What is ABA?
Briefly, ABA, or Applied Behavior Analysis, is a technology supported by more than 40 years of research and based largely on B.F. Skinner’s work in operant conditioning. Formally, ABA is defined as the process of systematically applying interventions based on the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968).
Put simply, ABA involves evaluating behavior through a number of steps and using specific interventions to change behavior. “Behavior” refers to undesirable behavior and desirable behavior. In other words, running away is a behavior, but so are writing, playing pirates, and putting on pajamas.
ABA can be used to increase a variety of important behaviors, such as communication, cognitive, academic, play, social, attention and self-care skills, as well as decrease undesirable behaviors such as tantrumming, aggression, repetitive behavior and self-injury.
ABA encompasses many different interventions, including Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT), Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), Incidental Teaching, Verbal Behavior, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), and the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), as well as others.
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ABA involves understanding how behavior and learning are impacted by the environment. This is often referred to as the ABCs:
Antecedent > Behavior> Consequence
Antecedents, which occur before the behavior, and consequences, which occur after the behavior, are changed so that problem behaviors, like spitting, decrease and desired behaviors, like brushing teeth, increase.
Examples of antecedent control include:
Your daughter screams every time you say “no”. You decide to say, “Make another choice,” instead of “no”, so she doesn’t automatically scream.
Your son overstuffs his mouth with food while he’s eating and often chokes or gags. You help him learn to use a fork so he takes smaller bites.
Examples of consequence control include:
Your child throws toys when he wants your attention. You ignore the toy throwing and give him lots of attention for touching you or calling your name when he wants you to look.
Your son is able to make the “th” sound when he talks but often makes a “d” sound instead. When he makes the effort to make the “th” sound correctly you give him tickles and a high five.
Your son takes gum out of his mouth and plays with it in his hands, which is very messy. You take the gum away when he does this so he learns that gum should be left in your mouth.
Your four year old often plays alone at preschool. You put a princess sticker on her star chart every day she makes an effort to play with friends. When she has 5 stickers, she earns a trip to the video store to rent her favorite princess movie.
Research on ABA has shown that it is effective for treating autism across a variety of settings, behaviors, ages and functioning levels. Many children with autism who have received one to three years of early, intensive ABA-based treatment have demonstrated large improvements in cognitive, communication, and adaptive skills. Some studies indicate that children with autism who received intensive ABA treatment made larger improvements in most skill areas than children who participated in other interventions.
The U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health supported ABA as an effective treatment for autism: www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec6.html#autism
Quality ABA programs:
• Identify important behaviors to change that help the child be independent and successful at home, school and in the community
• Develop specific and measurable goals
• Choose appropriate measurement tools
• Establish behavior baselines (i.e., levels of behavior before treatment began)
• Design and implement effective interventions
• Continually measure progress over time
• Regularly modify interventions based on child performance and data
• Provide parent education and involve the whole family in treatment
• Include strategies to ensure maintenance and generalization
