ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- For 8-year-old Ryan Mohar, an elevator isn't just an elevator. He spends hours pressing the buttons and riding up and down, preferring this to the slew of alternatives that his teachers offer -- even candy.



Ryan Mohar, who has autism, gets treated with ABA approaches at the Marcus Autism Center.



Ryan is one of many American children with autism, a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive behaviors or limited interests, and difficulties with communication and social interactions.



At the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Ryan and other children with communication and behavior difficulties get help through a rigorous empirical method called Applied Behavior Analysis.



"Decades of research has shown that that is the treatment of choice, and results in the best gains in terms of skill acquisition and behavior problem reduction for kids with autism and other developmental disabilities," said Alice Shillingsburg, program coordinator of the center's Language and Learning Clinic.



The effectiveness and nature of ABA is particularly relevant as many parents fight for insurance companies to cover it and other autism treatments. The organization Autism Speaks has endorsed bills in 25 states that would require private health insurance policies to cover the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders for anyone under the age of 21. The legislation would specifically be targeted at ABA and other structured autism therapies. Only eight states have autism insurance reform, according to Autism Speaks.



While ABA encompasses a broad range of practices of studying and changing behavior, the one usually associated with autism is called discrete trial instruction. A trial consists of a cue, the opportunity to respond and a reward.  Watch therapists using applied behavior analysis on Ryan »



For example, a therapist might try to teach a child who likes sweets to request candy. The trial gets repeated over and over so that the child learns that candy comes only as a result of the request. The clinicians at Marcus Autism Center carefully record how many trials the child successfully completes.  Learn more about autism »



"If suddenly they can emit some vocal response, and suddenly when they do that, candy appears -- someone delivers candy to them -- that's a very powerful response for that child," said Nathan Call, director of Behavior Treatment Clinics at the Marcus Autism Center.



Analysts examine progress based on such data at least once a day -- sometimes five or six times a day -- and will change the treatment plan if necessary.



In Ryan's case, a trial begins when his clinical specialist takes him near the elevator and asks him to hand over a card -- his way of requesting access to the elevator. If Ryan gives the card, he gets to go to the elevator, and that is the end of one trial. If he does not, his helpers walk him away, and a new trial begins.



Experts working with Ryan hope that teaching him to ask for the things he enjoys -- elevator rides, elevator buttons -- will help him stop running away, which he does even at home. In fact, Ryan wears a GPS-equipped ankle bracelet so that police can track him if he gets far from home.



ABA is very effective, but the term "cure" is inaccurate, experts said. Autism describes a broad range of characteristics, not an underlying cause, Call said. ABA techniques can produce significant behavior changes, however.



"The goal is not necessarily for the child to have hit all of their developmental milestones, necessarily, but rather it's hopefully to get them to a point where they're able to take advantage of a more typical or less restrictive educational environment," he said.



Studies have shown that 60 percent of high-functioning children can lose their diagnosis of autism by age 8 by using ABA, according to the Kennedy Krieger Institute, a leading center in autism research and treatment in Baltimore, Maryland.



Not everyone is so enthusiastic about ABA, however. Dr. Max Wiznitzer, associate professor of pediatric neurology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, cautions that the treatment should fit the child, and ABA may not work as well for some children
What methods are employed in ABA? What is applied behavior analysis? How many states has Autism Speaks endorsed bills in?
discrete trial instruction. rigorous empirical method 25
question: What methods are employed in ABA?, answer: discrete trial instruction. | question: What is applied behavior analysis?, answer: rigorous empirical method | question: How many states has Autism Speaks endorsed bills in?, answer: 25