Generalization refers to your child’s ability to take a skill learned during therapy and successfully use it in real-life situations. A skill is not truly functional unless it appears naturally—across environments, people, and routines—not just inside a structured session.

For example, if a child learns to request “water” with a therapist, generalization means they can also request water at home, at school, during play, or with a grandparent. Without generalization, skills stay “trapped” in therapy and do not support daily independence.

Promoting generalization is a major goal of modern ABA. Therapists use varied people, materials, instructions, and environments to ensure that skills become flexible, practical, and meaningful outside of the therapy room. This is part of why naturalistic teaching approaches are so important in high-quality ABA.

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• A child learns to ask for a drink with their therapist, and later asks their teacher for a drink at school.
  
• A child practices following instructions in therapy and begins doing so at home without prompting.
  
• A child uses a communication skill during play with a sibling, not just with an RBT.

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Generalization is the bridge between learning a skill and truly using it independently. Without generalization, skills remain artificial and don’t improve daily quality of life.

ABA programs that emphasize generalization create long-term, real-world progress—helping children function more confidently in home, school, and community environments.

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