If your child receives ABA therapy, you have probably heard some version of this: more hours means more progress. Many families are told to expect 30 to 40 hours a week, and plenty of parents rearrange their entire lives to make that happen. So when a new study suggested that the number of hours may not be the whole story, it caught our attention, and we think it’s worth talking about plainly.
What the study looked at
Researchers at the Catalight Research Institute, a nonprofit, looked at one year of real-world clinic records for 725 autistic children receiving ABA across the United States. Their paper, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, compared how many hours each child received with how they did on three things: everyday “adaptive” skills (communication, socializing, daily living), progress toward their individual therapy goals, and dangerous behaviors.
Here is what they reported. Children who got more hours did not show greater gains in adaptive skills. In fact, children with more hours tended to start with lower skills and improved more slowly. Dangerous behaviors went down over time no matter how many hours a child received. And a child’s starting communication skills predicted outcomes better than the hour count did. The one place hours did matter was goal attainment: kids with more hours met more of their written goals.
The lead author, Dr. Doreen Samelson, put it this way: “more hours are not a reliable predictor of meaningful, real-world progress.” She also noted that “for some children, increased hours may support short-term learning of specific skills.”
How to read this (without overreading it)
This is a single study, and it’s important to be honest about what it can and can’t tell us. It looked at records of what happened in real clinics; it didn’t randomly assign children to different hours, so it can’t prove that hours do or don’t cause progress. Children who get more hours often have greater needs to begin with, which can make the numbers look flat even when therapy is helping a great deal. The authors also point out that goal attainment isn’t a standardized measure, since every clinician writes goals a little differently. And the study doesn’t say ABA doesn’t work. The authors note it remains effective for many children, especially for reducing dangerous behaviors and building specific skills.
So the takeaway isn’t “fewer hours” or “more hours.” It’s that the number on the schedule is a starting point for a conversation, not a guarantee of results.
Questions worth asking your child’s team
You don’t need a research degree to be a strong partner here. A few questions that can open a good conversation with your BCBA (the Board Certified Behavior Analyst who designs your child’s program):
“How did we decide on this number of hours for my child?” A good answer connects the hours to your child’s specific needs and goals, not just a standard recommendation.
“What does progress look like beyond our written goals?” Mastering a skill in a therapy room is wonderful, but you want to know if it’s showing up at the dinner table, at school, and at the playground. (Clinicians call this generalization, which simply means using a skill in many places and with many people.)
“How often do we review whether the hours still fit?” Needs change. Some children may benefit from more intensity at certain times and less at others, and your team should be revisiting the plan regularly.
“How can our family be part of this?” Communication skills seem to be a big driver of how kids do, and the time between sessions matters. Ask what two or three things you can practice at home, and how to fit them into routines you already have rather than adding another to-do list.
Quality, not just quantity
If there’s a hopeful message in this research, it’s that families have more levers than hours alone. Clear goals that matter to your family, a team that talks with you often, strategies that carry into daily life, and a plan that gets adjusted as your child grows all count. Many parents also feel real pressure, guilt even, when they can’t fit in the “recommended” number of hours. This study is a good reminder that a thoughtful plan matters more than a maxed-out schedule.
If you have concerns about your child’s current plan, bring them to the team. A good one will welcome the conversation.
We’re always happy to talk through questions with families, whether or not you’re part of our practice. Wherever you are on this journey, you’re doing important work.
Sources
- Catalight, “Study Finds More Treatment Hours for Autistic Children May Not Lead to Better Outcomes” (January 2026)
- Samelson, D., Sneed, L., & Pfingston, B. “Dosage in Applied Behavior Analysis: Effect on Adaptive Behavior, Goal Attainment, and Dangerous Behavior.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
