All pupils at TreeHouse School have a completely personalised curriculum designed around their individual needs. TreeHouse School delivers all aspects of teaching and learning using the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). Individualised teaching and intervention strategies are designed, implemented and evaluated for each pupil based on their specific learning needs. Consultants with advanced training and experience of autism oversee the progress of each pupil in the school.

If you observe a child or young person with autism being taught according to the principles of ABA, you should see an intensive, enjoyable, interactive approach designed first to teach basic learning skills and encourage motivation, then to build on existing pre-requisite skills to learn more advanced skills. Any challenging aspects of learning are broken down into small, achievable steps, and are then taught in a systematic and consistent way. All of the pupil’s achievements are carefully reinforced and close monitoring of each child’s progress is underpinned by precise data collection and observation.

Decisions about the most appropriate types intervention strategies will be based on the assessed needs of the pupils and their families. A ‘good’ ABA provision will be highly personalised and with an emphasis on enabling children to generalise all learned skills into new situations and in providing parents – and all others working with the pupil – with the skills to respond to their child’s communication, social and behaviour needs across all environments.

Through our research partnership with Bangor University we measure the impact of our teaching and the outcomes for children at TreeHouse School. We worked in partnership with other organisations to develop professional competencies and standards for ABA professionals and through the ABA Schools Forum we promote acceptance and understanding of ABA in schools.

ABA Questions and Answers

Read Ambitious about Autism's ABA Question and Answers (PDF 34KB) for more information. Please note this document is designed to help parents and carers understand ABA and how it can help children and young people with autism to develop progress and achieve.