Is ABA effective for older children? (activity, medication, kids, adults)

[tigergirl87]

My son is 9 years old and he has level 1 ASD. He is verbal and mostly sufficient but has issues socially. For example, he does not always look others in the eye when they are talking to him and he has issues communicating. I attempted to get ABA when he was younger but was unsuccessful. I am curious if it is effective for kids who have milder cases and or older or would he benefit more for speech/OT. His ASD causes him issues with focus and hyperactivity. At this time he is not on any medication. Like most children with ASD he is very intelligent but his lack of focus causes issues. I am just curious if anyone else has attempted ABA with an older child? He also has poor memory.

[nana053]

ABA has social skills classes for older children and they can be very helpful with social issues. As for looking people in the eyes, that is over-rated. Has he been tested for ADHD which is often co-morbid with ASD. If he has ADHD, meds can be very helpful for focus and hyperactivity.

[RamenAddict]

ABA is available for people at any age. I worked for a state agency that provided ABA for adults, and it was effective. Not all the clients had severe behavioral difficulties. Many did have it in school and still needed additional ABA when they finished because they had difficulty with the transition to adulthood.