A Letter to the Parent I Was Before ABA

Dear “Before” Me,

I remember how it felt.
You sat in the car outside the therapy center, hands wrapped around a coffee you forgot to drink, wondering what all those acronyms meant. BCBA? RBT? ABA? You were exhausted, overwhelmed, and afraid to hope too much.

I wish I could sit next to you now and tell you what I’ve seen since then.

At first, it felt strange to watch strangers play on the floor with your child, pointing to pictures, clapping, cheering over every tiny thing. You worried: Isn’t this too structured? Will my child feel pressured?
But then — little by little — something shifted.

One day, your child made eye contact when you called their name.
One day, they reached for your hand instead of pulling away.
One day, they used words instead of tears.

And you realized: it wasn’t about forcing your child to change.
It was about teaching them the tools to share the beautiful person they already are with the world.

You’ll see, too, how ABA becomes part of everyday life.
How you start waiting just an extra beat to let them request.
How you catch yourself praising effort instead of just results.
How the team becomes part of your family — not to “fix” your child, but to help you both discover new ways to connect.

There will still be hard days. Therapy isn’t magic. Progress isn’t always linear. But each small gain matters more than you can imagine.

So if you’re sitting in that car, unsure and overwhelmed: it’s okay.
Take a deep breath. Step inside.
There’s a whole team waiting to walk this path with you — and they see the potential that sometimes fear makes you forget.

With love,
The “After” You