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Blog

From the Achieve team,
for families like yours

Helpful articles, tips, and insights about ABA and autism.

Blog
From the Achieve team,
for families like yours
Helpful articles, tips, and insights about ABA and autism.
Child with autism working on a bead maze with a therapist during an ABA therapy session.

How Many Hours of ABA Therapy Does Your Child Need?

Every child’s ABA therapy hours look different, and that’s by design, not by accident. For example, a two-year-old just starting early intervention and a seven-year-old working on a handful of specific classroom skills will almost never be on the same schedule. So there’s a reason it’s hard to answer in one sentence. The honest answer […]

Autistic child experiencing an after-school meltdown while sitting at a table.

Why Does My Autistic Child Melt Down After School? Understanding After-School Restraint Collapse

Your child’s teacher says today was a good day. Circle time went fine, they followed directions, and they even helped a classmate clean up. Then you pick them up, or they walk through the door at home, and the switch flips. Crying, yelling, dropping to the floor, or going completely silent and refusing to talk. […]

ABA therapist helping a young child build with blocks during a play-based therapy session.

7 Signs Your Child’s ABA Therapy Is Working

How do I know if ABA therapy is working? Look for these signs: skills that show up outside the therapy room, prompts that fade instead of multiply, transitions that get shorter over time, challenging behavior that serves less of a purpose, and a data trend line that climbs across weeks, even when a single session […]

Girl with autism playing with wooden blocks during an ABA therapy activity at home.

Autism in Girls: Why Diagnosis Comes Later and What Gets Missed

Boys are diagnosed with autism at roughly three to four times the rate of girls, and that gap has far more to do with what clinicians were trained to look for than with how many girls are actually autistic. The tools most widely used to screen and diagnose autism were built and tested largely on […]

Mother and child speaking with a clinician during an autism assessment or ABA therapy consultation.

Should You Pursue Genetic Testing After Your Child’s Autism Diagnosis?

A geneticist and a BCBA answer two different questions, and knowing that distinction is the first step in deciding whether genetic testing makes sense for your family. Genetic testing does not diagnose autism, and a negative result does not mean your child is somehow less autistic than a child whose test comes back positive.  What […]

Preschool child completing a colorful number puzzle during ABA therapy.

ABA Therapy for Preschoolers: What Parents Should Expect From Ages 2 to 5

A two-year-old and a five-year-old in ABA therapy are working on almost nothing in common, even though both fall under the same broad label parents hear at diagnosis. The method stays constant: break a skill into teachable pieces, reinforce progress, track data, adjust the plan. What changes, year by year, is everything else: where therapy […]

The people behind our resources

Meet our blog authors

Clinical insight, practical guidance, and compassionate support from professionals who understand ABA therapy from the inside.

Marisol Vega

BCBA-D · LBA — Adolescent & Transition Specialist

Marisol works with teens and young adults preparing for life after school. Her focus is independence...

Aisha Rahman

BCBA — Communication & AAC Specialist

Aisha helps nonspeaking and minimally speaking children find reliable ways to be understood...

Marcus Bell

RBT — In-Home &
Family Coaching

Marcus meets families where they live — literally. He works in homes and everyday settings...

Marisol Vega

BCBA-D · LBA — Adolescent & Transition Specialist
Marisol works with teens and young adults preparing for life after school. Her focus is independence — self-advocacy, daily routines, vocational readiness, and the practical skills that help young people move toward the futures they want, on their own terms.
 
She often reminds families that progress in adolescence looks different from early childhood, and writes about honoring a young person’s autonomy while still building meaningful support around them.
 

✦ Transition and life-skills focus

◷ 12 years of clinical experience

✓ Doctorate in Applied Behavior Analysis

Aisha Rahman

BCBA — Communication & AAC Specialist
Aisha helps nonspeaking and minimally speaking children find reliable ways to be understood. She specializes in functional communication and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), from picture systems to speech-generating devices, always centered on what each child most wants to say.
 
She writes about presuming competence, choosing the right tools without overwhelm, and helping families weave communication practice into ordinary daily moments.
 

✦ AAC and functional communication focus

◷ 8 years of clinical experience

✓ MS in Applied Behavior Analysis

Marcus Bell

RBT — In-Home & Family Coaching
Marcus meets families where they live — literally. He works in homes and everyday settings, turning mealtimes, playtime, and bedtime routines into natural opportunities for learning. His strategies are built for real life, not just the therapy room.
 
He shares approachable, judgment-free tips for parents and caregivers, with a belief that small, consistent moments add up to real progress.
 

✦ Natural-environment and routine-based focus

◷ 5 years of clinical experience

✓ Registered Behavior Technician