WHAT IS ABA?

ABA is evidence-based

ABA applies the principles of learning to the understanding of socially significant behaviour - behaviour that is meaningful and functional.  The learning principles that are derived from the experimental analysis of behaviour (EAB) are applied to everyday settings and used to understand, develop and shape behaviour.  ABA principles are applied to a number of clinical settings including education and there is an extensive body of applied research that demonstrates the effectiveness of these principles when applied in home and school based settings and with children on the autistic spectrum.

This body of evidence informs the way that an ABA programme is designed and the techniques that are used, for example in selecting ‘shaping’ as a method for developing a child’s vocal repertoire. Shaping involves positively reinforcing behaviours that come progressively closer to an end goal, it is a technique that is commonly used to teach new behaviours and it is one of many methods that are supported by applied research.

Analysing the context of a behaviour helps the analyst to understand the motivation behind it

Central to ABA is the belief that the environment shapes our behaviour.  This means that what happens before, and particularly what happens after a behaviour – affects whether the behaviour will occur again.  Consequences ‘shape’ our behaviour.  If a behaviour occurs again in the future it can be said to have been ‘positively reinforced’ and this could also explain a change in the form of the behaviour, it could happen more frequently, more intensely or more precisely as in shaping a vocalisation. Consequences can also decrease the likelihood of a behaviour occurring again, and this can occur if someone experiences something aversive to them or if a favourable event is no longer occurring following a behaviour, referred to as ‘extinction’.

The relationship between these events underpins much of what ABA is about and is integral to teaching methods like shaping; prompting and fading; and forward and backward chaining.

Behaviour analysts also analyse these events in order to understand why a behaviour is occurring and when that behaviour is problematic, what alternative behaviour could be taught in order to produce the same reinforcing consequence for the person.  To develop such an insight, the behaviour analyst and therapist will do a number of things.  The therapist will spend time getting to know the child, discovering what they like and dislike, and how a change in setting, time of day, mood and various other environmental fluctuations can have an effect on behaviour.  The behaviour analyst will supplement this information with her own observations and discussions with parents and other professionals before putting a positive behaviour plan in place.  In many cases the plan will include teaching a form of communication, an adjustment to conditions in the environment that may have typically preceded a problem behaviour, and a change in events that had been occurring following the behaviour.

Behaviours targeted for change should be ‘socially significant’ - they should improve the individuals’ quality of life

A key element of ABA is an emphasis on skills that are socially significant for the person.  Alongside more ‘academic’ subjects like Maths and English, a person’s programme can also include self-help targets; play and social skill development, classroom skills like the ability to learn in a group situation, communication skills, pre-vocational and community skills.  Each person will be entering at a different age and level and therefore programmes will prioritise the skills that are most functional to them at a particular moment in time, and this will change as they become older.  Many children with autism have sensory difficulties which can act as a barrier to them engaging in various activities, ABA can help to teach children how to cope with and how to manage such environments in order for them to lead independent lives and to be able to participate in leisure activities.

Behaviour Analysis is a positive, person-centred approach

When applied to children or adults on the autistic spectrum, Behaviour Analysis is a positive, person-centred approach that recognises the potential to achieve in every individual.  The curriculum is individualised and differentiated, and is guided by individual progress. The whole process is very flexible; changes are made to the programme when it is felt that a different approach would work better for the child or young adult, and in order for them to progress at the right pace. The programme can include one to one teaching and/or group sessions if this is feasible, and the way the programme is structured can vary according to the preferences of the child, their family and the nature of the skills being taught.

A positive learning environment

The techniques used in an ABA programme should be geared towards making the learning experience a positive one.  Skills will be taught using items that are familiar and relevant to the learner, and in a naturalistic way whenever possible - household items may be used to teach a child to ask for, locate and name things; topic based learning might include trips out to teach transport vocabulary, learn about the seasons or practice maths skills whilst shopping. The teaching environment and the resources used are arranged so that learning is fun; where possible games will be used to teach numeracy and literacy skills, visual discrimination tasks and language development. When beginning a new programme tutors first spend time pairing themselves with a number of preferred items and activities so that the tutor and the teaching environment become motivating for the child.  Typically, when new skills are introduced, they are broken down into manageable and achievable steps and taught in such a way as to maximise success. This is done through providing just the right level of prompting or support to help the child to perform the skill or task whilst keeping the level of reinforcement high and frequent. The level of support is then gradually faded until the child is consistently performing the skill independently, and at this point new target skills will be introduced.

The use of data to guide decision-making in behaviour analysis

Development is monitored through careful observation and data is taken to assess progress and to inform decisions about the programme.  If progress is being made, more advanced steps may be introduced and if progress is slow then it might be that some element of the task, the approach or the environment needs to be re-assessed and adjusted. Data is also useful when seeking to understand the motivation behind behaviours that are potentially restricting or harmful to a person or to others in the environment.  When a behaviour is harmful or could be preventing a person from accessing the things that they enjoy, it might be that a reduction in intensity or frequency could significantly improve their quality of life.

How analysing events that occur before and after a behaviour can help us understand when and why it occurs

The behaviour analytic approach to understanding why certain behaviours occur is to analyse the events that surround a behaviour. Behaviour analysts look at what happened immediately before the behaviour (the antecedent), and immediately afterwards (the consequence); monitoring this over time will reveal if there is a pattern linking these events and should indicate what is referred to as ‘the function’ of the behaviour.  The function refers to the motivation behind a behaviour, that is – what is the person gaining from it?  Once this is understood (and if the behaviour is problematic in some way), the Behaviour Analyst will seek to reduce the behaviour whilst at the same time teaching a new, alternative behaviour with the aim that this will result in a positive rather than a negative outcome for the person.

An example of this is a case where a child falls to the floor every time a handwriting task is presented. This is identified as a problematic behaviour as the child is not progressing in their handwriting - an important functional skill.

In this case, the antecedent is the presentation of the work, the behaviour is falling to the floor, and the consequence is that the task is removed.

The behaviour analyst is asked to analyse the behaviour because observations by the teacher and data collection shows that this behaviour is getting worse (increasing). Observations and analysis of the data over time shows that the antecedent and the consequence as described above, consistently precede and follow the behaviour - suggesting that the removal of the task is (negatively) reinforcing for the child.

An intervention will address both the antecedents and the consequences.

Altering the antecedent may make the behaviour less motivating in that there is less need to escape the task. An assessment of the nature of the task will reveal whether it is too difficult, too lengthy or whether there is some other aspect of the environment that is aversive to the child. Once this is understood, a few adjustments may make the behaviour less necessary and therefore it is likely to reduce in frequency.

At the same time, an adjustment to the consequence - making sure that the task isn’t removed, may also make the behaviour less likely to occur next time. Teaching the individual to communicate the need for a break or to ask for something in the environment to be changed may also reduce instances of the behaviour and increase ‘on-task’ behaviour.

Curriculum guides for parents and professionals

Curriculum guides like the VB-MAPP and ABLLS serve as a useful way to track and assess a range of learning and language developmental milestones and are a valuable tool and source of information to professionals and parents alike.