Autism

Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is most well known for it’s application in evidence-based treatment plans for children and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. ABA therapy focuses on improving socially significant behaviours and targeting challenging behaviours that may be getting in the way.

Within an ABA session, a behaviour therapist implements an individualized treatment plan developed by a BCBA (Board Certified Behavioral Analyst). The therapist encourages and assists learner in learning and developing skills through meaningful activities whilst creating a positive, fun, and reinforcing environment. Science-based techniques are used including but not limited to pairing, prompting, shaping, differential reinforcement, and task analysis.

• The National Standards Project

• Reichow, B., Barton, E.E., Boyd, B.A. and Hume, K. (2014), Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): A Systematic Review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 10: 1-116. doi:10.4073/csr.2014.9

Natural Environment Teaching

Natural Environment Teaching is an instructional method used in ABA therapy that involves learning in a natural environment or an environment that the child encounters in their everyday life. The skills are taught through naturally occurring routines such as play or everyday activities. One of the key principles of NET is to use child’s high interests or things that are highly motivating and engaging to them to facilitate learning.

Using the child’s high interests can help children to acquire new skills that are pivotal in their development and increases the likelihood that they will generalize more readily outside of therapy.

Discrete Trial Teaching

Discrete Trial Teaching is a method of teaching in which behaviour therapist uses adult-directed, massed trial instruction, and clear contingencies to teach new skills. It is a structured ABA technique that breaks down skills into small, “discrete” components and systematically the therapist teaches these components one by one. During a DTT session, a tangible reinforcement that is motivating to the child is used for the desired response. This might include a toy or a preferred activity.

Verbal Behaviour

Verbal Behaviour is an approach based on the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis used specifically to teach children with autism to learn communication and language by connecting words with their functions. In Verbal Behaviour, language is classified into different types or ‘operants’ based on their function, to name a few: mand (a request), tact (a label/comment), intraverbal (a response to a comment or a question), echoic (a repeated word).
Verbal Behavior therapy can be used with young children beginning to learn language, children with delayed language development or language disorder, and children who use sign language, visual supports, or other forms of assisted communication.

Self-Management Skills

Self-management is a behavioural strategy to increase independence and teach new skills through monitoring, recording, and rewarding a child’s own behaviour. Self-management strategies have been widely researched and are effective ways to teach independence of skills such as play, social, adaptive, language, communication, vocational, and self-regulation skills to individuals with autism.

Components of self-management include identifying a goal, modifying the environment to increase the likelihood that the goal can be achieved, recording and monitoring own behaviour to determine whether or not the child is progressing towards the goal, and implementing reinforcement to oneself when the goals are met.

Self-management is a useful intervention for individuals of any age and can be used to generalize behaviours and skills across environments and settings, including school, home, and the community.

Beyond Autism

Although many experts consider ABA therapy to be the premier treatment for children with autism, ABA is not only for autism. The behavioural interventions used within ABA therapy can be utilised to treat many mental, behavioural, and developmental disorders.

Additionally ABA is also utilised when treating adults and in other settings including education and businesses.

Education

ABA has been widely effective in schools across the world.

• Roth, I.M. and Roth, W.F. (2016), Introducing the Systemic Approach to Early Education. Perf. Improv., 55: 21-26. doi:10.1002/pfi.21552

• Oliver, R.M., Wehby, J.H. and Reschly, D.J. (2011), Teacher classroom management practices: effects on disruptive or aggressive student behavior. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 7: 1-55. doi:10.4073/csr.2011.4

• Bernard, RM, Borokhovski, E, Schmid, RF, Waddington, DI, Pickup, DI. Twenty‐first century adaptive teaching and individualized learning operationalized as specific blends of student‐centered instructional events: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2019; 15:e1017. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1017

• Nye, C., Turner, H. and Schwartz, J. (2006), Approaches to Parent Involvement for Improving the Academic Performance of Elementary School Age Children. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2: 1-49. doi:10.4073/csr.2006.4

Early Start Denver Model

The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) is an evidence-based naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention specifically developed for young children with autism or for those at risk for autism. It is a play-based intervention that fuses behavioral and developmental principles and aims to close the developmental gap that is becoming evident by targeting all developmental areas. ESDM therapy can be provided in group or one-on-one and can be implemented in different settings such as the home, clinic, or the daycare/preschool.

In ESDM, parents and therapists use play, joint activities, and everyday routines to build positive and fun relationships with the child. The child is encouraged to participate in meaningful interactions and communications that help to nurture their language, social, and cognitive skills.

Pivotal Response Treatment

Pivotal Response Treatment is a naturalistic intervention that relies on naturally occurring teaching opportunities and aims at increasing learner’s motivation by adding components such as turn-taking, reinforcing attempts, child-choice, and interspersing maintenance/pre-learned tasks. The four central areas that have been identified in PRT are (a) motivation, (b) learner self-initiations, (c) self-management, and (d) responsiveness to multiple cues. It is believed that when these areas are promoted, they produce improvements in targeted behaviours and many other areas in development. The ESDM model has a strong emphasis on Pivotal Response Training.

Organizational Behaviour Management

Organizational behaviour management (OBM) is when the scientific principles of behaviour analysis are applied to performance evaluation and improvement in any organizational context. OBM is used widely in healthcare, sports, and manufacturing, and is increasingly being taken into consideration in all types of human resource management systems.

• Wikoff, M.B. (1984), A corporate‐wide application of organizational behaviour management. Nonprofit Management Leadership, 23: 9-11. doi:10.1002/pfi.4150230205

• McGee, H.M. and Johnson, D.A. (2015), Performance Motivation as the Behaviourist Views It. Perf. Improv., 54: 15-21. doi:10.1002/pfi.21472

• Abernathy, W.B. (2011), An analysis of the effects of selected management practices on organizational productivity and performance. Perf. Improv., 50: 39-47. doi:10.1002/pfi.20225

• Abernathy, W.B. (2010), A comprehensive performance analysis and improvement method. Perf. Improv., 49: 5-17. doi:10.1002/pfi.20146

Precision Teaching

Precision teaching is a precise and systematic method of evaluating instructional tactics and curricula. It is one of the few quantitative analyses of behaviour forms of applied behaviour analysis. It comes from a very strong quantitative scientific basis and was pioneered by Ogden Lindsley in the 1960s based largely on Skinner's operant conditioning.

ADHD

Applied behaviour Analysis has been shown to be effective for children and adults diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Disorder.

• McDowell, C. and Keenan, M. (2001), DEVELOPING FLUENCY AND ENDURANCE IN A CHILD DIAGNOSED WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 34: 345-348. doi:10.1901/jaba.2001.34-345

• Northup, J., Broussard, C., Jones, K., George, T., Vollmer, T.R. and Herring, M. (1995), THE DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF TEACHER AND PEER ATTENTION ON THE DISRUPTIVE CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR OF THREE CHILDREN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 28: 227-228. doi:10.1901/jaba.1995.28-227

• Binder, L.M., Dixon, M.R. and Ghezzi, P.M. (2000), A PROCEDURE TO TEACH SELF‐CONTROL TO CHILDREN WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 33: 233-237. doi:10.1901/jaba.2000.33-233

Addiction

• Silverman, K., Roll, J.M. and Higgins, S.T. (2008), INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF DRUG ADDICTION. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 41: 471-480. doi:10.1901/jaba.2008.41-471

• Toegel, F., Holtyn, A.F., Subramaniam, S. and Silverman, K. (2020), Effects of time‐based administration of abstinence reinforcement targeting opiate and cocaine use. Jnl of Applied Behav Analysis. doi:10.1002/jaba.702

• Foxx, R.M. and Brown, R.A. (1979), NICOTINE FADING AND SELF‐MONITORING FOR CIGARETTE ABSTINENCE OR CONTROLLED SMOKING. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12: 111-125. doi:10.1901/jaba.1979.12-111