Seriation Lessons Help ABA Therapy Become More Effective

ABA therapy is widely recognized as the premiere treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder.  Designed to break tasks, concepts, and ideas into their most basic elements and steps, ABA helps to literally rewire the brain so that it can understand things in a different way.  There are many different tools and tactics used in teaching ABA.  There are also a number of different types of supplemental materials that help to make it easier.  One supplement that has proven exceptionally beneficial is seriation cards. Seriation cards are designed to help kids with autism spectrum disorder understand concepts and sequences of events.  Take, for example, the rising and setting of the sun throughout the day.  While most children slowly learn to understand this concept simply from looking out the window at various times, the mind of an autistic child is not capable of making these broad intuitive leaps.  Seriation cards are designed to offer a step by step sequence of events.  Children are taught the proper sequence of events, and the lesson is repeated over and over until they are able to put the cards in order for themselves. While seriation cards are looked at by outsiders as simple memorization tools, they are much more than this.  Studies show that learning to piece together processes and sequences through ABA helps children to understand the underlying concept of processes.  In other words, by memorizing different patterns, the brain will form new neurons that make it easier to identify these types of patterns naturally in the future.  The human brain is quite incredible, and the ability of simple ABA methods to literally help it rewire itself is certainly something spectacular.  Seriation cards are excellent tools in helping to make this happen. There is little doubt that ABA therapy is highly effective when properly taught.  Students with autism spectrum disorder need to learn in a specific way, and ABA helps to break things down into easily repeatable processes that make learning much easier.  Supplemental materials are an integral part of Applied Behavior Analysis, and seriation cards can prove to be remarkable teaching tools. When combined with rigorous data collection, discrete trial teaching, positive reinforcement and other crucial elements, these cards can help kids essentially learn how to learn.  Every child deserves the chance to learn as much and as well as possible, and ABA therapy makes it easier to enable just that.