In-home Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy focuses on individualized goals tailored to a child’s specific needs, development level, and family priorities. These goals fall into several broad categories, with the ultimate objective of fostering independence, communication, and a positive quality of life. The BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) uses data-driven assessments to create a comprehensive treatment plan with specific, measurable skill acquisition goals.
In-Home ABA Therapy: Communication and Language Goals
Communication is often a primary area of focus for in-home ABA therapy. Goals can range from basic requesting for children with limited verbal skills to developing conversational skills in more advanced communicators.
- Requesting (Manding): Teaching a child to effectively ask for what they want or need.
- Goal Example: When presented with a preferred toy out of reach, the child will say “toy, please” or use a picture cue to request the toy in 80% of opportunities across three consecutive sessions.
- Receptive Language: Improving the child’s ability to understand spoken language and instructions.
- Goal Example: When given a 2-step instruction (e.g., “Go to your room and get your shoes”), the child will follow the instruction correctly without prompting in the home environment in 4 out of 5 opportunities.
- Expressive Language (Tacting and Intraverbals): Building vocabulary (naming items) and conversational skills (answering questions, commenting).
- Goal Example (Tacting): The child will spontaneously label five different household items (e.g., “chair,” “book,” “lamp”) when asked “What is this?” in the living room setting in 90% of trials.
- Goal Example (Intraverbals): The child will answer “wh-” questions (e.g., “What do you play with in the park?”) with relevant information during a conversation with a parent in three consecutive sessions.
In-Home ABA Therapy: Social Skills Goals
Social skills are essential for interaction and building relationships. In-home therapy provides a great place to practice with family members before generalizing to peers.
- Turn-Taking: Teaching the basic back-and-forth of interaction.
- Goal Example: During a structured board game with a sibling, the child will wait for their turn for 30 seconds without verbal prompts or challenging behavior in 4 out of 5 consecutive play sessions.
- Sharing and Cooperative Play: Encouraging the child to play with others toward a shared goal.
- Goal Example: When a peer requests a toy using the phrase “Can I have a turn?”, the child will hand over the toy without a prompt in 75% of opportunities during a supervised play session.
- Initiating Interactions: Encouraging the child to start conversations or play with others.
- Goal Example: The child will initiate play with a parent or sibling by asking “Want to play [game name]?” at least once per day for one week.
In-Home ABA Therapy: Adaptive and Self-Help Skills Goals
These goals focus on developing independence in daily routines within the natural home environment.
- Toileting: Building independence in the bathroom routine.
- Goal Example: The child will complete the entire toileting routine (pulling down pants, sitting on toilet, wiping, pulling up pants, flushing, washing hands) with a maximum of one verbal prompt in 4 out of 5 consecutive unprompted opportunities.
- Dressing: Mastering the steps required to get dressed with minimal assistance.
- Goal Example: Using backward chaining, the child will complete the final two steps of putting on a shirt (putting arms through sleeves and pulling it down) independently for three consecutive days.
- Mealtime Skills: Fostering appropriate eating habits and manners.
- Goal Example: The child will use a fork to self-feed 90% of their meal without dropping food or using hands during dinner time for a period of one week.
In-Home ABA Therapy: Behavior Management Goals
A key focus is often reducing challenging behaviors and teaching replacement behaviors that serve the same function (e.g., asking for a break instead of yelling).
- Reducing Tantrums: Decreasing the frequency, duration, or intensity of tantrum behaviors.
- Goal Example: The child will have zero occurrences of tantrum behavior lasting longer than two minutes when a non-preferred item is removed from their access for five consecutive days.
- Teaching Compliance: Improving the child’s ability to follow instructions from caregivers.
- Goal Example: When presented with a known 1-step instruction (e.g., “Clean up the blocks”), the child will comply within 10 seconds of the instruction being given in 80% of opportunities during play sessions.
In-Home ABA Therapy: Academic Readiness Goals
For young children preparing for school, in-home therapy can focus on pre-academic skills.
- Attending and Sitting Tolerance: Increasing the time a child can sit and attend to a task.
- Goal Example: The child will sit at the table and attend to a structured activity for 10 consecutive minutes without attempting to leave the area for five sessions in a row.
- Following Group Instructions: Learning to follow directions in a group setting (simulated in the home with family members).
- Goal Example: The child will follow simple group instructions (e.g., “Everyone, clap your hands”) when given by the therapist while sitting with their siblings in the living room in 4 out of 5 opportunities.