NAVIGATING THE SPECTRUM

ABA is a systematic approach to increasing desired behaviors and skills while decreasing undesirable or inappropriate behaviors.  It has been used for many years to treat children and adults with a variety of disorders and ailments.  It is one of the most well researched interventions for treating children with autism.  Additionally, ABA is recognized by the state of New York as one of the only appropriate treatments for addressing autism spectrum disorders.  ABA is especially useful in reducing inappropriate and self stimulatory behaviors as well as teaching cognitive and academic skills, increasing language skills and improving self help and daily living skills. 

An ABA program is made up of two primary components, the teaching component and the behavior reduction component.  Both components are based upon simple learning principles called operant conditioning, which states that behaviors, skills and actions that are followed by a positive outcome will be more likely to occur again in the future and behaviors and actions that receive no praise or are punished will be less likely to occur in the future.  The learning component is used when teaching an individual new skills and behaviors.  The skills selected to teach are based upon the current strengths and deficit areas of the individual as well as what will be functional and immediately useful for them.  The behavior reduction component is used to decrease inappropriate or maladaptive behaviors.  In order to address these behaviors, the reason the behavior is occurring must be understood.  Once the reason or function of the behavior is identified, a plan is created based on this information to decrease the frequency of the behavior.   

• Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) – An FBA is a precise description and analysis of the factors contributing to the occurrence of a behavior, as well as what happens after the behavior that may maintain that behavior.
• Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) – A BIP is written after an FBA has been conducted and is based upon the information gathered during the process.  The BIP outlines the findings of the FBA as well as provides a step by step, systematic plan for decreasing the frequency of the behavior.
• Discrete Trial – The discrete trial is one of the teaching components used in an ABA program.  It involves breaking skills down into individual components and presenting them in a systematic format followed by reinforcement or corrective procedures.  This process enables the individual to acquire new skills quickly and with little error.
• Task Analysis – A task analysis involves breaking down a more complex skill, such as brushing teeth, into individual components.  Once the individual components have been identified they can be taught one at a time then linked together.
• Natural Environmental Training (NET) – NET involves capturing and contriving learning opportunities within the general environment and using these to teach new skills within the context that the individual will be expected to use them in the future.
• Prompting – A prompt is additional information provided to the individual that will facilitate a correct response.  They are used to increase the rate of learning and maximize success.
• Generalization –Generalization is a systematic way of ensuring that an individual is able to perform a learned skill across people and environments.

• Decrease behaviors that may interfere with an individual’s ability to learn
• Increase functional and adaptive skills
• Improve the life of the entire family unit
• Increase opportunities for the individual to participate in less restrictive educational environments
• Increase an individual’s opportunities to participate in community activities
• Promote independence
• Enable the individual to access leisure activities

• Training – All individuals should be well trained and receive ongoing training and support from supervisors
• Supervision – The ABA program should be designed and monitored on an ongoing basis by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst or someone who qualifies to sit for the exam.  They should also have extensive experience working with individuals with Autism.  Additionally, the supervisor should work directly with the individual on an ongoing basis to ensure strategies being implemented are appropriate and effective.
• Individualized programming – The skills taught and strategies used should be tailored to the individual’s areas of deficit, strengths, learning style and interests. 
• Functional Programming – Skills being taught should serve an immediate function to the individual, and enable them to participate more fully in daily life.
• Data collection – Data on skills being taught and behaviors being reduced should be collected on an ongoing basis.  Data collection should not interfere in the flow or the therapy or require too much time to collect.
• Data based decision making – An ongoing review of the data should be conducted by the supervisor, and program modifications should be made based upon this information.
• Family training – The family makes up a key component of any intervention program.  They should be involved in all programming decisions as well as receive specific training on how to generalize skills and address behaviors.
• Team meetings – Team meetings provide an opportunity for all service providers to collaborate with one another and identify an intervention program that is comprehensive, consistent and functional for the individual.  It also provides an opportunity for other team members to learn from one another and ensure that skills being taught by one individual are used and practiced across environments and providers.

Courtesy of TriState Learning Center