 ABA's success with autism has a long history and continues to be one shining example of the application of the science. You may wonder why that is. Just what is the reason that ABA has been so successful for people with autism? Before I answer that, let us digress further into some other areas of success. ABA has been applied across the mental health field and has a long history of being used to help those with other disorders as well. Individuals with schizophrenia, ADHD, Down syndrome, diabetes, depression, anxiety, addictions, and eating disorders have all benefited from the application of behavior analysis. The successes in these various areas are for the same reasons we have been extremely successful in the educational settings, from teaching children to read or teaching basic and advanced arithmetic skills, or complex scientific topics, or helping struggling students catch up to and exceed their peers. Our tools have been applied, studied, verified, modified, and re-applied. Have you heard of Head Sprout? It is an award-winning tool to teach the skill of reading its behavior analysis. Many other commercially available and widely used educational programs are developed by behavior analysts and based on the principles of behavior analysis. Further, the What Works Claring House is developed by the Institute of Education Sciences and comprises scientifically supported academic interventions for all topics. And we identify basic ABA principles in many of those interventions. So why is it that applied behavior analysis is used so widely and works so well? It's simple. Behavior analysts take careful observational data. The data are also carefully reviewed for patterns and trends. Feedback is then given to individuals and programs are designed for each person and modified based on the individual's own performance, preferences, and needs. For example, people with autism who have trouble communicating have a program designed just to focus on one thing at a time and will receive support tailored to their individual needs, just like a person who has trouble using a cell phone while driving or getting enough exercise. That support comes from a direct observation and analysis of objective and individualized data, not from guesses about what is happening or why. This evidence-based approach is exactly what makes ABA different. You see, in behavior analysis, there is no need to search for labels or diagnoses, only a search for why people behave the way they do, and an application of the findings that help a person reduce the obstacles in their world and meet their goals. While ABA has had a profound effect on the lives of people diagnosed with autism, the next time you hear about ABA, we hope you also think of the other areas ABA has successfully used, including education, goal setting, and behavior change in general. More importantly, we hope you think about improving the quality of life for all.