Is there any research to support that ABA is effective for children with Autism?
Yes. The most thorough studies of ABA for young children with autism have been conducted at UCLA. In the groundbreaking 1987 study an intensive treatment experimental group of 19 children with autism received 40 hours of one to one ABA instruction. Of the 19 children who received intensive treatment, 9 children (47%) successfully completed regular first grade and obtained above-average scores on IQ tests. The average gain in IQ over the course of treatment was 37 points. The 47% group was reevaluated in 1993 when they were on average 13 years old. Results indicated that the effects of intensive treatment persisted. Eight of the nine children continued to succeed in regular classrooms. Blind examiners could not distinguish the formerly autistic children from typically developing children of the same age on measures of cognitive, academic, social, or adaptive skills. For the children who did not achieve normal functioning, sizable decreases in inappropriate behavior and acquisition of ba
