Ins and Outs of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Intervention in Promoting Social Communicative Abilities and Theory of Mind in Children and Adolescents with ASD: A Systematic Review.
Published May 9, 2026
A meta-analysis of ABA-based and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for communication, adaptive, and cognitive skills in autistic children.
This meta-analysis examined 25 controlled studies of ABA-based interventions and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) in autistic children aged about 1.5–10 years.
The analysis reported improvements in receptive language and adaptive/cognitive skills, but study limitations were common: randomization, preregistration, follow-up, implementation fidelity, and parent outcomes were often inadequately reported. The findings also cannot separate the causal effects of ABA from NDBIs.
This review does not support training eye contact, masking, or “normal” social behavior as goals. Support goals should be functional, individually chosen, and monitored for assent, wellbeing, and real-world generalization.
Source: Mutschler Collins I, et al. “A Meta-Analysis of ABA-Based Interventions to Improve Communication, Adaptive, and Cognitive Skills in Children on the Autism Spectrum.” Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-025-00506-0.
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