured, peaceful, and sustainable.

The Evidence Behind Parent-Led Practice

Several studies support BCBAs' emphasis on parent-led practices. The first was a 2015 randomized controlled trial that suggested that parent training is significantly more effective than parent education at reducing disruptive behavior in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Researchers found that children whose parents participated in training experienced a 47.7% reduction in disruptive behavior, compared with a 31.8% reduction in the group whose parents relied solely on education without practice. Also, when parents had high-quality training and consistently used the strategies at home, 69% of the children were cited as “positive responders” by independent clinicians, compared to only 40% of the children whose parents relied solely on education.

A significant meta-analysis (reviewing findings from multiple studies) published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in 2023 showed that parent training measurably improved children’s communication skills, behavior, and adaptive skills. These studies build upon a well-known 2013 study, showing that early interventions that include parent training lead to positive changes in parent-child interactions and language comprehension.

How We Build This With You at ART

At ART, we’re dedicated to ABA therapy models that involve the whole family to support the best, most positive outcomes for our clients. Our BCBA-led coaching sessions maintain an open-door policy that includes parent training.

We also supply parents and caregivers with home program materials and include collaborative goal reviews to maintain a healthy, forward-looking trajectory. As children grow and change, so do their goals, so collaborative goal reviews and successive clinical sessions should reflect that.

ART has locations in Tyler, McKinney, Prosper, Celina, and Frisco, giving families a choice to access training at a clinic near them. However, household schedules or distance constraints should never keep your child from accessing the assistance and support they need. Our Telehealth coaching option is our go-to solution to ensure you’re not left out.

Also, ART knows that parents and caregivers of children with ASD can feel so alone, and that is absolutely not the case. For that reason, we offer parent support groups as a community resource, held monthly and including free childcare.

Ultimately, ART works alongside you; our BCBAs act as guides, rather than gatekeepers. We’re here to shine a light, provide information and resources, and to make sure you’re comfortable implementing the skills and strategies you learn. Together, we’ll continue adapting our work to meet the next set of developmental milestones and goals.

Ready to Learn More About Your Role in Your Child’s Progress?

Our BCBAs work with families across Tyler, McKinney, Prosper, Celina, and Frisco. Whether your child is just starting ABA or you have questions about how parent training fits into an existing treatment plan, we are here to walk you through it.

Give us a call at (877) 77-ART-TX (877-772-7889) to ask questions or learn more about how we can support you. You can also email us at StartABA@arttx.org or contact us online to schedule a consultation.