If you are watching your child in therapy and wondering whether their treatment is working, you’re not alone.
One of the hardest parts of the process is trying to determine if your child is gaining the skills you hoped for.
Autism now affects one in 31 children in North America, and therapy has proven to be a huge benefit for many of those children.
But, progress in pediatric therapy moves at its own pace, and the small wins are easy to miss.
Here are a few of the signs your child is moving forward, and some potential progress steps to track as their therapy continues.
Early Signs Therapy Is Working
When your child first starts therapy, it can be common to feel like nothing is happening.
Getting started with ABA therapy is a significant decision, and the weeks that follow are a period of adjustment.
That adjustment phase is itself a sign of progress, but here are some other signs that may indicate your child is seeing benefits:
- Engaging More Willingly: Your child transitions into sessions with less resistance, even if they still need time to settle.
- Responding to Their Name or Directions: Turning when called or following a one-step instruction more often than before.
- Initiating Interaction: New attempts at reaching out, pointing, or showing an object to get your attention.
- Tolerating Transitions Better: Moving between activities with less distress than in earlier sessions.
- Showing Attempts at Communication: Reaching, vocalizing, or using pictures and devices to express a need.
Sharing these early signs with your child’s therapist can help confirm their approach is working, and show the team where to focus next.
What Progress Looks Like at Home
The most meaningful progress often shows up in everyday moments at home.
When your child uses a skill they practiced in therapy during a real situation at home, that is the outcome that therapists are building towards.
It’s called generalization, and it is a strong clinical indicator that what your child is learning is sticking in their mind.
You might notice your child asking for a snack using words or a communication device instead of crying.
They may start requesting a specific toy, following a two-step morning routine, or sitting at the table for longer stretches.
None of these are small things. They are exactly the functional skills therapy builds.
A 2024 study found that ABA significantly improves emotional and social skills in autistic children, with participants demonstrating measurable gains.
But, parents can forget that every child will start to reach new milestones on their own timeline.
Progress depends on many factors unique to your child, and understanding that can help you stay informed and confident when the path forward feels less clear.
What Should You Do When Progress Seems Slow
It can be easy to start worrying that your child’s therapy isn’t making a difference when their progress seems slow.
But, there are many things that can have an impact on how quickly your child’s therapy shows results.
From their age at the start of intervention to the number of therapy hours per week to the consistency with which you reinforce skills at home, every child will learn and develop at their own pace.
Starting ABA therapy early is a huge factor in a child’s progress, with research showing IQ gains of roughly nine to fifteen points simply due to early intervention.
However, children who begin therapy at later ages still make meaningful progress.
The timeline might be different, but the important thing to remember is that slow progress doesn’t mean no progress.
If you’re questioning your child’s improvement, thinking back on some of those early indicators may help you appreciate how far your child has already come since beginning therapy.
How Coordinated Therapy Supports Lasting Progress
Autism is a complicated condition, which means your child will often benefit from working with multiple professionals.
For example, working with both a behavior analyst and a speech therapist that are part of the same practice can help ensure your child’s specific needs are being met.
Since the professionals are communicating with one another, they’ll be able to make sure that your child’s treatment is consistent even when practicing different skills.
Experts in ABA therapy in Wicker Park mention that real progress in therapy shows up gradually.
Instead of major leaps and bounds, look for those smaller moments that end up creating bigger changes over time.
Stay close to the people working with your child, and you’ll be even better equipped to see the progress your child makes.
In time, you’ll realize your child is growing, thriving, and succeeding in ways you may never have expected.