So, what exactly is ABA, or Applied Behavioral Analysis? ABA is an intervention therapy that specifically addresses behavior. ABA is one of the proven best practice therapies for children on the autism spectrum, including Aspergers. Thousands of research articles have documented the effectiveness of ABA in individuals with autism acrossContinue Reading
Reinforcement in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) focuses on the outcome of the behavior and increasing the likelihood of certain behaviors occurring in the future. There are two types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is when a response is followed immediately by the presentation of a stimulus and, asContinue Reading
The main use of ABA for individuals on the autism spectrum is to decrease challenging behaviors and increase appropriate skills. Here are the three steps for utilizing ABA to decrease challenging behaviors and increase appropriate skills: Step 1: Assessment The first step in decreasing problem behavior is to conduct aContinue Reading
When a child with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism demonstrates challenging behaviors, we tend to blame the child’s autism. However, these challenging behaviors are not a byproduct of autism, rather learned due to ineffective means to get needs met—especially when there are barriers to communication. Bottom line: if an individual doesContinue Reading
As I mentioned in my previous blog, there are thousands of published research studies to support the effectiveness of ABA in treating autism and Aspergers. Specifically, ABA seeks to decrease challenging behaviors and increase appropriate skills that are seen in many individuals with autism or Aspergers. To help understand whatContinue Reading
While the word “punish” often conjures up bad thoughts for parents and professionals, punishment and reinforcement are key when looking at behavior change through ABA. Punishment in ABA decreases the chances that a particular behavior will occur again, as opposed to reinforcement which increases the likelihood of behavior. Let’s lookContinue Reading
As parents, you have expectations of improving your children’s behavior. Behavior analysts, on the other hand, need to make sure improvements in behavior occur within the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) guidelines. These seven guidelines are called the defining characteristics of ABA: Jennifer AllenA graduate of Abilene Christian University, Jennifer had a longContinue Reading
