If you've been navigating autism support for any length of time, you've likely heard wildly different things about ABA—Applied Behavior Analysis. Some families describe it as transformative. Others share difficult memories rooted in older, more rigid approaches. Both experiences are real, and both reflect different chapters in the same evolving story.
ABA has undergone a profound transformation over the past two decades—moving away from a compliance-first model toward one that centers the whole child: their voice, their autonomy, and their quality of life. Understanding the difference between old school ABA and new school ABA isn't just academic—it directly affects what your child's therapy looks like day to day.
Key Takeaways
- Early, old school ABA prioritized behavior reduction and compliance, often at the expense of the child's dignity and voice.
- New school ABA is rooted in assent, neurodiversity, and meaningful skill-building—not normalization or suppression of natural behaviors.
- Person-centered programming means goals reflect your family's values and your child's strengths—not a one-size-fits-all checklist.
- Today's BCBAs function as teammates, coaches, and advocates—not technicians running drills.
- Families who are active partners in new school ABA consistently see stronger, more lasting outcomes.
The Roots of Old School ABA
Applied Behavior Analysis emerged from behaviorist psychology in the 1960s and 1970s, largely shaped by the work of Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas. Rooted in the scientific study of observable behavior, early ABA made real contributions to understanding how learning works. But the way those principles were applied in clinical settings often left much to be desired—for children and families alike.
What Old School ABA Looked Like
Old school ABA was built around Discrete Trial Training (DTT)—a highly structured, repetitive format where a therapist would present a prompt, wait for a specific response, and deliver a consequence (reward or correction). Sessions were long, often 30 to 40 hours per week, and took place primarily at a table in a clinic or therapy room. The child sat across from the therapist, and the session followed a rigid, pre-scripted sequence regardless of how the child was feeling that day.
The goals of old school ABA were largely focused on behavior reduction—decreasing stimming, echolalia, and other behaviors deemed "aberrant"—and on compliance: getting the child to follow instructions reliably. Progress was measured almost entirely through data on those targets, not through broader quality-of-life outcomes.
The Goal: Compliance Over Connection
In old school ABA, the therapist directed every interaction. The child's preferences, emotional state, and interests were largely irrelevant to the structure of the session. Reinforcement was used strategically, but the underlying message was clear: the child's job was to perform. The relationship between the therapist and child was transactional—compliance was the currency.
For many autistic children who experienced old school ABA, this approach was exhausting and dehumanizing. Research conducted by autistic adults who went through intensive early ABA programs has consistently described feelings of being controlled, unseen, and coerced—even when the therapists involved were well-intentioned.
What Was Missing
Old school ABA's emphasis on compliance came at a real cost to several things that matter deeply in a child's development. The practice largely excluded the child's own preferences, interests, and perspective from shaping the program. Families were often kept at arm's length—informed of progress but rarely invited into the goal-setting process. Quality-of-life outcomes, like whether the child was happy, socially connected, or able to pursue their own interests, were treated as secondary at best. And perhaps most critically, the client's right to say no—or even to express discomfort—was not recognized as meaningful data.
Pro insight: The perception of ABA as rigid or harmful that many families bring to their first consultation is almost always rooted in old school practices. That reputation is not unfounded. What matters is knowing what has changed—and what questions to ask.
Why the Field Changed: The Shift to New School ABA
The shift from old school to new school ABA didn't happen overnight, and it wasn't driven by any single person or study. It was the result of converging forces: the growing voice of autistic self-advocates, updated ethics standards from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), a deeper understanding of neurodiversity, and a field-wide reckoning with what the data was actually showing about long-term outcomes.
Autistic Self-Advocates Changed the Conversation
One of the most important catalysts for new school ABA was the autistic community speaking up—loudly and consistently—about what old school approaches felt like from the inside. The neurodiversity movement reframed autism not as a deficit to be corrected but as a different—and equally valid—way of experiencing and navigating the world. Organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network began publishing position statements on ABA, pushing the field to confront the gap between its stated goals and its actual impact on autistic people's wellbeing.
Clinicians who listened began asking different questions. Not "how do we get this child to stop doing that?" but "what is this behavior communicating, and how can we better support this person?" That single shift in framing changed everything downstream.
The BACB Raised the Bar on Ethics
In 2020, the BACB significantly overhauled its Ethics Code, introducing much clearer expectations around client dignity, assent, and social validity—the idea that treatment goals should be meaningful to the client's actual life, not just measurable on a data sheet. Assent—a client's active, ongoing willingness to engage in therapy—became a professional and ethical responsibility, not just a nice-to-have.
A New Understanding of What "Progress" Means
New school ABA also reflects a deeper understanding of what actually constitutes meaningful progress for an autistic child. Old school ABA measured success through compliance rates and behavior reduction graphs. New school ABA asks broader questions: Is this child more independent? Are they communicating their needs more effectively? Do they feel safe? Are they able to pursue the things that bring them joy? Are their family members equipped to support their growth at home?
Old School vs. New School ABA: Six Key Differences
While the full picture is nuanced, there are six areas where the contrast between old school and new school ABA is most clearly felt by families—and most important to understand when evaluating a potential provider.
1. Goal Focus: Behavior Reduction vs. Quality of Life
Old school ABA defined success primarily by what it eliminated—reduced tantrums, less stimming, fewer instances of non-compliance. New school ABA defines success by what it builds: communication skills, independence, emotional regulation, social connection, and the ability to navigate daily life with confidence. Goals in new school ABA are written around what the child can do, not what they can't.
2. The Child's Voice: Minimal vs. Central
In old school ABA, the child had almost no agency in their own therapy. The therapist set the agenda, and the child's job was to respond. In new school ABA, the child's preferences, interests, and comfort level actively shape what happens in every session. If a child is dysregulated or clearly not wanting to participate, the session pauses, adapts, or ends. Assent isn't a checkbox—it's an ongoing, living part of the therapeutic relationship.
3. Family Role: Peripheral vs. Active Partner
Old school ABA treated families as the recipients of reports—told what the data showed and what the next targets would be, but not involved in deciding what those targets should be. New school ABA flips this entirely. Caregivers are partners in goal planning from the very beginning. A skilled BCBA working in the new school model will spend significant time understanding a family's values, routines, cultural context, and vision for their child's future before writing a single goal.
4. Learning Setting: Structured Table-Top vs. Natural Environment
Old school ABA happened at a table, in a clinic, following a script. New school ABA prioritizes Natural Environment Teaching (NET)—embedding learning into the activities and settings that make up a child's real life. A child learning to request items learns it at the kitchen counter. A child working on social skills practices them at the park with their actual peers. Skills learned in context generalize to real life far more reliably than skills drilled in isolation.
5. Ethics: Compliance Rates vs. Dignity and Assent
Old school ABA measured fidelity by how closely the therapist followed the protocol and how consistently the child complied. New school ABA measures something different: whether the client is an active, willing participant in their own growth. Modern ethics require BCBAs to actively monitor and respond to signs of distress or refusal, to ensure that methods used are the least restrictive possible, and to treat every client's dignity as non-negotiable. Cultural humility is now considered a core clinical competency.
6. View of Autism: Deficit to Fix vs. Difference to Support
Old school ABA operated from a deficit model: autism was a disorder characterized by things the child lacked or did wrong, and therapy's job was to correct those deficits toward a neurotypical standard. New school ABA operates from a neurodiversity-informed model: autism is a different—not lesser—neurological profile, and therapy's job is to build skills that help the individual thrive on their own terms. The goal is never to make an autistic child appear neurotypical. It's to support them in living a full, connected, self-directed life.
What New School ABA Looks Like Day to Day
Understanding the philosophy is one thing. Knowing what new school ABA actually looks like when a BCBA walks through your door is another.
A Thorough, Family-Led Intake
A new school ABA program begins with listening. Before any goals are written, a skilled BCBA will spend meaningful time with the family—understanding the child's strengths, the family's priorities, the daily routines that matter most, and the challenges that are genuinely getting in the way of the child's life.
Goals That Reflect Real Life
New school ABA goals are written in functional, meaningful terms. Rather than "the client will comply with therapist instructions on 80% of trials," a new school goal might read: "the child will request preferred items using words or a communication device during snack time." The target matters—but so does whether achieving it will actually make the child's daily life better.
Sessions That Follow the Child
In practice, new school ABA sessions are dynamic and responsive. A BCBA or behavior technician arrives with a plan, but that plan bends around the child's state, mood, and engagement. If the child is excited about something unexpected, a skilled therapist uses that energy. If the child is dysregulated, the session becomes about co-regulation first. The structure serves the child—the child doesn't serve the structure.
Parent Training as a Core Component
One of the most meaningful differences in new school ABA is the emphasis on parent and caregiver training. The goal is never to make families dependent on a therapist—it's to equip caregivers with the understanding and tools to support their child's growth throughout the day, not just during session hours.
Pro insight: A genuinely skilled BCBA is always working toward reducing reliance on themselves. If a provider isn't actively building your capacity as a caregiver and moving toward less intensive support over time, that's worth asking about directly.
How to Tell Old School from New School ABA When Choosing a Provider
The distinction between old school and new school ABA isn't always visible on a website or in a brochure. Here are the questions that actually reveal which model a provider is operating from:
- How do you incorporate assent into your sessions? A new school provider will have a clear, specific answer. An old school provider may look confused by the question.
- How are goals determined? New school ABA involves the family—and, where possible, the child—in goal-setting. Old school ABA presents goals to families for sign-off.
- What does a typical session look like? If the answer involves 40 hours of table-top drills, that's an old school model. If the answer describes play-based, natural environment teaching woven into daily routines, that's new school.
- How do you think about autism? A new school provider will speak about building on strengths. An old school provider may frame the conversation primarily around deficits and compliance.
- What are your views on stimming? New school ABA distinguishes between behaviors that cause harm and behaviors that are simply different. Old school ABA was far more likely to target all non-normative behaviors for elimination.
The Role of the Modern BCBA
From Technician to Teammate
Today's BCBA serves as a guide, coach, and collaborator. They hold genuine clinical expertise, but they also hold deep respect for the knowledge that families and clients bring to the table. They are comfortable adjusting when the data doesn't align with the child's experience, and advocating for what's truly in the client's best interest—even when that means recommending fewer hours or a different approach entirely.
Data-Driven and Deeply Human
New school BCBAs understand that data is a tool in service of the relationship—not a replacement for it. Empathy, cultural humility, and collaborative communication are not soft skills in new school ABA. They are clinical competencies.
Pro insight: A truly great BCBA is always working themselves out of a job—building the skills and confidence in families and clients so that meaningful growth continues long after formal services end.
How Families Benefit from New School ABA
You Are a Partner, Not a Bystander
Perhaps the most immediate difference families notice in new school ABA is that they are genuinely included. From the first intake meeting through every goal update, caregivers are active participants—not just recipients of reports. Their values, their family culture, and their vision for their child's future shape the program.
Skills That Transfer to Real Life
Because new school ABA teaches skills in natural, meaningful contexts, those skills actually transfer. A child who learns to ask for a snack during therapy at the kitchen table brings that skill to school, to grandma's house, to the grocery store. The generalization gap that plagued old school ABA is dramatically reduced when learning happens in real environments from the start.
A Child Who Wants to Engage
When therapy feels safe, when the child's preferences are honored, and when learning happens through activities that are genuinely motivating, children engage differently. They learn faster. They retain more. And they build a sense of confidence and self-efficacy that extends far beyond any specific skill target.
Pro insight: If you're evaluating a new ABA provider, ask to observe a session—or at minimum, ask to speak with other families they've worked with. How a provider responds to that request will tell you a great deal about their confidence and transparency.
Ready to Experience New School ABA?
At Giving Growth Therapy Services, every program we build starts with your family. Our BCBAs are trained in the most current, ethical, neurodiversity-affirming practices—and they bring genuine care to every session, every goal, and every conversation. We believe ABA at its best is a partnership built on trust, respect, and a shared commitment to your child's flourishing.
If you've had concerns about ABA based on what you've heard or experienced before, we understand—and we'd welcome the conversation. Connect with our team today.
