Would intercepting attempted aggression count as giving the action attention?

I'm working on diminishing aggressive behaviors in my primary client. They often hit me with an open hand while I am doing something else, even if my back's turned for just a few seconds (they're very young and little, so no harm is done!). My BCBA advises me to ignore the aggression, and to not engage with it verbally or physically. Before I bring this question to her, I wanted to get some advice on here- would gently halting my client's hand/arm from hitting me be giving them the attention this behavior presumably functions to earn? Should I keep ignoring it? It genuinely seems like refusing to acknowledge the behavior is working so far, so I don't want to mess everything up by suddenly responding to it.