What is the optimum amount of aba for an autistic child 3 years of
age? Is 10 hours effective, 20 hours, 30 hours or 40 hours and what
are the expected results of each level of intervention? Which is the
preferred amount of time per week?

The time that a family invests into an Applied Behavior Analysis
intervention for the child will depend on the family dynamics, but
according to the research, the optimum amount of time is about 40
hours a week. People think that that is unrealistic when talking about
a three-year-old, but that time includes naptime, mealtime, and a lot
of playtime that can be used for breaks or rewards and be facilitated
by someone who can use that time to the child?s advantage. It is not,
as people picture in their minds, a child sitting at a table
responding to questions all day long. The children tend to be more
connected to those around them, more tuned in to the world. Families
may believe that a program this intense would be very demanding and
add a lot of stress to their lives. One must consider that a lot of
families feel that the child?s behavior alone adds a lot of stress to
the family situation, and improving the behavior can actually reduce
the stress. That is a decision that each family must make based upon
it?s own dynamics, abilities, and patience, and if you decide that you
cannot manage 40 hours, but 25 would be possible, that?s OK, too.
There is no ?all or nothing? about the program

from http://home.vicnet.net.au/~abia/resource/transcripts/McEachin_Spring_98.htm

The optimum amount of ABA for a child with Autism or another ASD is
different for each child.  But before discussing how much you should
try to do for your child, lets talk first about the idea of doing 40
hours of ABA a week.

There is alot of confusion about the 40 hours number.  Our first
consultant that helped us start our ABA program explained to us that
in some cases, the 40 hours number was derived by having two
therapists work with a child simultaneously for 20 hours a week
(referring to therapy delivered in the landmark Lovaas study).  So in
effect, the child was actually getting 20 hours of Discrete trials
(table time) a week.  (Our consultant worked as a graduate student
under Lovaas IN the pilot study itself, so I trust he knows what he is
talking about).

So, there is no magic number of hours that is right for your child, or
which if you meet will guarantee success or recovery.

What you have to do is start your program with some arbitrary amount
that you are able to pay for and schedule into your life.  See how
your child responds and make changes based upon his/her response.

When we started my son`s ABA program at age 3, we began with 25 hours
of table time (Discrete Trials).  His reponse was immediate and
dramatic; he showed tremendous improvement.  It was not necessary for
us to do more than 25 hours a week of Discrete Trials with him (at the
table).  You can read my son`s full story here at
http://www.autismtreatment.info/matthew.aspx . He started ABA at age
3, but he is 8 years old now and indistinguishable from his classmates
which are a class of typical functioning peers.  (I have friends whose
child NEEDS 40 hours a week, so each child is different).

But, ABA is larger than just Discrete Trials.  To really have a chance
at "recovery", you are going to have to think of ABA as a "way of
life".  By that I mean, in every interaction you have with your child,
use it as a "teachable moment".  In our son`s program, he had
therapists working with him for 25 hours a week in the beginning, but
his mother would use the time in between "table time", to work on
skills and deficits in the "natural environment".  Every waking moment
is potentially a teachable moment.

We used Verbal Behavior alot as he began responding to ABA and
learning to talk.  VB is a kind of a subset of ABA.  See
http://www.behavioranalysts.com/ to learn more about Verbal Behavior.

As to the results you should expect, you should be able to record
progress in the different areas your child is working on.  Using ABA,
you or your consultant will choose different modules of instruction to
address different areas of deficit.  If you are not seeing progress,
then you either need to increase your hours of Discrete Trial
instruction or get a new Consultant or possibly both.  You should not
go months at a time with very little or no progress and not make
changes.

Now understand, I am just a father of a son with Autism.  I helped my
wife give our son an ABA program for 5 years with great success.  But,
I am not trained or certified in ABA or any other health field. 
Consult your physician or advisor before making any changes to your
childs program.

Good Luck,
J. P. Reirdon
Webmaster
http://www.AutismTreatment.info