What ABA actually is
Applied Behavior Analysis breaks skills — requesting, waiting, toileting, playing — into small steps and teaches them with positive reinforcement, measuring progress session by session. Modern ABA looks like play, not drills: child-led, reinforcement-based, and paired with heavy parent coaching.
It is not a cure for autism, and ethical programs no longer aim to make autistic children 'indistinguishable'. Goals are communication, independence and reduction of behaviors that harm the child (head-banging, running away).
What a good Dhaka program includes
A written plan with measurable targets reviewed every 8–12 weeks. Data collected every session. Supervision by a BCBA or senior psychologist at least twice a month. Parent training as a scheduled component — not advice in a corridor. Optional school shadow support with the shadow trained by the same supervisor.
Be wary of programs that promise recovery, use punishment procedures, or quote prices only by phone.
Costs and formats
Listed ABA sessions on TherapeuticCare run BDT 1,500–2,500. Intensive programs (15–25 hours/week) are rarely necessary to start; most Dhaka families begin with 2–3 center sessions weekly plus parent coaching, then scale.
Tele-sessions for ABA work as parent coaching — you implement, the therapist observes and guides. This is also the format with the clearest regulatory footing in Bangladesh.